Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song to sing as we climb.
David wrote this song.[a]
124 If the Lord was not fighting for us,
what would have happened?
Israel's people, now answer:
2 ‘If the Lord was not fighting for us when men attacked us,
3 our enemies would have eaten us alive![b]
They would have destroyed us,
because they were so angry against us.
4 They would have been too strong for us,
like rivers of waters that covered us,
5 They would have been like deep water over our heads
that drowned us.[c]
6 We should praise the Lord!
He did not let our enemies destroy us,
like wild animals that kill their food and eat it.
7 Now we have become free,
like a bird that got free out of a trap.
Our enemies lost their power, and we are free![d]
8 The one who helped us is the Lord.
He made the whole universe.’
Jacob dies and Joseph buries him
29 Then Jacob said to his 12 sons, ‘I will soon die. You must take my dead body back to Canaan. Bury me there with my ancestors. Bury me in the cave in the field that belonged to Ephron the Hittite. 30 The cave is at Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan. Abraham bought this cave from Ephron as a place to bury his family. 31 That is where they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah. They also buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah there. I buried Leah there too. 32 Abraham bought the cave and the field from the Hittites.’
33 Jacob finished telling his sons what they should do. Then he lay down on his bed again. He breathed for the last time and he died there.
50 Joseph bent down near his father's face. He wept over him and he kissed him. 2 Then Joseph told some of his servants to take Jacob's body. They knew how to put special oil on the body so that it would not become spoiled. Joseph's servants did what he told them to do. 3 The servants took care of the body for 40 days, which is the usual time. The Egyptians wept for 70 days because of Jacob's death.[a]
4 The time for them to weep came to an end. Joseph said to Pharaoh's officers, ‘If you agree, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him this: 5 My father made me make a promise. He said, “I will soon die. Bury me in the grave that I prepared for myself in Canaan.” So please let me go and bury my father there. Then I will return.’ 6 Pharaoh said, ‘Go and bury your father's body in the way that you promised him.’
7 So Joseph went to Canaan to bury his father. All Pharaoh's officers went with him. The important people who lived in Pharaoh's palace, as well as the important Egyptian officers, all went with Joseph. 8 Everyone in Joseph's family also went with him. His brothers and their families went, but they did not take their young children or their animals. They left those in Goshen. 9 Many soldiers also went with them. Some of them rode in chariots and some rode on horses.
10 They came to Atad's threshing floor, near the Jordan River. They stayed there for seven days to weep for the death of Jacob. They were very sad. 11 The Canaanite people who lived near there saw how sad Joseph and his people were. So they gave Atad's threshing floor a different name. They called it ‘Abel Mizraim’.[b] They said, ‘The Egyptians are showing that they are very sad because an important person has died.’
12 So Jacob's sons did what he had told them to do. 13 They carried his body to Canaan. They buried him there in the cave, in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre. That is the cave that Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite. He had bought it as a grave for him and for his family.
14 When Joseph had buried his father, he returned to Egypt together with his brothers. Everyone who had gone to Canaan with him also returned to Egypt.
12 Some people praise themselves. They say how clever they are. But we could never do that. We could not even try to be like those people. But they do not understand anything. They decide among themselves how good they are. They look at one another to see if they are better or worse. 13 As for us, we will only be proud of the work that God has given us to do. We will not be proud of anything more than that. And that includes our work among you. 14 We were the first people to come as far as Corinth and tell you the good news about Christ. That was part of the work that God has given to us to do. So it is right for us to tell you how proud we are.
15 We do not praise ourselves for the work that other people have done. That would not be right. But we hope that you will continue to believe more and more strongly. In that way our work among you will become even greater. But it will still be the work that God has given to us, and no more than that. 16 Then we want to tell God's good news to people in places beyond where you are. Those are not places where God has sent other people to work. Then we will not be praising ourselves for the work that anyone else has done. 17 The Bible says this:
‘If you want to be proud about something,
be proud of what the Lord has done.’
18 Who is really good? It is not the person who praises himself. It is the person that the Lord says is a good person.
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