Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Will Reward Fairly
Of David.
37 Don’t be upset because of evil people.
Don’t be jealous of those who do wrong,
2 because like the grass, they will soon dry up.
Like green plants, they will soon die away.
3 Trust the Lord and do good.
Live in the land and feed on truth.
4 Enjoy serving the Lord,
and he will give you what you want.
5 Depend on the Lord;
trust him, and he will take care of you.
6 Then your goodness will shine like the sun,
and your fairness like the noonday sun.
7 Wait and trust the Lord.
Don’t be upset when others get rich
or when someone else’s plans succeed.
8 Don’t get angry.
Don’t be upset; it only leads to trouble.
9 Evil people will be sent away,
but those who trust 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.
11 People who are not proud will inherit the land
and will enjoy complete peace.
39 The Lord saves good people;
he is their strength in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and saves them;
he saves them from the wicked,
because they trust in him for protection.
18 Then Judah went to Joseph and said, “Master, please let me speak plainly to you, and please don’t be angry with me. I know that you are as powerful as the king of Egypt himself. 19 When we were here before, you asked us, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 And we answered you, ‘We have an old father. And we have a younger brother, who was born when our father was old. This youngest son’s brother is dead, so he is the only one of his mother’s children left alive, and our father loves him very much.’ 21 Then you said to us, ‘Bring that brother to me. I want to see him.’ 22 And we said to you, ‘That young boy cannot leave his father, because if he leaves him, his father would die.’ 23 But you said to us, ‘If you don’t bring your youngest brother, you will not be allowed to see me again.’ 24 So we went back to our father and told him what you had said.
25 “Later, our father said, ‘Go again and buy us a little more food.’ 26 We said to our father, ‘We cannot go without our youngest brother. Without our youngest brother, we will not be allowed to see the governor.’ 27 Then my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife Rachel gave me two sons. 28 When one son left me, I thought, “Surely he has been torn apart by a wild animal,” and I haven’t seen him since. 29 Now you want to take this son away from me also. But something terrible might happen to him, and I would be miserable until the day I die.’ 30 Now what will happen if we go home to our father without our youngest brother? He is so important in our father’s life that 31 when our father sees the young boy is not with us, he will die. And it will be our fault. We will cause the great sorrow that kills our father.
32 “I gave my father a guarantee that the young boy would be safe. I said to my father, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, you can blame me all my life.’ 33 So now, please allow me to stay here and be your slave, and let the young boy go back home with his brothers. 34 I cannot go back to my father if the boy is not with me. I couldn’t stand to see my father that sad.”
Settle Your Problems
57 “Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right? 58 If your enemy is taking you to court, try hard to settle it on the way. If you don’t, your enemy might take you to the judge, and the judge might turn you over to the officer, and the officer might throw you into jail. 59 I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid everything you owe.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.