Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 37[a]
Fate of the Wicked and Reward of the Righteous
1 Of David.
Do not fume because of evildoers
or envy those who do wrong.
2 They will wither quickly like the grass
and fade away like the green herb.[b]
3 Put your trust in the Lord and do good,
that you may dwell in the land[c] and be secure.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will grant you what your heart[d] desires.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
place your trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause, like the noonday.[e]
7 Wait quietly for the Lord
and be patient until he comes.
Do not fret over the man who prospers
because of his evil schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn away from wrath;
do not fret—it does nothing but harm.
9 For evildoers will be destroyed,
but those who wait for the Lord will inherit the land.[f]
10 In a short while, the wicked will be no more;
no matter how diligently you search, you will not be able to find him.
11 But the meek[g] will possess the land
and enjoy an abundance of peace.
39 [a]The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their refuge in times of trouble.
40 The Lord will help them and deliver them;
he will rescue them from the wicked and save them
because they flee to him for refuge.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his head steward: “Bring these men into the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it. They are to eat the noonday meal with me.”
17 The steward did what Joseph had ordered and brought the men into his house. 18 They were worried when they were brought into Joseph’s house and they said, “He brought us here because of the money that was placed back in our sacks the other time. They are going to fall upon us and make us slaves and take our donkeys as well.”
19 So they approached Joseph’s head steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house 20 saying, “My lord, we came one other time to buy provisions. 21 When we arrived at the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each one discovered his money in the mouth of the sack. It was the exact amount of money we had brought. But we have brought it back 22 and we brought some other money as well to buy more food. We do not know who placed our money in the sacks.”
23 But he told them, “Be at peace! Do not fear! Your God and the God of your fathers placed riches in your sacks. I received your money.” And he brought Simeon to them.
24 The steward led the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water to wash their feet, and provided forage for their donkeys. 25 They prepared their gifts while they waited for Joseph to arrive at noon, for they knew that they were to eat in that place.
26 When Joseph arrived, they presented to him the gifts that they had with them, and they bowed their faces to the ground before him. 27 He asked them how they were and said, “How is your aged father, the one about whom you have spoken? Is he still alive?”
28 They answered, “Your servant, our father, is well, and he is still alive,” and they knelt and bowed down.
29 Looking up, he saw Benjamin, his brother, the son of his mother, and said, “Is this your youngest brother about whom you have spoken?” He added, “God bless you, my son!” 30 Joseph went out in a rush, for he was deeply moved at seeing his brother and he was close to tears. He went into his room and wept there.
31 Then he washed his face, went out, and, controlling his emotions, ordered, “Serve the meal.”
32 He was served separately, then his brothers, and then the Egyptians, for Egyptians cannot eat with Hebrews. It would be an abomination for them. 33 He sat them before himself from the firstborn to the youngest, each in the order of his birth. They looked at each other with awe. 34 He served them a portion taken from his own table, but the portion he gave to Benjamin was five times larger than that given to all the others. They then drank with him until they were lighthearted.
The Spirit of God Dwells in Christians[a]
Chapter 8
There Is No Longer Any Condemnation. 1 Hence, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 That which the Law, weakened by the flesh, was unable to do, God has done. By sending his own Son in the likeness of our sinful nature as a sin offering, he condemned sin in the flesh 4 so that the righteous requirements of the Law[b] might be fulfilled in us who live not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Animated by the Spirit and Rendered Children of God.[c] 5 Those who live according to the flesh fix their attention on the things of the flesh, while those who live according to the Spirit set their thoughts on spiritual things. 6 The desires of the flesh result in death, but the desires of the Spirit result in life and peace. 7 Indeed, the desires of the flesh will be hostile to God, for they do not submit to the Law of God, nor could they do so. 8 Those who live according to the flesh can never be pleasing to God.
9 You, however, do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not possess the Spirit of Christ cannot belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though the body is dead as a result of sin, the Spirit is alive in you because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then the one who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwells in you.[d]
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