VayeshevAnd he settled

1Reading 1 Genesis 37:1–11Chapter page with footnotes →

Joseph’s Dreams

^37:1And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.

²These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, a son of seventeen years, was feeding the flock with his brothers; and he was a youth with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father.

³And Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was a son of his old age; and he made him a coat of many colors. ⁴And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

⁵And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him yet the more. ⁶And he said to them, "Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: ⁷for behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came round about and bowed down to my sheaf."

⁸And his brothers said to him, "Will you indeed reign over us? Or will you indeed rule over us?" And they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹And he dreamed yet another dream, and recounted it to his brothers, and said, "Behold, I have dreamed a dream yet again; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

¹⁰And he recounted it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall we indeed come — I and your mother and your brothers — to bow down to you to the earth?" ¹¹And his brothers envied him; but his father kept the matter.

2Reading 2 Genesis 37:12–22Chapter page with footnotes →

Joseph Sold into Egypt

^37:12And his brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. ¹³And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." And he said to him, "Here am I."

¹⁴And he said to him, "Go now, see the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring me back word." And he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. ¹⁵And a man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, saying, "What do you seek?"

¹⁶And he said, "I am seeking my brothers; tell me, I pray you, where they are feeding the flock."

¹⁷And the man said, "They have journeyed from here, for I heard them saying, Let us go to Dothan." And Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

¹⁸And they saw him from afar, and before he drew near to them, they conspired against him to put him to death. ¹⁹And they said, a man to his brother, "Behold, this master of dreams is coming. ²⁰And now, come, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, 'An evil living thing has devoured him'; and we shall see what will become of his dreams."

²¹And Reuben heard, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, "Let us not smite him in soul." ²²And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him" — that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.

3Reading 3 Genesis 37:23–36Chapter page with footnotes →

^37:23And it came to pass, when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was upon him; ²⁴and they took him and cast him into the pit; and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

²⁵And they sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and ladanum, going to carry it down to Egypt.

²⁶And Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? ²⁷Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our flesh." And his brothers listened. ²⁸And men, Midianites, merchants, passed by; and they drew up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver; and they brought Joseph to Egypt.

²⁹And Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. ³⁰And he returned to his brothers and said, "The child is not, and I — where shall I go?"

Jacob Mourns Joseph

³¹And they took Joseph's coat, and slaughtered a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood. ³²And they sent the coat of many colors, and brought it to their father, and said, "This we have found; recognize, I pray you, whether it is your son's coat or not."

³³And he recognized it, and said, "It is my son's coat; an evil living thing has devoured him; Joseph is surely torn in pieces." ³⁴And Jacob tore his garments, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, and said, "For I will go down to my son mourning, to Sheol." And his father wept for him.

³⁶And the Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

4Reading 4 Genesis 38:1–30Chapter page with footnotes →

Judah and Tamar

^38:1And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brothers, and turned aside to a man, an Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. ²And Judah saw there the daughter of a man, a Canaanite, whose name was Shua; and he took her, and went in to her. ³And she conceived and bore a son; and he called his name Er. ⁴And she conceived again and bore a son; and she called his name Onan. ⁵And she yet again bore a son, and called his name Shelah; and he was at Chezib when she bore him.

⁶And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. ⁷And Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the eyes of the LORD; and the LORD put him to death. ⁸And Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife, and perform the brother-in-law's duty to her, and raise up seed to your brother."

⁹And Onan knew that the seed would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, so as not to give seed to his brother. ¹⁰And the thing which he did was evil in the eyes of the LORD; and he put him also to death.

¹¹And Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house ad(עד) Shelah my son is grown"; for he said, "Lest he also die, like his brothers." And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.

¹²And the days were multiplied, and Shua's daughter, Judah's wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite, to Timnah. ¹³And it was told to Tamar, saying, "Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep." ¹⁴And she put off the garments of her widowhood from her, and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat at the entrance of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she had not been given to him for a wife.

¹⁵And Judah saw her, and reckoned her to be a harlot, for she had covered her face. ¹⁶And he turned aside to her by the way, and said, "Come now, let me come in to you" — for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?"

¹⁷And he said, "I will send a kid of the goats from the flock." And she said, "Will you give a pledge until you send it?"

¹⁸And he said, "What is the pledge that I shall give you?" And she said, "Your signet, and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand." And he gave them to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹And she arose and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

²⁰And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the hand of the woman; but he did not find her. ²¹And he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim by the way?" And they said, "There has been no cult prostitute here."

²²And he returned to Judah, and said, "I have not found her; and also the men of the place said, 'There has been no cult prostitute here.'"

²³And Judah said, "Let her take them for herself, lest we become a contempt; behold, I sent this kid, and you have not found her."

²⁴And it came to pass, about three months after, that it was told to Judah, saying, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; and moreover, behold, she is with child by harlotry." And Judah said, "Bring her out, and let her be burned."

²⁵She was being brought out, and she sent to her father-in-law, saying, "By the man to whom these belong, I am with child"; and she said, "Discern, now, whose are these — the signet, and the cords, and the staff."

²⁶And Judah discerned them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to Shelah my son." And he did not know her again any more.

The Birth of Perez and Zerah

²⁷And it came to pass, in the time of her bearing, that behold, twins were in her womb. ²⁸And it came to pass, when she bore, that one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a scarlet thread, saying, "This one came out first." ²⁹And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out; and she said, "How have you broken out! Upon you a breach!" And he called his name Perez. ³⁰And afterward came out his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his hand; and he called his name Zerah.

