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 for 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 favour 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 for 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 for 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.

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

³¹ He put another parable before them, saying, ^(A)“The kingdom of heaven is like ^(B)a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³² It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

³³ He told them another parable. ^(C)“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^(D)three measures of flour, till it was ^(E)all leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

^34 (F)All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. ³⁵ This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet:^[a]

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into ^(J)the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ^(K)“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷ He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed is ^(L)the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are ^(M)the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. ^(N)The harvest is ^(O)the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Just as the weeds ^(P)are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at ^(Q)the close of the age. ^41 (R)The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all ^(S)causes of sin and ^(T)all law-breakers, ^42 (U)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^(V)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then ^(W)the righteous will shine like the sun ^(X)in the kingdom of their Father. ^(Y)He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven ^(Z)is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy ^(AA)he goes and sells all that he has and ^(AB)buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶ who, on finding ^(AC)one pearl of great value, ^(AD)went and sold all that he had and ^(AE)bought it.

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is ^(AF)like a net that was thrown into the sea and ^(AG)gathered fish of every kind. ⁴⁸ When it was full, ^(AH)men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. ⁴⁹ So it will be at ^(AI)the close of the age. The angels will come out and ^(AJ)separate the evil from the righteous ^50 (AK)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^(AL)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

^51 (AM)“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” ⁵² And he said to them, “Therefore every ^(AN)scribe ^(AO)who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who ^(AP)brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

⁵³ And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, ^54 (AQ)and coming to ^(AR)his home town ^(AS)he taught them in their synagogue, so that ^(AT)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ^55 (AU)Is not this ^(AV)the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not ^(AW)his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And ^(AX)they took offence at him. But Jesus said to them, ^(AY)“A prophet is not without honour except in his home town and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And he did not do many mighty works there, ^(AZ)because of their unbelief.