Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked
A Psalm of David.
37 Do(A) not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down (B)like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 (C)Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your (D)heart.
5 (E)Commit[a] your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 (F)He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, (G)and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who (H)prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 (I)Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
(J)Do not fret—it only causes harm.
9 For evildoers shall be [b]cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall (K)inherit the earth.
10 For (L)yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, (M)you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
11 (N)But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the (A)steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter [a]an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” 17 Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.
18 Now the men were (B)afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may [b]make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.”
19 When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, “O sir, (C)we indeed came down the first time to buy food; 21 but (D)it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. 22 And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”
23 But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought (E)Simeon out to them.
24 So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and (F)gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. 25 Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there.
26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and (G)bowed down before him to the earth. 27 Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man (H)of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”
28 And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” (I)And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.
29 Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, (J)his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother (K)of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Now (L)his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and (M)wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the (N)bread.”
32 So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the (O)Hebrews, for that is (P)an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his (Q)birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another. 34 Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was (R)five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.
Free from Indwelling Sin
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, (A)who[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For (B)the law of (C)the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from (D)the law of sin and death. 3 For (E)what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, (F)God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who (G)do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For (H)those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, (I)the things of the Spirit. 6 For (J)to be [b]carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because (K)the [c]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, (L)nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of (M)Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, (N)He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [d]through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.