ARKCODEX
Genesis
Ch. 49–50
The Last Words of Jacob
1Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the future:
2“Come together and listen, sons of Jacob. Listen to your father Israel.
3“Reuben, my first-born, you are my strength And the first child of my manhood, The proudest and strongest of all my sons.
4You are like a raging flood, But you will not be the most important, For you slept with my concubine And dishonored your father's bed.
5“Simeon and Levi are brothers. They use their weapons to commit violence.
6I will not join in their secret talks, Nor will I take part in their meetings, For they killed people in anger And they crippled bulls for sport.
7A curse be on their anger, because it is so fierce, And on their fury, because it is so cruel. I will scatter them throughout the land of Israel. I will disperse them among its people.
8“Judah, your brothers will praise you. You hold your enemies by the neck. Your brothers will bow down before you.
9Judah is like a lion, Killing his victim and returning to his den, Stretching out and lying down. No one dares disturb him.
10Judah will hold the royal scepter, And his descendants will always rule. Nations will bring him tribute And bow in obedience before him.
11He ties his young donkey to a grapevine, To the very best of the vines. He washes his clothes in blood-red wine.
12His eyes are bloodshot from drinking wine, His teeth white from drinking milk.
13“Zebulun will live beside the sea. His shore will be a haven for ships. His territory will reach as far as Sidon.
14“Issachar is no better than a donkey That lies stretched out between its saddlebags.
15But he sees that the resting place is good And that the land is delightful. So he bends his back to carry the load And is forced to work as a slave.
16“Dan will be a ruler for his people. They will be like the other tribes of Israel.
17Dan will be a snake at the side of the road, A poisonous snake beside the path, That strikes at the horse's heel, So that the rider is thrown off backward.
18“I wait for your deliverance, Lord.
19“Gad will be attacked by a band of robbers, But he will turn and pursue them.
20“Asher's land will produce rich food. He will provide food fit for a king.
21“Naphtali is a deer that runs free, Who bears lovely fawns.
22“Joseph is like a wild donkey by a spring, A wild colt on a hillside.
23His enemies attack him fiercely And pursue him with their bows and arrows.
24But his bow remains steady, And his arms are made strong By the power of the Mighty God of Jacob, By the Shepherd, the Protector of Israel.
25It is your father's God who helps you, The Almighty God who blesses you With blessings of rain from above And of deep waters from beneath the ground, Blessings of many cattle and children,
26Blessings of grain and flowers, Blessings of ancient mountains, Delightful things from everlasting hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, On the brow of the one set apart from his brothers.
27“Benjamin is like a vicious wolf. Morning and evening he kills and devours.”
28These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he spoke a suitable word of farewell to each son.
The Death and Burial of Jacob
29Then Jacob commanded his sons, “Now that I am going to join my people in death, bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30at Machpelah east of Mamre in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought this cave and field from Ephron for a burial ground.
31That is where they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; that is where they buried Isaac and his wife Rebecca; and that is where I buried Leah.
32The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites. Bury me there.”
33When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he lay back down and died.
Genesis 50
1Joseph threw himself on his father, crying and kissing his face.
2Then Joseph gave orders to embalm his father's body.
3It took forty days, the normal time for embalming. The Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
4When the time of mourning was over, Joseph said to the king's officials, “Please take this message to the king:
5‘When my father was about to die, he made me promise him that I would bury him in the tomb which he had prepared in the land of Canaan. So please let me go and bury my father, and then I will come back.’”
6The king answered, “Go and bury your father, as you promised you would.”
7So Joseph went to bury his father. All the king's officials, the senior men of his court, and all the leading men of Egypt went with Joseph.
8His family, his brothers, and the rest of his father's family all went with him. Only their small children and their sheep, goats, and cattle stayed in the region of Goshen.
9Men in chariots and men on horseback also went with him; it was a huge group.
10When they came to the threshing place at Atad east of the Jordan, they mourned loudly for a long time, and Joseph performed mourning ceremonies for seven days.
11When the citizens of Canaan saw those people mourning at Atad, they said, “What a solemn ceremony of mourning the Egyptians are holding!” That is why the place was named Abel Mizraim.
12So Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them;
13they carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah east of Mamre in the field which Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial ground.
14After Joseph had buried his father, he returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone with him for the funeral.
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15After the death of their father, Joseph's brothers said, “What if Joseph still hates us and plans to pay us back for all the harm we did to him?”
16So they sent a message to Joseph: “Before our father died,
17he told us to ask you, ‘Please forgive the crime your brothers committed when they wronged you.’ Now please forgive us the wrong that we, the servants of your father's God, have done.” Joseph cried when he received this message.
18Then his brothers themselves came and bowed down before him. “Here we are before you as your slaves,” they said.
19But Joseph said to them, “Don't be afraid; I can't put myself in the place of God.
20You plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good, in order to preserve the lives of many people who are alive today because of what happened.
21You have nothing to fear. I will take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them with kind words that touched their hearts.
The Death of Joseph
22Joseph continued to live in Egypt with his father's family; he was a hundred and ten years old when he died.
23He lived to see Ephraim's children and grandchildren. He also lived to receive the children of Machir son of Manasseh into the family.
