the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
February 2 - Old & New Testament
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Genesis 39,40
Joseph in Potiphar's House
1 Now Joseph had been taken to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites(a) who had brought him there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph,(b) and he became a successful man, serving[a] in the household of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful,(c) 4 Joseph found favor in his master's sight(d) and became his personal attendant. Potiphar also put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority.[b] 5 From the time that he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house because of Joseph.(e) The Lord 's blessing was on all that he owned, in his house and in his fields. 6 He left all that he owned under Joseph's authority;[c] he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.(f) 7 After some time[d] his master's wife looked longingly at Joseph and said, "Sleep with me."
8 But he refused. "Look," he said to his master's wife, "with me here my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority.[e] 9 No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?"(g)
10 Although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused[f] to go to bed with her.[g] 11 Now one day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there.[h] 12 She grabbed him by his garment and said, "Sleep with me!" But leaving his garment in her hand, he escaped and ran outside. 13 When she saw that he had left his garment with her and had run outside, 14 she called the household servants. "Look," she said to them, "my husband brought a Hebrew man to make fools of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, and I screamed as loud as I could. 15 When he heard me screaming for help,[i] he left his garment with me and ran outside."
16 She put Joseph's garment beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him the same story: "The Hebrew slave you brought to us came to make a fool of me, 18 but when I screamed for help,[j] he left his garment with me and ran outside."
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him—"These are the things your slave did to me"—he was furious 20 and had him thrown into prison,(h) where the king's prisoners were confined. So Joseph was there in prison.
Joseph in Prison
21 But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him.(i) He granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.(j) 22 The warden put all the prisoners who were in the prison under Joseph's authority,[k] and he was responsible for everything that was done there. 23 The warden did not bother with anything under Joseph's authority,[l] because the Lord was with him, and the Lord made everything that he did successful.(k)
Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners' Dreams
1 After this, the Egyptian king's cupbearer(a) and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard(b) in the prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to them, and he became their personal attendant. And they were in custody for some time.[a]
5 The Egyptian king's cupbearer and baker, who were confined in the prison, each had a dream. Both had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they looked distraught. 7 So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were in custody with him in his master's house, "Why do you look so sad today?"(c)
8 "We had dreams," they said to him, "but there is no one to interpret them."
Then Joseph said to them, "Don't interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams."(d)
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: "In my dream there was a vine in front of me. 10 On the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand."
12 "This is its interpretation,"(e) Joseph said to him. "The three branches are three days. 13 In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head(f) and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand the way you used to when you were his cupbearer. 14 But when all goes well for you, remember that I was with you. Please show kindness to me by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. 15 For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews,(g) and even here I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon."(h)
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was positive, he said to Joseph, "I also had a dream. Three baskets of white bread were on my head. 17 In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head."
18 "This is its interpretation," Joseph replied. "The three baskets are three days. 19 In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from off you—and hang you on a tree.[b] Then the birds will eat the flesh from your body."[c]
20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he gave a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.(i) 21 Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position as cupbearer, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. 22 But Pharaoh hanged[d] the chief baker, just as Joseph had explained to them. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.(j)
Matthew 21:23-46
Chapter 21
23 When He entered the temple complex,(n) the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching and said, "By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority?"(o)
24 Jesus answered them, "I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for Me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Where did John's baptism come from? From heaven or from men?"
They began to argue among themselves, "If we say, ‘From heaven,' He will say to us, ‘Then why didn't you believe him?'(p) 26 But if we say, ‘From men,' we're afraid of the crowd,(q) because everyone thought John was a prophet."(r) 27 So they answered Jesus, "We don't know."
And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 "But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go, work in the vineyard today.'(s)
29 "He answered, ‘I don't want to!' Yet later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the man went to the other and said the same thing.
"‘I will, sir,' he answered. But he didn't go.
31 "Which of the two did his father's will?"
"The first," they said.
Jesus said to them, "I assure you: Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you! 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, (t) and you didn't believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him, but you, when you saw it, didn't even change your minds then and believe him.
The Parable of the Vineyard Owner
33 "Listen(u) to another parable:(v) There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower.(w) He leased it to tenant farmers and went away.(x) 34 When the grape harvest[h] drew near, he sent his slaves to the farmers to collect his fruit. 35 But the farmers took his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.(y) 36 Again, he sent other slaves, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,' he said.
38 "But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance!'(z) 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?"
41 "He will completely destroy those terrible men," they told Him, "and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at the harvest."[i](aa)
42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
[j]
This came from the Lord
and is wonderful in our eyes
?
(ab)[k]
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its[l] fruit. [44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces;(ac) but on whoever it falls, it will grind him to powder!]" [m]
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables,(ad) they knew He was speaking about them. 46 Although they were looking for a way to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they[n] regarded Him as a prophet.(ae)
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