Genesis 39 - 40
Joseph in Potiphar’s House
Now Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian official of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there. 2 And Yahweh was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. 3 Now his master saw that Yahweh was with him and how Yahweh caused all that he did to succeed in his hand. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended on him; and he appointed him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he gave in his hand. 5 Now it happened that from the time he appointed him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, Yahweh blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus the blessing of Yahweh was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field. 6 So he left everything he owned in Joseph’s hand; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate. Now Joseph was beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance. 7 And it happened after these events that his master’s wife set her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has given all that he owns into my hand. 9 There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?” 10 So it happened that as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. 11 Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. 12 Then she seized him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled and went outside. 13 Now it happened, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14 that she called to the men of her household and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to laugh at us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed. 15 Now it happened that when he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.” 16 And she placed his garment beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she spoke to him with these words, saying, “The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to laugh at me; 18 and as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” Joseph Is Put into Jail
19 Now it happened that when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” his anger burned. 20 So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. 21 But Yahweh was with Joseph and extended lovingkindness to him and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. 22 So the chief jailer gave into the hand of Joseph all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s hand because Yahweh was with him; and whatever he did, Yahweh made to succeed. Joseph Interprets the Officials’ Dreams
Now it happened that after these things, the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. 3 So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the jail, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned. 4 And the captain of the bodyguard appointed Joseph as overseer over them, and he attended to them; and they were in confinement for some time. 5 Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in jail, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation. 6 Now Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them, and behold, they were dejected. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, saying, “Why are your faces so sad today?” 8 Then they said to him, “We have had a dream, and there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Recount it to me, please.” 9 So the chief cupbearer recounted his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me; 10 and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes. 11 Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.” 12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; 13 within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer. 14 Only remember me when it goes well with you, and please show me lovingkindness by remembering me to Pharaoh and getting me out of this house. 15 For I was in fact stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the pit.” 16 And the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, so he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head; 17 and in the top basket there were some of all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” 18 Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; 19 within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head off of you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off of you.” 20 Thus it happened on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21 And he restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand; 22 but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Matthew 28
Jesus Is Risen!
Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. 3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards quaked from fear of him and became like dead men. 5 And the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” 8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus *said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and report to My brothers to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.” 11 Now while they were on their way, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and took counsel together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this is heard before the governor, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” 15 And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day. The Great Commission
16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Mark 1
The Preaching of John the Baptist
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:“Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way;
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight.’”
4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the region of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and was eating locusts and wild honey. 7 And he was preaching, saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals. 8 I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” The Baptism of Jesus
9 Now it happened that in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11 and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” 12 And immediately the Spirit *drove Him to go out into the wilderness. 13 And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him. Jesus Preaches in Galilee
14 Now after John had been delivered up into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” 16 As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 19 And going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him. 21 And they *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. 22 And they were astonished at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 saying, “What do we have to do with You, Jesus the Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 And throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they were arguing among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” 28 And immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee. Simon’s Mother‑in‑Law and Many Others Healed
29 And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they *spoke to Jesus about her. 31 And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she began waiting on them. 32 Now when evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. 33 And the whole city had gathered at the door. 34 And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. 35 And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus rose up, went out of the house, and went away to a desolate place, and was praying there. 36 And Simon and his companions searched for Him; 37 and they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 38 And He *said to them, “Let us go elsewhere, to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came out for.” 39 And He went, preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and casting out the demons. 40 And a leper *came to Jesus, pleading with Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 And moved with compassion, He stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. 43 And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, 44 and He *said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in desolate areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere. Psalm 21
The King Trusts in Yahweh
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
O Yahweh, in Your strength the king will be glad,
And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire,
And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.
3 For You meet him with the blessings of good things;
You set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked life of You,
You gave it to him,
Length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through Your salvation,
Splendor and majesty You bestow upon him.
6 For You make him most blessed forever;
You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence.
7 For the king trusts in Yahweh,
And through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken.
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies;
Your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger;
Yahweh will swallow them up in His wrath,
And fire will devour them.
10 Their offspring You will destroy from the earth,
And their seed from among the sons of men.
11 Though they intended evil against You
And devised a scheme,
They will not succeed.
12 For You will make them turn their back;
You will aim with Your bowstrings at their faces.
13 Be exalted, O Yahweh, in Your strength;
We will sing and praise Your might.