Saturday in Season after Pentecost

1Verse 1. When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?” 2Verse 2. “Look,” he added, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.” 3Verse 3. So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4Verse 4. But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm might befall him.” 5Verse 5. So the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since the famine had also spread to the land of Canaan. 6Verse 6. Now Joseph was the ruler of the land; he was the one who sold grain to all its people. So when his brothers arrived, they bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. 7Verse 7. And when Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where have you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We are here to buy food.” 8Verse 8. Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9Verse 9. Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.” 10Verse 10. “Not so, my lord,” they replied. “Your servants have come to buy food. 11Verse 11. We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.” 12Verse 12. “No,” he told them. “You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.” 13Verse 13. But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.” 14Verse 14. Then Joseph declared, “Just as I said, you are spies! 15Verse 15. And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16Verse 16. Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be confined so that the truth of your words may be tested. If they are untrue, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17Verse 17. So Joseph imprisoned them for three days, 18Verse 18. and on the third day he said to them, “I fear God. So do this and you will live: 19Verse 19. If you are honest, leave one of your brothers in custody while the rest of you go and take back grain to relieve the hunger of your households. 20Verse 20. Then bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be verified, that you may not die.” And to this they consented. 21Verse 21. Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” 22Verse 22. And Reuben responded, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you would not listen. Now we must account for his blood!” 23Verse 23. They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them. 24Verse 24. And he turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes. 25Verse 25. Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return each man’s silver to his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out, 26Verse 26. and they loaded the grain on their donkeys and departed. 27Verse 27. At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of the sack. 28Verse 28. “My silver has been returned!” he said to his brothers. “It is here in my sack.” Their hearts sank, and trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

1Verse 1. This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is coming soon, and My righteousness will be revealed. 2Verse 2. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” 3Verse 3. Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will utterly exclude me from His people.” And let the eunuch not say, “I am but a dry tree.” 4Verse 4. For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, who choose what pleases Me and hold fast to My covenant — 5Verse 5. I will give them, in My house and within My walls, a memorial and a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.