Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

God Is Our Fortress

To the choirmaster. Of ^(A)the Sons of Korah. According to ^(B)Alamoth.^[a] A Song.

²⁵ So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. ²⁶ And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. ²⁷ But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw ^(A)the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. ²⁸ And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Joseph Brings His Family to Egypt

46 So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to ^(B)Beersheba, and offered sacrifices ^(C)to the God of his father Isaac. ² And God spoke to Israel ^(D)in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” ³ Then he said, “I am God, ^(E)the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will ^(F)make you into a great nation. ⁴ I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also ^(G)bring you up again, and ^(H)Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.”

⁵ Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons ^(I)that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ⁶ They also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and ^(J)came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, ⁷ his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters. All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.

³³ When they heard this, they ^(A)were enraged and wanted to kill them. ³⁴ But a Pharisee in the council named ^(B)Gamaliel, ^(C)a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. ³⁵ And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. ³⁶ For ^(D)before these days Theudas rose up, ^(E)claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. ³⁷ After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of ^(F)the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. ³⁸ So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for ^(G)if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; ³⁹ but ^(H)if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You ^(I)might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, ⁴⁰ and ^(J)when they had called in the apostles, ^(K)they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. ⁴¹ Then they left the presence of the council, ^(L)rejoicing that they were counted worthy ^(M)to suffer dishonor for ^(N)the name. ⁴² And every day, ^(O)in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and ^(P)preaching ^(Q)that the Christ is Jesus.