24He said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will certainly take care of you and lead you out of this land to the land he solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
25Then Joseph asked his people to make a vow. “Promise me,” he said, “that when God leads you to that land, you will take my body with you.”
26So Joseph died in Egypt at the age of a hundred and ten. They embalmed his body and put it in a coffin.
Job
Ch. 41–42
1Can you catch Leviathan with a fishhook or tie his tongue down with a rope?
2Can you put a rope through his snout or put a hook through his jaws?
3Will he beg you to let him go? Will he plead with you for mercy?
4Will he make an agreement with you and promise to serve you forever?
5Will you tie him like a pet bird, like something to amuse your servant women?
6Will fishermen bargain over him? Will merchants cut him up to sell?
7Can you fill his hide with fishing spears or pierce his head with a harpoon?
8Touch him once and you'll never try it again; you'll never forget the fight!
9Anyone who sees Leviathan loses courage and falls to the ground.
10When he is aroused, he is fierce; no one would dare to stand before him.
11Who can attack him and still be safe? No one in all the world can do it.
12Let me tell you about Leviathan's legs and describe how great and strong he is.
13No one can tear off his outer coat or pierce the armor he wears.
14Who can make him open his jaws, ringed with those terrifying teeth?
15His back is made of rows of shields, fastened together and hard as stone.
16Each one is joined so tight to the next, not even a breath can come between.
17They all are fastened so firmly together that nothing can ever pull them apart.
18Light flashes when he sneezes, and his eyes glow like the rising sun.
19Flames blaze from his mouth, and streams of sparks fly out.
20Smoke comes pouring out of his nose, like smoke from weeds burning under a pot.
21His breath starts fires burning; flames leap out of his mouth.
22His neck is so powerful that all who meet him are terrified.
23There is not a weak spot in his skin; it is as hard and unyielding as iron.
24His stony heart is without fear, as unyielding and hard as a millstone.
25When he rises up, even the strongest are frightened; they are helpless with fear.
26There is no sword that can wound him; no spear or arrow or lance that can harm him.
27For him iron is as flimsy as straw, and bronze as soft as rotten wood.
28There is no arrow that can make him run; rocks thrown at him are like bits of straw.
29To him a club is a piece of straw, and he laughs when men throw spears.
30The scales on his belly are like jagged pieces of pottery; they tear up the muddy ground like a threshing sledge.
31He churns up the sea like boiling water and makes it bubble like a pot of oil.
32He leaves a shining path behind him and turns the sea to white foam.
33There is nothing on earth to compare with him; he is a creature that has no fear.
34He looks down on even the proudest animals; he is king of all wild beasts.
Job 42
1Then Job answered the Lord.
Job
2I know, Lord, that you are all-powerful; that you can do everything you want.
3You ask how I dare question your wisdom when I am so very ignorant. I talked about things I did not understand, about marvels too great for me to know.
4You told me to listen while you spoke and to try to answer your questions.
5In the past I knew only what others had told me, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
6So I am ashamed of all I have said and repent in dust and ashes.
Conclusion
7After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you did not speak the truth about me, the way my servant Job did.
8Now take seven bulls and seven rams to Job and offer them as a sacrifice for yourselves. Job will pray for you, and I will answer his prayer and not disgrace you the way you deserve. You did not speak the truth about me as he did.”
9Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar did what the Lord had told them to do, and the Lord answered Job's prayer.
10Then, after Job had prayed for his three friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had had before.
11All Job's brothers and sisters and former friends came to visit him and feasted with him in his house. They expressed their sympathy and comforted him for all the troubles the Lord had brought on him. Each of them gave him some money and a gold ring.
12The Lord blessed the last part of Job's life even more than he had blessed the first. Job owned fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, two thousand head of cattle, and one thousand donkeys.
13He was the father of seven sons and three daughters.
14He called the oldest daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the youngest Keren Happuch.
15There were no other women in the whole world as beautiful as Job's daughters. Their father gave them a share of the inheritance along with their brothers.
16Job lived a hundred and forty years after this, long enough to see his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
17And then he died at a very great age.
Psalms
Ch. 17
The Prayer of an Innocent Person
1Listen, O Lord, to my plea for justice; pay attention to my cry for help! Listen to my honest prayer.
2You will judge in my favor, because you know what is right.
3You know my heart. You have come to me at night; you have examined me completely and found no evil desire in me. I speak no evil,
4as others do; I have obeyed your command and have not followed paths of violence.
5I have always walked in your way and have never strayed from it.
6I pray to you, O God, because you answer me; so turn to me and listen to my words.
7Reveal your wonderful love and save me; at your side I am safe from my enemies.
8Protect me as you would your very eyes; hide me in the shadow of your wings
9from the attacks of the wicked. Deadly enemies surround me;
10they have no pity and speak proudly.
11They are around me now, wherever I turn, watching for a chance to pull me down.
12They are like lions, waiting for me, wanting to tear me to pieces.
13Come, Lord! Oppose my enemies and defeat them! Save me from the wicked by your sword;
14save me from those who in this life have all they want. Punish them with the sufferings you have stored up for them; may there be enough for their children and some left over for their children's children!
15But I will see you, because I have done no wrong; and when I awake, your presence will fill me with joy.