Today our passages are Genesis 46:1–47:31; Matthew 15:1-28; Psalm 19:1-14; and Proverbs 4:14-19. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.
Genesis 46-47:31 (Contemporary English Version)
Genesis 46
Jacob and His Family Go to Egypt
1Jacob packed up everything he owned and left for Egypt. On the way he stopped near the town of Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God his father Isaac had worshiped. 2That night, God spoke to him and said, "Jacob! Jacob!" "Here I am," Jacob answered.3God said, "I am God, the same God your father worshiped. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation. 4I will go with you to Egypt, and later I will bring your descendants back here. Your son Joseph will be at your side when you die."
5-7Jacob and his family set out from Beersheba and headed for Egypt. His sons put him in the wagon that the kinga<="" value="[a]" >[] had sent for him, and they put their small children and their wives in the other wagons. Jacob's whole family went to Egypt, including his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters. They took along their animals and everything else they owned. 8-15When Jacob went to Egypt, his children who were born in northern Syria [b<="">] also went along with their families. Jacob and his wife Leah had a total of thirty-three children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but two of their grandchildren had died in Canaan.
Their oldest son Reuben took his sons Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
Their son Simeon took his sons Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, whose mother was a Canaanite.
Their son Levi took his sons Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Their son Judah took his sons Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. Judah's sons Er and Onan had died in Canaan. Judah's son Perez took his sons Hezron and Hamul.
Their son Issachar took his sons Tola, Puvah, Jashub, [c<="">] and Shimron. Their son Zebulun took his sons Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
Their daughter Dinah also went.
16-18Jacob and Zilpah, the servant woman Laban had given his daughter Leah, had a total of sixteen children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Their son Gad took his sons Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
Their son Asher took his sons Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, who took his sons, Heber and Malchiel.
Serah, the daughter of Asher, also went.
19-22Jacob and Rachel had fourteen children and grandchildren.
Their son Joseph was already in Egypt, where he had married Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of Heliopolis. [d<="">] Joseph and Asenath had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Jacob and Rachel's son Benjamin took his sons Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
23-25Jacob and Bilhah, the servant woman Laban had given his daughter Rachel, had seven children and grandchildren.
Their son Dan took his son Hushim.
Their son Naphtali took his sons Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
26Sixty-six members of Jacob's family went to Egypt with him, not counting his daughters-in-law. 27Jacob's two grandsons who were born there made it a total of seventy members of Jacob's family in Egypt.
28Jacob had sent his son Judah ahead of him to ask Joseph to meet them in Goshen. 29So Joseph got in his chariot and went to meet his father. When they met, Joseph hugged his father around the neck and cried for a long time. 30Jacob said to Joseph, "Now that I have seen you and know you are still alive, I am ready to die."
31Then Joseph said to his brothers and to everyone who had come with them:
I must go and tell the king [e<="">] that you have arrived from Canaan. 32I will tell him that you are shepherds and that you have brought your sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else you own. 33The king will call you in and ask what you do for a living. 34When he does, be sure to say, "We are shepherds. Our families have always raised sheep." If you tell him this, he will let you settle in the region of Goshen. Joseph wanted them to say this to the king, because the Egyptians did not like to be around anyone who raised sheep.
Genesis 47
"Sir, we are shepherds," was their answer. "Our families have always raised sheep. 4But in our country all the pastures are dried up, and our sheep have no grass to eat. So we, your servants, have come here. Please let us live in the region of Goshen."
5The king said to Joseph, "It's good that your father and brothers have arrived. 6I will let them live anywhere they choose in the land of Egypt, but I suggest that they settle in Goshen, the best part of our land. I would also like for your finest shepherds to watch after my own sheep and goats."
7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and introduced him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing, 8and the king asked him, "How old are you?"
9Jacob answered, "I have lived only a hundred thirty years, and I have had to move from place to place. My parents and my grandparents also had to move from place to place. But they lived much longer, and their life was not as hard as mine." 10Then Jacob gave the king his blessing once again and left. 11Joseph obeyed the king's orders and gave his father and brothers some of the best land in Egypt near the city of Rameses. 12Joseph also provided food for their families.
