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The Move to Egypt
46 Later, Israel began his journey, taking along everything that he owned, and arrived at Beer-sheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 God spoke to Israel through night visions, addressing him, “Jacob! Jacob!”
“Here I am!” Jacob[a] replied.
3 “I’m God, your father’s God. Don’t be afraid to move down to Egypt, because I’m going to turn you into a mighty nation there. 4 I’m going down with you to Egypt, and I’m certainly going to bring you back again. And Joseph himself will be with you when you die.”[b] 5 So Jacob got up and left Beer-sheba, and Israel’s sons carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives in the transport wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry them. 6 They took their livestock and their household property that they had acquired in the land of Canaan and traveled to Egypt. Jacob and all of his descendants went with him— 7 including his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters—every one of his descendants accompanied him to Egypt.
List of Those who Went to Egypt(A)
8 Here’s a list of the names of Israel’s sons, that is, of Jacob and his sons who moved to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn; 9 Reuben’s sons Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; 10 Simeon’s sons Jemuel,[c] Jamin, Ohad, Jachin,[d] Zohar,[e] and Shaul, who was the son of a Canaanite woman; 11 Levi’s sons Gershon,[f] Kohath, and Merari; 12 and Judah’s sons Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (Technically,[g] Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan.) Perez’s sons were Hezron and Hamul. 13 Also included were Issachar’s sons Tola, Puvvah,[h] Job,[i] and Shimron; 14 along with Zebulun’s sons Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These were all sons from Leah, whom she bore for Jacob in Paddan-aram,[j] along with his daughter Dinah. He had 33 sons and daughters.
16 Also included were Gad’s sons Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli; 17 Asher’s sons Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. Beriah’s sons Heber and Malchiel were also included.[k] 18 These were all sons from Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah. She bore these sixteen children for Jacob.
19 Jacob’s wife Rachel’s sons were Joseph and Benjamin.
20 Joseph’s sons born in the land of Egypt were Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On, bore for him. 21 Benjamin’s sons included Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22 These were all the sons of Rachel, who were born for Jacob—fourteen in all.
23 Also included were Dan’s son Hushim; 24 Naphtali’s sons Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These were sons of Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel. She bore these children for Jacob—seven in all.
26 All of these people, who belonged to Jacob’s family, traveled to Egypt. All of Jacob’s[l] direct descendants, not including his sons’ wives, numbered 66 persons in all. 27 Joseph had two sons born to him in Egypt, and all of Jacob’s household who went to Egypt numbered 70.
Jacob Arrives in Goshen
28 Jacob[m] sent Judah ahead of them to meet with Joseph, who would be guiding them to Goshen, and so they arrived. 29 Joseph prepared his chariot and went to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as Jacob[n] appeared in his presence, he embraced him[o] and wept for a long time as he held on to him.[p] 30 “Now let me die,” Israel told Joseph, “since I’ve seen your face and confirmed that you’re still alive!”
31 But Joseph addressed his brothers and his father’s household and told them, “I’ll go up and tell Pharaoh that my brothers and my father’s household have arrived from Canaan to be with me. 32 I’ll mention that[q] the men are shepherds. Because they’ve been taking care of livestock, they brought along their flocks, their herds, and everything else that they own. 33 When Pharaoh calls for you and asks you ‘What’s your occupation?’ 34 you are to tell him, ‘Your servants have been taking care of livestock since we were youths. We and our ancestors have taken care of livestock.’ That way, you’ll be able to live in the Goshen territory, since shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”
Joseph’s Family Settles in Goshen
47 After this, Joseph went to inform Pharaoh. “My father and brothers have come here from Canaan,”[r] he said, “and they’ve come with their flocks, herds, and everything else they have. I settled them in the Goshen territory!” 2 He brought along five of his brothers to present before Pharaoh.
3 Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What are your occupations?”
“Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “both we and our ancestors. 4 We’ve come to live for a while[s] in this region, since there is no pasture back in Canaan[t] for your servants’ flocks. May your servants please live in the Goshen territory?”
5 Then Pharaoh replied to Joseph, “Now that your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 Egypt[u] is at your disposal,[v] so settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land! Let them live in the Goshen territory. If you learn that any of them are especially skilled, put them in charge of my livestock.”
7 Later, Joseph brought his father Jacob to Pharaoh and introduced him. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 “How old are you?”[w] Pharaoh asked Jacob.
9 “I’m 130 years old,” Jacob replied. “My years have turned out to be few and unpleasant, but I haven’t yet reached the age my ancestors did during their travels on earth.”[x] 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and then left the throne room.[y]
11 Joseph settled his father and brothers, assigning them their own land in the best part of Egypt (in the territory of Rameses), just as Pharaoh had ordered. 12 Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all of his father’s household, proportionate to the number of young children.
The Famine Continues
13 Meanwhile, there continued to be no food throughout the land, because the famine remained very severe. As a result, both Egypt and Canaan languished under the effects of the famine. 14 So Joseph kept on accumulating all the money that was to be found throughout Egypt and Canaan in exchange for the grain that was being purchased. He stored the money in Pharaoh’s palace.
15 After all the money had been spent throughout Egypt and Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and demanded, “Give us food! Why should we die right in front of you? Our money is spent!”
16 “You can surrender your livestock,” Joseph replied. “I’ll feed them in exchange, since your money is gone.”
17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph traded food in exchange for horses, various flocks and herds, and donkeys. He fed them with food in exchange for their livestock during that year.