5Reading 5 Genesis 39:1–6Chapter page with footnotes →

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

^39:1And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the chief of the guard, an Egyptian man, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. ²And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

³And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that all that he did the LORD made to prosper in his hand. ⁴And Joseph found favor in his eyes, and ministered to him; and he appointed him over his house, and all that he had he gave into his hand. ⁵And it came to pass, from the time he appointed him over his house and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in the house and in the field. ⁶And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew nothing of what was with him except the bread which he ate. And Joseph was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.

6Reading 6 Genesis 39:7–23Chapter page with footnotes →

^39:7And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife lifted up her eyes to Joseph; and she said, "Lie with me."

⁸And he refused, and said to his master's wife, "Behold, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and all that he has he has given into my hand. ⁹There is none greater in this house than I, and he has not kept back from me anything except you, since you are his wife; and how can I do this great evil, and sin against God?"

¹⁰And it came to pass, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not listen to her, to lie beside her, to be with her. ¹¹And it came to pass, on a certain day, that he went into the house to do his work, and there was no man of the men of the house there in the house. ¹²And she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me." And he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and went outside.

Joseph Falsely Imprisoned

¹³And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and had fled outside, ¹⁴that she called to the men of her house, and spoke to them, saying, "See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew man to mock us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. ¹⁵And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, that he left his garment beside me, and fled, and went outside."

¹⁶And she laid up his garment beside her, ad(עד) his master came to his house. ¹⁷And she spoke to him according to these words, saying, "The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; ¹⁸and it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried out, that he left his garment beside me, and fled outside."

¹⁹And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying, "According to these words your servant did to me," that his anger was kindled. ²⁰And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison-house, the place where the king's prisoners were bound; and he was there in the prison-house. ²¹And the LORD was with Joseph, and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the eyes of the keeper of the prison-house. ²²And the keeper of the prison-house gave into Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison-house; and all that they did there, he was the doer. ²³The keeper of the prison-house did not look to anything in his hand, because the LORD was with him; and that which he did, the LORD made to prosper.

7Reading 7 Genesis 40:1–23Chapter page with footnotes →

The Cupbearer and the Baker

^40:1And it came to pass after these things, that the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and the baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. ²And Pharaoh was wroth against his two officers, against the chief of the cupbearers and against the chief of the bakers. ³And he put them in custody in the house of the chief of the guard, into the prison-house, the place where Joseph was bound. ⁴And the chief of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he ministered to them; and they were days in custody. ⁵And they dreamed a dream, both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream — the cupbearer and the baker who belonged to the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison-house.

⁶And Joseph came in to them in the morning, and saw them, and behold, they were troubled. ⁷And he asked the officers of Pharaoh who were with him in custody in his master's house, saying, "Why are your faces bad today?"

⁸And they said to him, "We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it." And Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it, now, to me."

⁹And the chief of the cupbearers told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, "In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; ¹⁰and on the vine were three branches; and it was as though budding — its blossom shot up, its clusters ripened into grapes. ¹¹And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's palm."

¹²And Joseph said to him, "This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. ¹³In yet three days Pharaoh will lift up your head, and restore you to your place; and you will give Pharaoh's cup into his hand, according to the former judgment, when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴But remember me with you, when it is well with you, and please do kindness with me; and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. ¹⁵For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also I have done nothing, that they should put me in the pit."

¹⁶And the chief of the bakers saw that he had interpreted good, and he said to Joseph, "I also was in my dream, and behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head; ¹⁷and in the uppermost basket were all kinds of food for Pharaoh, the work of a baker; and the birds were eating them out of the basket from upon my head."

¹⁸And Joseph answered and said, "This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. ¹⁹In yet three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from off you, and will hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from off you."

²⁰And it came to pass on the third day, the day of Pharaoh's birth, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief of the cupbearers and the head of the chief of the bakers among his servants. ²¹And he restored the chief of the cupbearers to his cupbearing, and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's palm; ²²but the chief of the bakers he hanged, as Joseph had interpreted to them.

²³Yet the chief of the cupbearers did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

PAmos 2:6–3:8Chapter page with footnotes →

^2:6Thus says the LORD, "For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn it back; because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals;

⁷who pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the humble; and a man and his father go to the same maiden, to profane my holy name.

⁸And upon clothes taken in pledge they stretch out beside every altar, and the wine of those who have been fined they drink in the house of their God.

⁹Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

¹⁰And I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you in the wilderness forty years, to possess the land of the Amorite.

¹¹And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even so, O sons of Israel?" declares the LORD.

¹²But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and upon the prophets you commanded, saying, 'You shall not prophesy.'

¹³Behold, I am pressing down beneath you, as a cart presses that is full of sheaves.

¹⁴And flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his power, and the mighty shall not deliver his soul.

¹⁵And he that handles the bow shall not stand, and the swift of foot shall not deliver himself; and he that rides the horse shall not deliver his soul.

¹⁶And the stout of his heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day," declares the LORD.

Witnesses against Israel

^3:1Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O sons of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:

²"Only you have I known of all the families of the ground; therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities.

³Shall two walk together, unless they have agreed?

⁴Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Will a young lion give forth his voice from his den if he has caught nothing?

⁵Will a bird fall on a snare on the earth where there is no lure for it? Will a snare spring up from the ground and catch nothing at all?

⁶Shall a shofar be blown in a city, and the people not tremble? Shall evil befall a city, and the LORD has not done it?

⁷For the Lord GOD will do nothing, unless he has revealed his counsel to his servants the prophets.

⁸A lion has roared, who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken, who will not prophesy?

AActs 7:9–10Chapter page with footnotes →

Joseph Sold into Egypt

^7:9The patriarchs, being jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; and yet God was with him, ¹⁰and rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him grace and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and his entire household.