A Famine in Egypt
13The famine was bad everywhere in Egypt and Canaan, and the people were suffering terribly. 14So Joseph sold them the grain that had been stored up, and he put the money [f<="">] in the king's treasury. 15But when everyone had run out of money, the Egyptians came to Joseph and demanded, "Give us more grain! If you don't, we'll soon be dead, because our money's all gone." 16"If you don't have any money," Joseph answered, "give me your animals, and I'll let you have some grain." 17From then on, they brought him their horses and donkeys and their sheep and goats in exchange for grain. Within a year Joseph had collected every animal in Egypt. 18Then the people came to him and said:Sir, there's no way we can hide the truth from you. We are broke, and we don't have any more animals. We have nothing left except ourselves and our land. 19Don't let us starve and our land be ruined. If you'll give us grain to eat and seed to plant, we'll sell ourselves and our land to the king. [g<="">] We'll become his slaves. 20The famine became so severe that Joseph finally bought every piece of land in Egypt for the king 21and made everyone the king's slaves, [h<="">] 22except the priests. The king gave the priests a regular food allowance, so they did not have to sell their land. 23Then Joseph said to the people, "You and your land now belong to the king. I'm giving you seed to plant, 24but one-fifth of your crops must go to the king. You can keep the rest as seed or as food for your families." 25"Sir, you have saved our lives!" they answered. "We are glad to be slaves of the king." 26Then Joseph made a law that one-fifth of the harvest would always belong to the king. Only the priests did not lose their land.
Jacob Becomes an Old Man
27The people of Israel made their home in the land of Goshen, where they became prosperous and had large families. 28Jacob himself lived there for seventeen years, before dying at the age of one hundred forty-seven. 29When Jacob knew he did not have long to live, he called in Joseph and said, "If you really love me, you must make a solemn promise not to bury me in Egypt. 30Instead, bury me in the place where my ancestors are buried." "I will do what you have asked," Joseph answered.31"Will you give me your word?" Jacob asked.
"Yes, I will," Joseph promised. After this, Jacob bowed down and prayed at the head of his bed.
Footnotes:
- Genesis 46:5 the king: See the note at 12.15.
- Genesis 46:8 northern Syria: See the note at 24.10.
- Genesis 46:8 Jashub: The Samaritan Hebrew Text and one ancient translation; the Standard Hebrew Text "Iob."
- Genesis 46:19 Heliopolis: See the note at 41.45.
- Genesis 46:31 the king: See the note at 12.15.
- Genesis 47:14 money: See the note at 42.25.
- Genesis 47:19 the king: See the note at 12.15.
- Genesis 47:21 made. . . slaves: One ancient translation and the Samaritan Hebrew Text; the Standard Hebrew Text "made everyone move to the cities."
Matthew 15:1-28 (Contemporary English Version)
Matthew 15
The Teaching of the Ancestors
(Mark 7.1-13)
1About this time some Pharisees and teachers of the Law of Moses came from Jerusalem. They asked Jesus, 2"Why don't your disciples obey what our ancestors taught us to do? They don't even wash their hands a<="" value="[a]" >[]before they eat." 3Jesus answered: Why do you disobey God and follow your own teaching? 4Didn't God command you to respect your father and mother? Didn't he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents? 5But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they have has been offered to God. [b<="">] 6Is this any way to show respect to your parents? You ignore God's commands in order to follow your own teaching. 7And you are nothing but show-offs! Isaiah the prophet was right when he wrote that God had said, 8"All of you praise mewith your words,
but you never really
think about me.
9It is useless for you
to worship me,
when you teach rules
made up by humans."
What Really Makes People Unclean
(Mark 7.14-23)
10Jesus called the crowd together and said, "Pay attention and try to understand what I mean. 11The food that you put into your mouth doesn't make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean." 12Then his disciples came over to him and asked, "Do you know that you insulted the Pharisees by what you said?"13Jesus answered, "Every plant that my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up by the roots. 14Stay away from those Pharisees! They are like blind people leading other blind people, and all of them will fall into a ditch."
15Peter replied, "What did you mean when you talked about the things that make people unclean?"
16Jesus then said:
Don't any of you know what I am talking about by now? 17Don't you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach and then out of your body? 18But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God. 19Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. 20These are what make you unclean. Eating without washing your hands will not make you unfit to worship God.
