ARKCODEX
Genesis
Ch. 47–48
1So Joseph took five of his brothers and went to the king. He told him, “My father and my brothers have come from Canaan with their flocks, their herds, and all that they own. They are now in the region of Goshen.”
2He then presented his brothers to the king.
3The king asked them, “What is your occupation?” “We are shepherds, sir, just as our ancestors were,” they answered.
4“We have come to live in this country, because in the land of Canaan the famine is so severe that there is no pasture for our flocks. Please give us permission to live in the region of Goshen.”
5The king said to Joseph, “Now that your father and your brothers have arrived,
6the land of Egypt is theirs. Let them settle in the region of Goshen, the best part of the land. And if there are any capable men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”
7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing,
8and the king asked him, “How old are you?”
9Jacob answered, “My life of wandering has lasted a hundred and thirty years. Those years have been few and difficult, unlike the long years of my ancestors in their wanderings.”
10Jacob gave the king a farewell blessing and left.
11Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt, giving them property in the best of the land near the city of Rameses, as the king had commanded.
12Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all the rest of his father's family, including the very youngest.
The Famine
13The famine was so severe that there was no food anywhere, and the people of Egypt and Canaan became weak with hunger.
14As they bought grain, Joseph collected all the money and took it to the palace.
15When all the money in Egypt and Canaan was spent, the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Don't let us die. Do something! Our money is all gone.”
16Joseph answered, “Bring your livestock; I will give you food in exchange for it if your money is all gone.”
17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. That year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18The following year they came to him and said, “We will not hide the fact from you, sir, that our money is all gone and our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left to give you except our bodies and our lands.
19Don't let us die. Do something! Don't let our fields be deserted. Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We will be the king's slaves, and he will own our land. Give us grain to keep us alive and seed so that we can plant our fields.”
20Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian was forced to sell his land, because the famine was so severe; and all the land became the king's property.
21Joseph made slaves of the people from one end of Egypt to the other.
22The only land he did not buy was the land that belonged to the priests. They did not have to sell their lands, because the king gave them an allowance to live on.
23Joseph said to the people, “You see, I have now bought you and your lands for the king. Here is seed for you to sow in your fields.
24At the time of harvest you must give one-fifth to the king. You can use the rest for seed and for food for yourselves and your families.”
25They answered, “You have saved our lives; you have been good to us, sir, and we will be the king's slaves.”
26So Joseph made it a law for the land of Egypt that one-fifth of the harvest should belong to the king. This law still remains in force today. Only the lands of the priests did not become the king's property.
Jacob's Last Request
27The Israelites lived in Egypt in the region of Goshen, where they became rich and had many children.
28Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, until he was a hundred and forty-seven years old.
29When the time drew near for him to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “Place your hand between my thighs and make a solemn vow that you will not bury me in Egypt.
30I want to be buried where my fathers are; carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” Joseph answered, “I will do as you say.”
31Jacob said, “Make a vow that you will.” Joseph made the vow, and Jacob gave thanks there on his bed.
Genesis 48
Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh
1Some time later Joseph was told that his father was ill. So he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and went to see Jacob.
2When Jacob was told that his son Joseph had come to see him, he gathered his strength and sat up in bed.
3Jacob said to Joseph, “Almighty God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.
4He said to me, ‘I will give you many children, so that your descendants will become many nations; I will give this land to your descendants as their possession forever.’”
5Jacob continued, “Joseph, your two sons, who were born to you in Egypt before I came here, belong to me; Ephraim and Manasseh are just as much my sons as Reuben and Simeon.
6If you have any more sons, they will not be considered mine; the inheritance they get will come through Ephraim and Manasseh.
7I am doing this because of your mother Rachel. To my great sorrow she died in the land of Canaan, not far from Ephrath, as I was returning from Mesopotamia. I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath.” (Ephrath is now known as Bethlehem.)
8When Jacob saw Joseph's sons, he asked, “Who are these boys?”
9Joseph answered, “These are my sons, whom God has given me here in Egypt.” Jacob said, “Bring them to me so that I may bless them.”
10Jacob's eyesight was failing because of his age, and he could not see very well. Joseph brought the boys to him, and he hugged them and kissed them.
11Jacob said to Joseph, “I never expected to see you again, and now God has even let me see your children.”
12Then Joseph took them from Jacob's lap and bowed down before him with his face to the ground.
13Joseph put Ephraim at Jacob's left and Manasseh at his right.
14But Jacob crossed his hands, and put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, even though he was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, who was the older.
15Then he blessed Joseph: “May God, whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac served, bless these boys! May God, who has led me to this very day, bless them!
16May the angel, who has rescued me from all harm, bless them! May my name and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac live on through these boys! May they have many children, many descendants!”
17Joseph was upset when he saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim's head; so he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to the head of Manasseh.
