Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, (A)“I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. 4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, (B)whom you sold into Egypt. 5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; (C)for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For these two years the (D)famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 And God (E)sent me before you to preserve a [a]posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you who sent me here, but (F)God; and He has made me (G)a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a (H)ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9 “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not [b]tarry. 10 (I)You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will (J)provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.” ’
15 Moreover he (A)kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.
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.
A Glorious Body
35 But someone will say, (A)“How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” 36 Foolish one, (B)what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. 37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
42 (A)So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 (B)It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, (C)“The first man Adam became a living being.” (D)The last Adam became (E)a life-giving spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 (F)The first man was of the earth, (G)made[a] of dust; the second Man is [b]the Lord (H)from heaven. 48 As was the [c]man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; (I)and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And (J)as we have borne the image of the man of dust, (K)we[d] shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
Our Final Victory
50 Now this I say, brethren, that (L)flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
Love Your Enemies(A)
27 (B)“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 (C)bless those who curse you, and (D)pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 (E)To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. (F)And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 (G)Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 (H)And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
32 (I)“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 (J)And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But (K)love your enemies, (L)do good, and (M)lend, [a]hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and (N)you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 (O)Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Do Not Judge(P)
37 (Q)“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. (R)Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 (S)Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your (T)bosom. For (U)with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.