A Woman's Faith
(Mark 7.24-30)
21Jesus left and went to the territory near the cities of Tyre and Sidon. 22Suddenly a Canaanite woman [c<="">] from there came out shouting, "Lord and Son of David, [d<="">] have pity on me! My daughter is full of demons." 23Jesus did not say a word. But the woman kept following along and shouting, so his disciples came up and asked him to send her away. 24Jesus said, "I was sent only to the people of Israel! They are like a flock of lost sheep." 25The woman came closer. Then she knelt down and begged, "Please help me, Lord!"26Jesus replied, "It isn't right to take food away from children and feed it to dogs." [e<="">] 27"Lord, that's true," the woman said, "but even dogs get the crumbs that fall from their owner's table."
28Jesus answered, "Dear woman, you really do have a lot of faith, and you will be given what you want." At that moment her daughter was healed.
Footnotes:
- Matthew 15:2 wash their hands: The Jewish people had strict laws about washing their hands before eating, especially if they had been out in public.
- Matthew 15:5 has been offered to God: According to Jewish custom, when people said something was offered to God, it belonged to him and could not be used for anyone else, not even for their own parents.
- Matthew 15:22 Canaanite woman: This woman was not Jewish.
- Matthew 15:22 Son of David: See the note at 9.27.
- Matthew 15:26 feed it to dogs: The Jewish people sometimes referred to Gentiles as dogs.
Psalm 19:1-14 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 19
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
The Wonders of God and the Goodness of His Law
1The heavens keep telling the wonders of God,and the skies declare
what he has done.
2Each day informs
the following day;
each night announces
to the next.
3They don't speak a word,
and there is never
the sound of a voice.
4Yet their message reaches
all the earth,
and it travels
around the world.
In the heavens a tent
is set up for the sun.
5It rises like a bridegroom
and gets ready like a hero
eager to run a race.
6It travels all the way
across the sky.
Nothing hides from its heat.
7The Law of the LORD is perfect;
it gives us new life.
His teachings last forever,
and they give wisdom
to ordinary people.
8The LORD's instruction is right;
it makes our hearts glad.
His commands shine brightly,
and they give us light.
9Worshiping the LORD is sacred;
he will always be worshiped.
All of his decisions
are correct and fair.
10They are worth more
than the finest gold
and are sweeter than honey
from a honeycomb.
11By your teachings, Lord,
I am warned;
by obeying them,
I am greatly rewarded.
12None of us know our faults.
Forgive me when I sin
without knowing it.
13Don't let me do wrong
on purpose, Lord,
or let sin have control
over my life.
Then I will be innocent,
and not guilty
of some terrible fault.
14Let my words and my thoughts
be pleasing to you, LORD,
because you are my mighty rock a<="" value="[a]" >[] and my protector.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 19:14 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.
Proverbs 4:14-19 (Contemporary English Version)
14Don't follow the bad example
of cruel and evil people.
15Turn aside and keep going.
Stay away from them.
16They can't sleep or rest
until they do wrong
or harm
some innocent victim.
17Their food and drink
are violence and cruelty.
18The lifestyle of good people
is like sunlight at dawn
that keeps getting brighter
until broad daylight.
19The lifestyle of the wicked
is like total darkness,
and they will never know
what makes them stumble.
of cruel and evil people.
15Turn aside and keep going.
Stay away from them.
16They can't sleep or rest
until they do wrong
or harm
some innocent victim.
17Their food and drink
are violence and cruelty.
18The lifestyle of good people
is like sunlight at dawn
that keeps getting brighter
until broad daylight.
19The lifestyle of the wicked
is like total darkness,
and they will never know
what makes them stumble.
Verse of the Day
“If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won't correct you for asking.” - James 1:5
Thought for the Day
Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.
Thought for the Day
French modernist painter, Édouard Manet wrote, “There are no lines in nature, only areas of colour, one against another.”
A Joke for Today
A man drives to a gas station and has his tank filled up. The gas pumper spots two penguins sitting in the back seat of the car. He asks the driver, "What's up with the penguins in the back seat?"The man in the car says "I found them. I asked myself what to do with them but, I haven't had a clue."
The clerk ponders a bit then says, "You should take them to the zoo."
"Hey, that's a good idea," says the man in the car and drives away.
The next day the man with the car is back at the same gas station. The clerk sees the penguins are still in the back seat of the car.
"Hey, they're still here! I thought you were going to take them to the zoo."
"Oh, I did," says the driver, "And we had a great time! Today I am taking them to the beach."
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