Genesis 47 - 48, Mark 7 - 8, Psalm 25

Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen

47Then ^aJoseph went in and told Pharaoh and said, “My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of ^bGoshen.” ²And he took five men from among his brothers and ^aset them before Pharaoh. ³Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “^aWhat is your occupation?” So they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are ^bshepherds, both we and our fathers.” ⁴And they said to Pharaoh, “^aWe have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for ^bthe famine is heavy in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants ¹^,^clive in the land of Goshen.” ⁵Then Pharaoh said to ¹Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. ⁶“The land of Egypt is ¹at your disposal; have your father and your brothers settle in ^athe best of the land, let them settle in the land of Goshen; and if you know any ^bexcellent men among them, then ²put them in charge of my livestock.”

⁷Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and stood him before Pharaoh; and Jacob ^ablessed Pharaoh. ⁸And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” ⁹So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days ^aof the years of my sojourning are ¹130; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not ²attained to ^bthe days of the years ³that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.” ¹⁰And Jacob ^ablessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. ¹¹So Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in ^athe best of the land, in the land of ^bRameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. ¹²And Joseph ^aprovided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with ¹food, according to their little ones.

Joseph and the Famine

¹³Now there was no ¹food in all the land because the famine was very heavy, so that ^athe land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. ¹⁴^aAnd Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. ¹⁵Then the money came to an end in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan. So all the Egyptians came to Joseph ¹and said, “Give us ²food, for ^awhy should we die in your presence? For our money ³is gone.” ¹⁶Then Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food for your livestock, since your money ¹is gone.” ¹⁷So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them ¹food in exchange for the horses and the ²flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he ³fed them with ⁴food in exchange for all their livestock ⁵that year. ¹⁸Then that year came to an end. And they came to him the ¹next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money has come to an end, and the ²livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left ³for my lord except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹“Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for ¹food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. So give us seed, that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”

²⁰So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for ¹every Egyptian sold his field because the famine was severe upon them. Thus the land became Pharaoh’s. ²¹As for the people, he moved them to the cities from one end of Egypt’s border to the other end. ²²Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they ate off the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore, they did not sell their land. ²³Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land. ²⁴“And it will be, at the harvest you shall give a ^afifth to Pharaoh, and ¹four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” ²⁵So they said, “You have kept us alive! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” ²⁶And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; ^aonly the land of the priests ¹did not become Pharaoh’s.

²⁷Now Israel ¹lived in the land of Egypt, ²in Goshen, and they ^atook possession of property in it and ^bwere fruitful and became very numerous. ²⁸And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt ^aseventeen years; so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years.

²⁹Then ^athe days for Israel to die drew near, and he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Please, if I have found favor in your sight, ^bplace now your hand under my thigh and ^cdeal with me in lovingkindness and truth. Please do not bury me in Egypt. ³⁰“But I will ^alie down with my fathers, and you will carry me out of Egypt and bury me in ^btheir burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” ³¹Then he said, “^aSwear to me.” So he swore to him. Then ^bIsrael bowed in worship at the head of the bed.

Israel Blesses Manasseh and Ephraim

48Now it happened after these things that ¹Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons ^aManasseh and Ephraim with him. ²Then ¹it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” so Israel strengthened himself and sat ²up in the bed. ³Then Jacob said to Joseph, “¹^,^aGod Almighty appeared to me at ^bLuz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply, and I will make you an assembly of peoples, and I will give this land to your seed after you for ^aan everlasting possession.’ ⁵“So now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; ^aEphraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as ^bReuben and Simeon are. ⁶“But your kin that ¹have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the ²names of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁷“Now as for me, when I came from ^aPaddan, ^bRachel died, ¹to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

⁸Then Israel ^asaw Joseph’s sons and said, “Who are these?” ⁹And Joseph said to his father, “^aThey are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, that ^bI may bless them.” ¹⁰Now ^athe eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then ¹Joseph brought them close to him, and he ^bkissed them and embraced them. ¹¹Then Israel said to Joseph, “I never ¹expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your seed as well.” ¹²Then Joseph ¹took them from his knees and ^abowed with his face to the ground. ¹³And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. ¹⁴But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, ¹crossing his hands, ²although ^aManasseh was the firstborn. ¹⁵And he blessed Joseph and said, “^aMay the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,^bThe God who has been my shepherd ¹throughout my life to this day,

