Daily Readings

¹ And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.² And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.³ As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.⁴ And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?⁵ Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.⁶ And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.⁷ And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:⁸ Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold?⁹ With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.¹⁰ And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.¹¹ Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.¹² And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.¹³ Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.¹⁴ And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.¹⁵ And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?¹⁶ And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.¹⁷ And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.¹⁸ Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?²⁰ And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.²¹ And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.²² And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.²³ And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.²⁴ And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.²⁵ And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.²⁶ And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.²⁷ And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:²⁸ And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:²⁹ And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.³⁰ Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;³¹ It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.³² For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.³³ Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.³⁴ For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.

¹ Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.² And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.³ And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.⁴ And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.⁵ Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.⁶ For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.⁷ And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.⁸ So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.⁹ Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:¹⁰ And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:¹¹ And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.¹² And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.¹³ And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.¹⁴ And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.¹⁵ Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.¹⁶ And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.¹⁷ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;¹⁸ And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.¹⁹ Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.²⁰ Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is your's.²¹ And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.²² To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.²³ And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.²⁴ So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.²⁵ And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,²⁶ And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.²⁷ And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:²⁸ And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

¹ Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:² Both low and high, rich and poor, together.³ My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.⁴ I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.⁵ Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?⁶ They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;⁷ None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:⁸ (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)⁹ That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.¹⁰ For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.¹¹ Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.¹² Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.¹³ This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.¹⁴ Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.¹⁵ But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.¹⁶ Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;¹⁷ For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.¹⁸ Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.¹⁹ He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.²⁰ Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

¹ Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,² (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)³ Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;⁴ And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:⁵ By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:⁶ Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:⁷ To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.⁹ For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;¹⁰ Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.¹¹ For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;¹² That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.¹³ Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.¹⁴ I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.¹⁵ So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.¹⁷ For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;¹⁹ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.²⁰ For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:²¹ Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.²² Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,²³ And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.²⁴ Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:²⁵ Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.²⁶ For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:²⁷ And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.²⁸ And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;²⁹ Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,³⁰ Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,³¹ Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:³² Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

¹ Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.² But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.³ And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?⁴ Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?⁵ But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;⁶ Who will render to every man according to his deeds:⁷ To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:⁸ But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,⁹ Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;¹⁰ But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:¹¹ For there is no respect of persons with God.¹² For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;¹³ (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.¹⁴ For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:¹⁵ Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)¹⁶ In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.¹⁷ Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,¹⁸ And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;¹⁹ And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,²⁰ An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.²¹ Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?²² Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?²³ Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?²⁴ For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.²⁵ For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.²⁶ Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?²⁷ And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?²⁸ For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:²⁹ But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.