Matthew 9:1-13
[1]
And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. [2]
And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And
when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my
son; your sins are forgiven.” [3] And behold, some of the scribes said
to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” [4] But Jesus, knowing their
thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? [5] For which is
easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
[6] But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to
forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and
go home.” [7] And he rose and went home. [8] When the crowds saw it,
they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority
to men.
[9]
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at
the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed
him.
[10]
And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax
collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his
disciples. [11] And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his
disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
[12] But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a
physician, but those who are sick. [13] Go and learn what this means:
‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners.”
Acts 13:1-25
[1]
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers,
Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a
lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. [2] While they were
worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me
Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” [3] Then
after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them
off.
[4]
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and
from there they sailed to Cyprus. [5] When they arrived at Salamis, they
proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had
John to assist them. [6] When they had gone through the whole island as
far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet
named Bar-Jesus. [7] He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man
of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the
word of God. [8] But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his
name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
[9] But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked intently at him [10] and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy
of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop
making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? [11] And now, behold,
the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to
see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him,
and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. [12] Then the
proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished
at the teaching of the Lord.
[13]
Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in
Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, [14] but they
went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath
day they went into the synagogue and sat down. [15] After the reading
from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a
message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of
encouragement for the people, say it.” [16] So Paul stood up, and
motioning with his hand said:
“Men
of Israel and you who fear God, listen. [17] The God of this people
Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in
the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. [18] And
for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. [19] And
after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their
land as an inheritance. [20] All this took about 450 years. And after
that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. [21] Then they asked
for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe
of Benjamin, for forty years. [22] And when he had removed him, he
raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have
found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all
my will.’ [23] Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a
Savior, Jesus, as he promised. [24] Before his coming, John had
proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. [25] And
as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I
am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of
whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’
Psalm 21
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
[1] O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices,
and in your salvation how greatly he exults!
[2] You have given him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
[3] For you meet him with rich blessings;
you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
[4] He asked life of you; you gave it to him,
length of days forever and ever.
[5] His glory is great through your salvation;
splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
[6] For you make him most blessed forever;
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
[7] For the king trusts in the LORD,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
[8] Your hand will find out all your enemies;
your right hand will find out those who hate you.
[9] You will make them as a blazing oven
when you appear.
The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath,
and fire will consume them.
[10] You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
and their offspring from among the children of man.
[11] Though they plan evil against you,
though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
[12] For you will put them to flight;
you will aim at their faces with your bows.
[13] Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.
Genesis 46
[1]
So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba,
and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. [2] And God spoke
to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he
said, “Here I am.” [3] Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father.
Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a
great nation. [4] I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will
also bring you up again, and 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 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 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.
[8]
Now these are the names of the descendants of Israel, who came into
Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, [9] and the sons
of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. [10] The sons of Simeon:
Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite
woman. [11] The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. [12] The sons
of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in
the land of Canaan); and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. [13]
The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Yob, and Shimron. [14] The sons of
Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. [15] These are the sons of Leah, whom
she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah;
altogether his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.
[16]
The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
[17] The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, with Serah their
sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. [18] These are the
sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore
to Jacob—sixteen persons.
[19]
The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin. [20] And to
Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom
Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On, bore to him. [21]
And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh,
Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. [22] These are the sons of Rachel, who were
born to Jacob—fourteen persons in all.
[23]
The son of Dan: Hushim. [24] The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni,
Jezer, and Shillem. [25] These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave
to Rachel his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob—seven persons in
all.
[26]
All the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his
own descendants, not including Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six
persons in all. [27] And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in
Egypt, were two. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into
Egypt were seventy.
[28]
He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in
Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. [29] Then Joseph prepared
his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He
presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a
good while. [30] Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have
seen your face and know that you are still alive.” [31] Joseph said to
his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell
Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who
were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. [32] And the men are
shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have
brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ [33] When
Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ [34] you shall
say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even
until now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell in the
land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”
Genesis 47
[1]
So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with
their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the
land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.” [2] And from among
his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. [3] Pharaoh
said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to
Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” [4] They
said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no
pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land
of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of
Goshen.” [5] Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers
have come to you. [6] The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your
father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the
land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in
charge of my livestock.”
[7]
Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh,
and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. [8] And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are
the days of the years of your life?” [9] And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The
days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have
been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the
days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their
sojourning.” [10] And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the
presence of Pharaoh. [11] Then Joseph settled his father and his
brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of
the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. [12] And
Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household
with food, according to the number of their dependents.
[13]
Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe,
so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of
the famine. [14] And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in
the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain
that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.
[15] And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the
land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us
food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” [16]
And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in
exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” [17] So they
brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange
for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied
them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. [18] And
when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said
to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The
herds of livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of
my lord but our bodies and our land. [19] Why should we die before your
eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with
our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live
and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”
[20]
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the
Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The
land became Pharaoh’s. [21] As for the people, he made servants of them
from one end of Egypt to the other. [22] Only the land of the priests he
did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and
lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not
sell their land.
[23]
Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and
your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the
land. [24] And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and
four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for
yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” [25]
And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will
be servants to Pharaoh.” [26] So Joseph made it a statute concerning
the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have
the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.
[27]
Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And
they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.
[28] And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days
of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years.
[29]
And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son
Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put
your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me.
Do not bury me in Egypt, [30] but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me
out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will
do as you have said.” [31] And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to
him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.
