Jacob Blesses His Sons

49 ^(A)Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you ^(B)in days to come.

Jacob's Death and Burial

²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. ²⁹ Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be ^(AS)gathered to my people; ^(AT)bury me with my fathers ^(AU)in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, ^(AV)which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. ^31 (AW)There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There ^(AX)they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— ³² the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” ³³ When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and ^(AY)was gathered to his people.

50 Then Joseph ^(AZ)fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. ² And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to ^(BA)embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. ³ Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians ^(BB)wept for him seventy days.

⁴ And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, ^(BC)“If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, ⁵ ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb ^(BD)that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.’” ⁶ And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” ⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, ⁸ as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father's household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left ^(BE)in the land of Goshen. ⁹ And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. ¹⁰ When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, ^(BF)they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he ^(BG)made a mourning for his father seven days. ¹¹ When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim;^[j] it is beyond the Jordan. ¹² Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, ¹³ for ^(BH)his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham ^(BI)bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. ¹⁴ After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

God's Good Purposes

¹⁵ When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” ¹⁶ So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ¹⁷ ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of ^(BJ)the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ His brothers also came and ^(BK)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for ^(BL)am I in the place of God? ²⁰ As for you, you meant evil against me, but ^(BM)God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people^[k] should be kept alive, as they are today. ²¹ So do not fear; ^(BN)I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

The Death of Joseph

²² So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. ²³ And Joseph saw Ephraim's children ^(BO)of the third generation. The ^(BP)children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were ^(BQ)counted as Joseph's own.^{[l] 24} And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but ^(BR)God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land ^(BS)that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” ²⁵ Then ^(BT)Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” ²⁶ So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They ^(BU)embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

9 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to ^(A)his own city. ^2 (B)And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus ^(C)saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ^(D)“Take heart, my son; ^(E)your sins are forgiven.” ³ And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, ^(F)“This man is blaspheming.” ⁴ But Jesus, ^(G)knowing^[a] 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, ^(H)they were afraid, and ^(I)they glorified God, who had ^(J)given such authority to men.

Jesus Calls Matthew

^9 (K)As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called ^(L)Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁰ And as Jesus^[b] reclined at table in the house, behold, many ^(M)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, ^(N)“Why does your teacher eat with ^(O)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 ^(P)what this means: ^(Q)‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For ^(R)I came not to call the righteous, ^(S)but sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

¹⁴ Then ^(T)the disciples of John came to him, saying, ^(U)“Why do we and ^(V)the Pharisees fast,^[c] but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁵ And Jesus said to them, ^(W)“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? ^(X)The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^(Y)then they will fast. ¹⁶ No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. ¹⁷ Neither is new wine put into old ^(Z)wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

^18 (AA)While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and ^(AB)knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” ¹⁹ And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. ²⁰ And behold, a woman ^(AC)who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched ^(AD)the fringe of his garment, ²¹ for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” ²² Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ^(AE)“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” ^(AF)And instantly^[d] the woman was made well. ²³ And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw ^(AG)the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, ²⁴ he said, “Go away, for ^(AH)the girl is not dead but ^(AI)sleeping.” And they laughed at him. ²⁵ But ^(AJ)when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and ^(AK)took her by the hand, and the girl arose. ²⁶ And the report of this went through all that district.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

^27 (AL)And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, ^(AM)Son of David.” ²⁸ When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” ^29 (AN)Then he touched their eyes, saying, ^(AO)“According to your faith be it done to you.” ³⁰ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, ^(AP)“See that no one knows about it.” ^31 (AQ)But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak

³² As they were going away, behold, a ^(AR)demon-oppressed man who was mute ^(AS)was brought to him. ³³ And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds ^(AT)marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” ³⁴ But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

^35 (AU)And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ^36 (AV)When he saw the crowds, ^(AW)he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, ^(AX)like sheep without a shepherd. ^37 (AY)Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸ therefore ^(AZ)pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to ^(BA)send out laborers into his harvest.”