¹⁶^aThe angel who has redeemed me from all evil,^bBless these boys;And may my name ¹live on in them,And the ²names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;And ^cmay they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

¹⁷But Joseph saw that his father ^aset his right hand on Ephraim’s head, and it was displeasing in his sight; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.” ¹⁹But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and ^ahis seed shall become the fullness of nations.” ²⁰^aAnd he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying,‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.²¹Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but ^aGod will be with you and ^bwill bring you back to the land of your fathers. ²²“And I give you one ¹portion more than your brothers, ^awhich I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

God’s Commandments, Man’s Traditions

7^aAnd the Pharisees and some of the scribes *gathered around Him when they had come ^bfrom Jerusalem, ²and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with ^adefiled hands, that is, unwashed. ³(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they ¹carefully wash their hands, thus observing the ^atradition of the elders; ⁴and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they ¹wash themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of ^acups and pitchers and copper pots².) ⁵And the Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the ^atradition of the elders, but eat their bread with ^bdefiled hands?” ⁶And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘^aThis people honors Me with their lips,But their heart is far away from Me.

⁷‘^aBut in vain do they worship Me,Teaching as doctrines the commands of men.’

⁸“Leaving the commandment of God, you hold to the ^atradition of men.”

⁹And He was also saying to them, “You are good at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your ^atradition. ¹⁰“For Moses said, ‘^aHonor your father and your mother’; and, ‘^bHe who speaks evil of father or mother, is to ¹be put to death’; ¹¹but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever you might benefit from me is ^aCorban (that is to say, ¹given to God),’ ¹²you no longer leave him to do anything for his father or his mother; ¹³thus invalidating the word of God by your ^atradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

The Heart of Man

¹⁴And after He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. ¹⁶¹[“And if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]

¹⁷And when He had left the crowd and entered ^athe house, ^bHis disciples were asking Him about the parable. ¹⁸And He *said to them, “Are you lacking understanding in this way as well? Do you not ¹perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and goes to the sewer?” (Thus He declared ^aall foods ^bclean.) ²⁰And He was saying, “^aThat which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. ²¹“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, ²²coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, ¹^,^aenvy, slander, ²pride, and foolishness. ²³“All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

A Gentile Woman’s Faith

²⁴^aNow Jesus stood up and went away from there to the region of ^bTyre¹. And when He had entered a house, He was wanting no one to know of it; ²yet He could not escape notice. ²⁵But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. ²⁶Now the woman was a ¹Greek, of Syrophoenician descent. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not ¹good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” ²⁹And He said to her, “Because of this ¹answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” ³⁰And going back to her home, she found the child ¹lying on the bed, the demon having left.

The Deaf Hear, the Mute Speak

³¹^aAnd again He went out from the region of ^bTyre, and came through Sidon to ^cthe Sea of Galilee, within the region of the ^dDecapolis. ³²And they *brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they *pleaded with Him to ^alay His hand on him. ³³^aAnd Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after ^bspitting, He touched his tongue; ³⁴and looking up to heaven with a ^asigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” ³⁵And his ears were opened, and the ¹impediment of his tongue ²was removed, and he began speaking plainly. ³⁶And ^aHe gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He was ordering them, the more widely they ^bcontinued to proclaim it. ³⁷And they were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand

8In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, ^aJesus called His disciples and *said to them, ²“^aI feel compassion for the crowd because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. ³“And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” ⁴And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough ¹bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” ⁵And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” ⁶And He *directed the crowd to ¹sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them. And He kept giving them to His disciples to ²serve to them, and they served them to the crowd. ⁷And they also had a few small fish; and ^aafter He blessed them, He ordered these to be ¹served as well. ⁸And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large ^abaskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. ⁹Now about four thousand were there, and He sent them away. ¹⁰And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of ^aDalmanutha.

¹¹^aAnd the Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, ^bseeking from Him ¹a sign from heaven, testing Him. ¹²^aAnd sighing deeply ¹in His spirit, He *said, “Why does this generation seek ²a sign? Truly I say to you, ³^,^bno ⁴sign will be given to this generation.” ¹³And leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.

