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Jacob’s Funeral
50 When Israel died, Joseph was very sad. He hugged his father and cried over him and kissed him. 2 Joseph commanded his servants to prepare his father’s body. (These servants were doctors.) The doctors prepared Jacob’s body to be buried. They prepared the body in the special way of the Egyptians. 3 When the Egyptians prepared the body in this special way, they waited 40 days before they buried the body. Then the Egyptians had a special time of sadness for Jacob. This time was 70 days.
4 After the time of sadness was finished, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s officers and said, “Please tell this to Pharaoh: 5 ‘When my father was near death, I made a promise to him. I promised that I would bury him in a cave in the land of Canaan. This is the cave that he prepared for himself. So please let me go and bury my father. Then I will come back here to you.’”
6 Pharaoh answered, “Keep your promise. Go and bury your father.”
7 So Joseph went to bury his father. All of Pharaoh’s officials, personal advisors, and all the older leaders of Egypt went with Joseph. 8 All the people in Joseph’s family, his brothers, and all the people in his father’s family went with him. Only the children and the animals stayed in the land of Goshen. 9 So there was a large crowd of people with him. There was even a group of soldiers riding in chariots and some on horses.
10 They went to Goren Atad,[a] east of the Jordan River. There they had a long funeral service for Israel, which continued for seven days. 11 When the people who lived in Canaan saw the funeral service at Goren Atad, they said, “This is a time of great sorrow for those Egyptians.” So now that place across the Jordan River is named Abel Mizraim.[b]
12 So Jacob’s sons did what their father told them. 13 They carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah. This was the cave near Mamre in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite. Abraham bought that cave to use as a burial place. 14 After Joseph buried his father, he and everyone in the group with him went back to Egypt.
The Brothers Are Still Afraid of Joseph
15 After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers were worried. They were afraid that Joseph would still be mad at them for what they had done years before. They said, “Maybe Joseph still hates us for what we did.” 16 So the brothers sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he told us to give you a message. 17 He said, ‘Tell Joseph that I beg him to please forgive his brothers for the bad things they did to him.’ So now Joseph, we beg you, please forgive us for the bad things we did to you. We are the servants of God, the God of your father.”
That message made Joseph very sad, and he cried. 18 His brothers went to him and bowed down in front of him. They said, “We will be your servants.”
19 Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am not God! I have no right to punish you. 20 It is true that you planned to do something bad to me. But really, God was planning good things. God’s plan was to use me to save the lives of many people. And that is what happened. 21 So don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” And so Joseph said kind things to his brothers, and this made them feel better.
22 Joseph continued to live in Egypt with his father’s family. He died when he was 110 years old. 23 During Joseph’s life Ephraim had children and grandchildren. And his son Manasseh had a son named Makir. Joseph lived to see Makir’s children.
The Death of Joseph
24 When Joseph was near death, he said to his brothers, “My time to die is almost here. But I know that God will take care of you and lead you out of this country. God will lead you to the land he promised to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
25 Then Joseph asked his people to make a promise. Joseph said, “Promise me that you will carry my bones with you when God leads you out of Egypt.”
26 Joseph died in Egypt when he was 110 years old. Doctors prepared his body for burial and put the body in a coffin in Egypt.
Jacob’s Family in Egypt
1 When Jacob (Israel) went to Egypt, his sons and their families went with him. Here are the names of those sons: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, 4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5 Another son, Joseph, was already in Egypt. So Jacob’s whole family was with him in Egypt—70 descendants in all.
6 Later, Joseph, his brothers, and all the people of that generation died. 7 But the Israelites had many children, and their number grew until the country of Egypt was filled with them.
Trouble for the Israelites
8 Then a new king began to rule Egypt. He did not know Joseph. 9 This king said to his people, “Look at the Israelites. There are too many of them, and they are stronger than we are! 10 We must make plans to stop them from growing stronger. If there is a war, they might join our enemies, defeat us, and escape from the land!”
11 The Egyptians decided to make life hard for the Israelites, so they put slave masters over the people. These masters forced the Israelites to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses for the king. The king used these cities to store grain and other things.
12 The Egyptians forced the Israelites to work harder and harder. But the harder they worked, the more they grew and spread, and the more the Egyptians became afraid of them. 13 So the Egyptians made them work even harder.
14 They made life hard for the Israelites. They forced the Israelites to work hard at making bricks and mortar and to work hard in the fields. The Egyptians showed no mercy in all the hard work they made the Israelites do!
The Nurses Who Followed God
15 There were two Hebrew[c] nurses who helped the Israelite women give birth. They were named Shiphrah and Puah. The king of Egypt said to the nurses, 16 “You will continue to help the Hebrew women give birth to their children. If a girl baby is born, let the baby live. But if the baby is a boy, you must kill him!”
17 But the nurses trusted[d] God, so they did not obey the king’s command. They let all the baby boys live.
18 The king of Egypt called for the nurses and asked them, “Why did you do this? Why did you let the baby boys live?”
19 The nurses said to the king, “The Hebrew women are much stronger than the Egyptian women. They give birth to their babies before we can go to help them.” 20-21 The nurses trusted God, so he was good to them and allowed them to have their own families.
The Hebrews continued to have more children, and they became very strong. 22 So Pharaoh gave this command to his own people: “If the Hebrew women give birth to a baby girl, let it live. But if they have a baby boy, you must throw it into the Nile River.”