18He said to his father, “Not that way, father. This is the older boy; put your right hand on his head.”
19His father refused, saying, “I know, son, I know. Manasseh's descendants will also become a great people. But his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become great nations.”
20So he blessed them that day, saying, “The Israelites will use your names when they pronounce blessings. They will say, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” In this way Jacob put Ephraim before Manasseh.
21Then Jacob said to Joseph, “As you see, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to the land of your ancestors.
22It is to you and not to your brothers that I am giving Shechem, that fertile region which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”
Job
Ch. 39–40
1Do you know when mountain goats are born? Have you watched wild deer give birth?
2Do you know how long they carry their young? Do you know the time for their birth?
3Do you know when they will crouch down and bring their young into the world?
4In the wilds their young grow strong; they go away and don't come back.
5Who gave the wild donkeys their freedom? Who turned them loose and let them roam?
6I gave them the desert to be their home, and let them live on the salt plains.
7They keep far away from the noisy cities, and no one can tame them and make them work.
8The mountains are the pastures where they feed, where they search for anything green to eat.
9Will a wild ox work for you? Is he willing to spend the night in your stable?
10Can you hold one with a rope and make him plow? Or make him pull a harrow in your fields?
11Can you rely on his great strength and expect him to do your heavy work?
12Do you expect him to bring in your harvest and gather the grain from your threshing place?
13How fast the wings of an ostrich beat! But no ostrich can fly like a stork.
14The ostrich leaves her eggs on the ground for the heat in the soil to warm them.
15She is unaware that a foot may crush them or a wild animal break them.
16She acts as if the eggs were not hers, and is unconcerned that her efforts were wasted.
17It was I who made her foolish and did not give her wisdom.
18But when she begins to run, she can laugh at any horse and rider.
19Was it you, Job, who made horses so strong and gave them their flowing manes?
20Did you make them leap like locusts and frighten people with their snorting?
21They eagerly paw the ground in the valley; they rush into battle with all their strength.
22They do not know the meaning of fear, and no sword can turn them back.
23The weapons which their riders carry rattle and flash in the sun.
24Trembling with excitement, the horses race ahead; when the trumpet blows, they can't stand still.
25At each blast of the trumpet they snort; they can smell a battle before they get near, and they hear the officers shouting commands.
26Does a hawk learn from you how to fly when it spreads its wings toward the south?
27Does an eagle wait for your command to build its nest high in the mountains?
28It makes its home on the highest rocks and makes the sharp peaks its fortress.
29From there it watches near and far for something to kill and eat.
30Around dead bodies the eagles gather, and the young eagles drink the blood.
Job 40
1-2Job, you challenged Almighty God; will you give up now, or will you answer?
Job
3-4I spoke foolishly, Lord. What can I answer? I will not try to say anything else.
5I have already said more than I should.
6Then out of the storm the Lord spoke to Job once again.
The Lord
7Now stand up straight and answer my questions.
8Are you trying to prove that I am unjust— to put me in the wrong and yourself in the right?
9Are you as strong as I am? Can your voice thunder as loud as mine?
10If so, stand up in your honor and pride; clothe yourself with majesty and glory.
11Look at those who are proud; pour out your anger and humble them.
12Yes, look at them and bring them down; crush the wicked where they stand.
13Bury them all in the ground; bind them in the world of the dead.
14Then I will be the first to praise you and admit that you won the victory yourself.
15Look at the monster Behemoth; I created him and I created you. He eats grass like a cow,
16but what strength there is in his body, and what power there is in his muscles!
17His tail stands up like a cedar, and the muscles in his legs are strong.
18His bones are as strong as bronze, and his legs are like iron bars.
19The most amazing of all my creatures! Only his Creator can defeat him.
20Grass to feed him grows on the hills where wild beasts play.
21He lies down under the thorn bushes, and hides among the reeds in the swamp.
22The thorn bushes and the willows by the stream give him shelter in their shade.
23He is not afraid of a rushing river; he is calm when the Jordan dashes in his face.
24Who can blind his eyes and capture him? Or who can catch his snout in a trap?
Psalms
Ch. 16
A Prayer of Confidence
1Protect me, O God; I trust in you for safety.
2I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; all the good things I have come from you.”
3How excellent are the Lord's faithful people! My greatest pleasure is to be with them.
4Those who rush to other gods bring many troubles on themselves. I will not take part in their sacrifices; I will not worship their gods.
5You, Lord, are all I have, and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands.
6How wonderful are your gifts to me; how good they are!
7I praise the Lord, because he guides me, and in the night my conscience warns me.
8I am always aware of the Lord's presence; he is near, and nothing can shake me.
9And so I am thankful and glad, and I feel completely secure,
10because you protect me from the power of death. I have served you faithfully, and you will not abandon me to the world of the dead.
11You will show me the path that leads to life; your presence fills me with joy and brings me pleasure forever.