¹⁴And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. ¹⁵And He was giving orders to them, saying, “^aWatch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of ^bHerod.” ¹⁶And they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. ¹⁷And Jesus, aware of this, *said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? ^aDo you not yet perceive or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? ¹⁸“^aHaving eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, ¹⁹when I broke ^athe five loaves for the five thousand, how many ^bbaskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They *said to Him, “Twelve.” ²⁰“When I broke ^athe seven for the four thousand, how many large ^bbaskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they *said to Him, “Seven.” ²¹And He was saying to them, “^aDo you not yet understand?”

²²And they *came to ^aBethsaida. And they *brought a blind man to Jesus and *pleaded with Him to ^btouch him. ²³And taking the blind man by the hand, He ^abrought him out of the village; and after ^bspitting on his eyes and ^claying His hands on him, He was asking him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴And he ¹looked up and was saying, “I see men, for ²I see them like trees, walking around.” ²⁵Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. ²⁶And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter ^athe village.”

Peter Confesses Jesus Is the Christ

²⁷^aAnd Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of ^bCaesarea Philippi; and on the way He was asking His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸^aAnd they told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹And He continued asking them, “But who do you say that I am?” ^aPeter *answered and *said to Him, “You are the ¹Christ.” ³⁰And ^aHe ¹warned them to tell no one about Him.

³¹^aAnd He began to teach them that ^bthe Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²And He was stating the matter ^aopenly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. ³³But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, ^aSatan! For you are not setting your mind on ¹God’s interests, but man’s.”

Take Up Your Cross

³⁴And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to ¹come after Me, he must deny himself, and ^atake up his cross and follow Me. ³⁵“For ^awhoever wishes to save his ¹life will lose it, but whoever loses his ²life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? ³⁷“For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸“For ^awhoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, ^bthe Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He ^ccomes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Lead Me in Your Truth

א Aleph

Of David.

To You, O Yahweh, I ^alift up my soul.

ב Beth

²O my God, in You ^aI trust,Do not let me ^bbe ashamed;Do not let my ^cenemies exult over me.

ג Gimel

³Indeed, let ^anone who hope in You be ashamed;Let those who ^bdeal treacherously without cause be ashamed.

ד Daleth

⁴^aMake me know Your ways, O Yahweh;Teach me Your paths.

ה He / ו Vav

⁵Lead me in ^aYour truth and teach me,For You are the ^bGod of my salvation;In You I ^chope all the day.

ז Zayin

⁶^aRemember, O Yahweh, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,For they have been ¹^,^bfrom of old.

ח Heth

⁷Do not remember the ^asins of my youth or my transgressions;^bAccording to Your lovingkindness remember me,For the sake of Your ^cgoodness, O Yahweh.

ט Teth

⁸^aGood and ^bupright is Yahweh;Therefore He ^cinstructs sinners in the way.

י Yodh

⁹May He ^alead the ¹humble in justice,And may He ^bteach the ²humble His way.

כ Kaph

¹⁰All the paths of Yahweh are ^alovingkindness and truthTo ^bthose who guard His covenant and His testimonies.

ל Lamedh

¹¹For ^aYour name’s sake, O Yahweh,^bPardon my iniquity, for it is great.

מ Mem

¹²Who is the man who ^afears Yahweh?He will ^binstruct him in the way he should choose.

נ Nun

¹³His soul will ^aabide in goodness,And his seed will ^binherit the ¹land.

ס Samekh

¹⁴The ¹^,^asecret of Yahweh is for those who fear Him,²And He will ^bmake them know His covenant.

ע Ayin

¹⁵My ^aeyes are continually toward Yahweh,For He will ^bbring my feet out of the net.

פ Pe

¹⁶^aTurn to me and be gracious to me,For I am ^balone and afflicted.

צ Tsadhe

¹⁷¹The ^atroubles of my heart are enlarged;Bring me ^bout of my distresses.

ר Resh

¹⁸^aSee my affliction and my ¹trouble,And ^bforgive all my sins.

ר Resh

¹⁹See my enemies, for they ^aare many,And they ^bhate me with violent hatred.

שׁ Shin

²⁰^aKeep my soul and deliver me;Do not let me ^bbe ashamed, for I take refuge in You.

ת Tav

²¹Let ^aintegrity and uprightness guard me,For ^bI hope in You.²²^aRedeem Israel, O God,Out of all his troubles.