Baby Moses
2 There was a man from the family of Levi who decided to marry a woman from the tribe of Levi.[e] 2 She became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy. The mother saw how beautiful the baby was and hid him for three months. 3 She hid him for as long as she could. After three months she made a basket and covered it with tar so that it would float. Then she put the baby in the basket and put the basket in the river in the tall grass. 4 The baby’s sister stayed and watched to see what would happen to the baby.
5 Just then, Pharaoh’s daughter went to the river to bathe. She saw the basket in the tall grass. Her servants were walking beside the river, so she told one of them to go get the basket. 6 The king’s daughter opened the basket and saw a baby boy. The baby was crying and she felt sorry for him. Then she noticed that it was one of the Hebrew[f] babies.
7 The baby’s sister was still hiding. She stood and asked the king’s daughter, “Do you want me to go find a Hebrew woman who can nurse the baby and help you care for it?”
8 The king’s daughter said, “Yes, please.”
So the girl went and brought the baby’s own mother.
9 The king’s daughter said to the mother, “Take this baby and feed him for me. I’ll pay you to take care of him.”
So the woman took her baby and cared for him. 10 The baby grew, and after some time, the woman gave the baby to the king’s daughter. The king’s daughter accepted the baby as her own son. She named him Moses[g] because she had pulled him from the water.
Peter Says Jesus Is the Messiah(A)
13 Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi. He said to his followers, “Who do people say I am[a]?”
14 They answered, “Some people say you are John the Baptizer. Others say you are Elijah. And some say you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 Then Jesus said to his followers, “And who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah. No one taught you that. My Father in heaven showed you who I am. 18 So I tell you, you are Peter.[b] And I will build my church on this rock. The power of death[c] will not be able to defeat my church. 19 I will give you the keys to God’s kingdom. When you speak judgment here on earth, that judgment will be God’s judgment. When you promise forgiveness here on earth, that forgiveness will be God’s forgiveness.”[d]
20 Then Jesus warned his followers not to tell anyone he was the Messiah.
Jesus Says He Must Die(B)
21 From that time Jesus began telling his followers that he must go to Jerusalem. He explained that the older Jewish leaders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law would make him suffer many things. And he told his followers that he must be killed. Then, on the third day, he would be raised from death.
22 Peter took Jesus away from the other followers to talk to him alone. He began to criticize him. He said, “God save you from those sufferings, Lord! That will never happen to you!”
23 Then Jesus said to Peter, “Get away from me, Satan[e]! You are not helping me! You don’t care about the same things God does. You care only about things that people think are important.”
24 Then Jesus said to his followers, “If any of you want to be my follower, you must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me. 25 Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will find true life. 26 It is worth nothing for you to have the whole world if you yourself are lost. You could never pay enough to buy back your life. 27 The Son of Man will come again with his Father’s glory and with his angels. And he will reward everyone for what they have done. 28 Believe me when I say that there are some people standing here who will see the Son of Man coming with his kingdom before they die.”
Jesus Is Seen With Moses and Elijah(C)
17 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John the brother of James and went up on a high mountain. They were all alone there. 2 While these followers watched him, Jesus was changed. His face became bright like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 Then two men were there, talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you want, I will put three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While Peter was talking, a bright cloud came over them. A voice came from the cloud and said, “This is my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with him. Obey him!”
6 The followers with Jesus heard this voice. They were very afraid, so they fell to the ground. 7 But Jesus came to them and touched them. He said, “Stand up. Don’t be afraid.” 8 The followers looked up, and they saw that Jesus was now alone.
9 As Jesus and the followers were coming down the mountain, he gave them this command: “Don’t tell anyone about what you saw on the mountain. Wait until the Son of Man has been raised from death. Then you can tell people about what you saw.”
To the director: A song of David.
21 Lord, your strength makes the king happy.
He is so happy when you give him victory.
2 And you gave him what he wanted.
You gave him what he asked for. Selah
3 You gave the king such wonderful blessings.
You put a golden crown on his head.
4 He asked for life, and you gave it.
You gave him life that goes on forever.
5 You led him to victory that brought him great glory.
You gave him honor and fame.
6 You have given him blessings that will last forever.
You have given him the joy of being near you.
7 The king trusts in the Lord,
and the faithful love of God Most High will keep him from falling.
8 Lord, you will show all your enemies that you are strong.
Your power will defeat those who hate you.
9 When you appear,
you will burn them up like a blazing furnace.
In your anger, Lord, you will completely destroy them;
they will be swallowed by flames of fire.[a]
10 Their families will be destroyed.
They will be removed from the earth.
11 That is because they made evil plans against you.
They wanted to do things they could not do.
12 You will make them turn and run away
when you aim your arrows at their faces.
13 Lord, we lift you up with our songs of praise.
We sing and play songs about your power!
The Wisdom of Avoiding Adultery
5 Son, listen to this piece of wisdom from me. Pay attention to what I know to be true. 2 Remember to live wisely, and what you learn will keep your lips from saying the wrong thing. 3 Now, another man’s wife might be very charming, and the words from her lips so sweet and inviting. 4 But in the end, she will bring only bitterness and pain. It will be like bitter poison and a sharp sword. 5 She is on a path leading to death, and she will lead you straight to the grave. 6 Don’t follow her. She has lost her way and does not even know it. Be careful. Stay on the road that leads to life.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International