Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Will Reward Fairly
Of David.
37 Don’t be ·upset [worried; angry] because of evil people.
Don’t be jealous of those who do wrong [Prov. 24:1, 19],
2 because like the grass, they will ·soon [quickly] ·dry up [wither].
Like green plants, they will soon ·die [fade] away.
3 ·Trust [L Have confidence in] the Lord [Prov. 3:5] and do good.
·Live [Reside; Settle] in the land and ·feed on truth [or find reliable pastureland].
4 Enjoy serving the Lord,
and he will give you ·what you want [L the requests of your heart].
5 ·Depend on [L Commit your way to] the Lord;
·trust [have confidence in] him, and he will take care of you [Prov. 16:3; 1 Pet. 5:7].
6 Then your ·goodness [righteousness] will shine like the ·sun [L light],
and your ·fairness [justice] like the noonday sun.
7 ·Wait [L Be quiet before] and ·trust [L wait for] the Lord.
Don’t be ·upset [worried; angry] ·when others get rich [L with the prosperity/success of their way]
or when ·someone else’s plans succeed [or they do evil deeds].
8 ·Don’t get angry [L Hold back from anger; Abandon wrath].
Don’t be ·upset [worried; angry]; it only leads to ·trouble [or evil].
9 Evil people will be ·sent away [L cut off],
but those who ·trust [wait/pin their hope on] the Lord will inherit the land.
10 In a little while the wicked will be no more.
You may look for them, but they will be ·gone [or no more].
11 ·People who are not proud [L The humble/meek] will inherit the land [Matt. 5:5]
and will enjoy ·complete peace [or much prosperity].
39 The Lord ·saves [rescues; T delivers] ·good [righteous] people;
he is their strength in times of ·trouble [distress].
40 The Lord helps them and ·saves [rescues; T delivers] them;
he ·saves [rescues; T delivers] them from the wicked,
because they ·trust [take refuge] in him for protection.
Joseph Sets a Trap
44 Then Joseph gave a command to the ·servant in charge of [L one over] his house. He said, “Fill the men’s sacks with as much ·grain [L food] as they can carry, and put each man’s ·money [silver] into his sack with the grain. 2 Put my silver ·cup [goblet] in the sack of the ·youngest [smallest] brother, along with his ·money [silver] for the grain.” ·The servant [L He] did what Joseph told him.
3 At dawn the ·brothers [L men] were sent away with their donkeys. 4 They were not far from the city when Joseph said to the ·servant in charge of [L one over] his house, “·Go after [L Get up and pursue] the men. When you catch up with them, say, ‘Why have you paid back evil for good? 5 ·The cup you have stolen is the one [L Is this not what…?] my ·master [lord] uses for drinking and for ·explaining dreams [divination; C perhaps by pouring oil in water as a means of telling the future (called lecanomancy)]. ·You [L Is not what you…?] have done a very wicked thing!’ ”
6 So ·the servant [L he] caught up with ·the brothers [L them] and said to them ·what Joseph had told him to say [L these words].
7 But the brothers said to the servant, “Why do ·you [my master/lord] say these things? ·We would not [L Far be it from your servants to] do anything like that! 8 We brought back to you from the land of Canaan the ·money [silver] we found in our sacks. ·So surely we would not [L Why would we…?] steal silver or gold from your ·master’s [lord’s] house. 9 If ·you find that silver cup in the sack of one of [L it is found with one of] us, then let him die, and we will be your ·slaves [servants].”
10 ·The servant [L He] said, “·We will do [It will be] as you say, but only the man who has taken the cup will become my ·slave [servant]. The rest of you ·may go free [will be innocent].”
11 Then every brother quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened ·it [L their sack]. 12 ·The servant [L He] searched the sacks, ·going from [starting with] the oldest brother to [L and ending with] the ·youngest [smallest], and found the ·cup [goblet] in Benjamin’s sack. 13 The brothers tore their clothes [C a sign of mourning; they were afraid for Benjamin’s life]. Then they ·put their sacks back on [L loaded] the donkeys and returned to the city.
14 When Judah and his brothers ·went back to [arrived at] Joseph’s house, Joseph was still there, so ·the brothers bowed facedown [L they fell] on the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “What have you done? Didn’t you know that a man like me can ·learn things by signs and dreams [L practice divination]?”
16 Judah said, “·Master [My lord], what can we say? What can we tell you? And how can we ·show we are not guilty [justify ourselves]? God has ·uncovered [L found out] our guilt, so all of us will be ·your slaves [L slaves/servants of my master/lord], not just ·Benjamin [L the one in whose hand the cup/goblet was found].”
17 But Joseph said, “·I will not make you all slaves [L Far be it from me that I should do that]! Only the man ·who stole the cup [L in whose hand the cup/goblet was found] will be my ·slave [servant]. The rest of you may go back ·safely [or in peace] to your father.”
12 I write to you, dear children [2:1],
because your sins are forgiven ·through Christ [L on account of his name; C the name represents the person].
13 I write to you, fathers [C probably senior members of the congregation],
·because [or that] you know the One who existed from the beginning [C Christ; John 1:1].
I write to you, young people,
·because [or that] you have ·defeated [conquered; overcome] the Evil One.
14 I ·write [or have written] to you, children,
·because [or that] you ·know [have come to know] the Father.
I ·write [or have written] to you, fathers,
·because [or that] you ·know [have come to know] the One who existed from the beginning [2:13].
I ·write [or have written] to you, young people,
·because [or that] you are strong;
the ·teaching [L word] of God ·lives [abides; remains] in you,
and you have ·defeated [conquered; overcome] the Evil One.
15 Do not love the world or the things ·in [associated with] the world. If you love the world, the love ·of [or for] the Father is not in you [James 4:4]. 16 [L For] ·These are the ways of [All that is in/associated with] the world: ·wanting to please our sinful selves [L the desire/lust of the flesh], ·wanting the sinful things we see [L the desire/lust of the eyes], and ·being too proud of what we have [L the pride of life/possessions]. None of these come from the Father, but all of them come from the world. 17 The world and ·everything that people want in it [L its desire/lust] are passing away [1 Cor. 7:31], but the person who does ·what God wants [the will of God] ·lives [abides; remains] forever.
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