18 The following year, they came to him and reminded him, “We won’t hide from you, your Excellency, that we’ve spent all of our money, and that our livestock all belong to you. There’s nothing left to trade with you, your Excellency, except our bodies and our territories. 19 So why should we and our land die right in front of you? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed, so we can survive and not die, and so the land won’t stay desolate.”
Pharaoh Gains Control of All of Egypt
20 So Joseph purchased all of the Egyptian territory for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine’s effect was so severe. That’s how Pharaoh came to own the land. 21 Then Joseph transported the people to cities from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not purchase land belonging to the priests, because the priests held an allotment, previously provided to them by Pharaoh, from which they lived. That’s why they did not sell their land.
23 After this, Joseph addressed the people. “Pay attention,” he said. “I’ve bought you and your land for Pharaoh today, in exchange for seed for you. Now go sow the land. 24 When harvest season arrives, you are to provide a fifth of the harvest to Pharaoh. The remaining four fifths are to be for your use, for seed, and to feed you, your households, and your little ones.”
25 “You’ve saved our lives,” they replied. “If it pleases you, your Excellency, we’ll be Pharaoh’s slaves.”
26 So Joseph crafted a statute concerning Egypt that remains valid to this day that Pharaoh should own a fifth of the produce, excluding the land belonging to the priests, which remained outside of Pharaoh’s control.
27 Israel remained in Egypt’s Goshen territory, acquired land there, became prosperous, and his descendants[z] grew very numerous. 28 He lived for seventeen more years in Egypt, until he was 147 years old. 29 As the time approached for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and addressed him. “Please,” he asked, “if you’re happy with me, make a solemn promise[aa] that you’ll treat me fairly and kindly by not burying me in Egypt. 30 Instead, when I’ve died, as my ancestors have, you are to carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their tomb.”[ab]
“I’ll do what you’ve asked,” Joseph[ac] replied.
31 “Promise me,” Israel[ad] insisted. So Joseph promised. Then Israel collapsed[ae] on his bed.
Jesus Challenges the Tradition of the Elders(A)
15 Then some Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples disregard the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands when they eat.”[a]
3 But he answered them, “Why do you also disregard the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 Because God said,[b] ‘You are to honor your father and your mother,’[c] and, ‘Whoever curses father or mother must certainly be put to death.’[d] 5 But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or his mother, “Whatever support you might have received from me has been given to God,”[e] 6 does not have to honor his father.’[f] Because of your tradition, then, you have disregarded[g] the authority of God’s word.[h] 7 You hypocrites! How well did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said,
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship of me is empty,
because they teach human rules as doctrines.’”[i]
10 Then calling out to the crowd, he addressed them, “Listen and understand! 11 It is not what goes into the mouth that makes a person unclean. It is what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean.”
12 Then the disciples came and asked him, “Do you realize that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind.[j] If one blind person leads another blind person, both will fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter told him, “Explain to us this[k] parable.”
16 Jesus[l] said, “Are you still so ignorant? 17 Don’t you know that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and then is expelled as waste? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is those things that make a person unclean. 19 It is out of the heart that evil thoughts come, as well as murder, adultery, sexual immorality, stealing, false testimony, and slander.[m] 20 These are the things that make a person unclean. But eating with unwashed hands doesn’t make a person unclean.”
A Canaanite Woman’s Faith(B)
21 Then Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Suddenly, a Canaanite woman from that territory came near and began to shout, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed!” 23 But he didn’t answer her at all.[n]
Then his disciples came up and kept urging him, “Send her away, because she keeps on screaming as she follows[o] us.”
24 But he replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation[p] of Israel.”
25 Then she came and fell down before him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
26 He replied, “It’s not right[q] to take the children’s bread and throw it to the puppies.”
27 She said, “Yes, Lord. But even the puppies eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ tables.”
28 Then Jesus answered her, “Lady,[r] your faith is great! What you want is granted.” That very hour her daughter was healed.
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
God’s Revelation in the Heavens
19 The heavens are declaring the glory of God,
and their expanse shows the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech,
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor are there words—
their voice is not heard—
4 yet their message[a] goes out into all the world,
and their words to the ends of the earth.
He has set up a tent for the sun in the heavens,[b]
5 which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
or like a champion who rejoices at the beginning of a race.
6 Its circuit is from one end of the sky to the other,
and nothing is hidden from its heat.
God’s Revelation in the Law
7 The Law of the Lord is perfect,
restoring life.
The testimony of the Lord is steadfast,
making foolish people wise.
8 The precepts of the Lord are upright,
making the heart rejoice.
The commandment of the Lord is pure,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean,
standing forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true;
they are altogether righteous.
10 They are more desirable than gold,
even much fine gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even the drippings from a honeycomb.
11 Moreover your servant is warned by them;
and there is great reward in keeping them.
12 Who can detect his own[c] mistake?
Cleanse me from hidden sin.
13 Preserve your servant from arrogant people;[d]
do not let them rule over me.
Then I will be upright[e]
and acquitted of great wickedness.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
be acceptable in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Avoiding the Ways of the Wicked
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,
or go along the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it! Don’t travel on it!
Turn away from it, and pass on by.
16 For they cannot sleep unless they are doing evil,
and they are robbed of their sleep unless they cause someone to stumble.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness,
and they drink the wine of violence.
18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn
that grows brighter until the full light of day.
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness,
and they do not know what they are stumbling over.
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