Monday in Season after Pentecost

1Verse 1. Now the famine was still severe in the land. 2Verse 2. So when Jacob’s sons had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.” 3Verse 3. But Judah replied, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ 4Verse 4. If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you. 5Verse 5. But if you will not send him, we will not go; for the man told us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’” 6Verse 6. “Why did you bring this trouble upon me?” Israel asked. “Why did you tell the man you had another brother?” 7Verse 7. They replied, “The man questioned us in detail about ourselves and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?” 8Verse 8. And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will go at once, so that we may live and not die— neither we, nor you, nor our children. 9Verse 9. I will guarantee his safety. You may hold me personally responsible. If I do not bring him back and set him before you, then may I bear the guilt before you all my life. 10Verse 10. If we had not delayed, we could have come and gone twice by now.” 11Verse 11. Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and carry them down as a gift for the man — a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. 12Verse 12. Take double the silver with you so that you may return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. 13Verse 13. Take your brother as well, and return to the man at once. 14Verse 14. May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.” 15Verse 15. So the men took these gifts, along with double the amount of silver, and Benjamin as well. Then they hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. 16Verse 16. When Joseph saw Benjamin with his brothers, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they shall dine with me at noon.” 17Verse 17. The man did as Joseph had commanded and took the brothers to Joseph’s house. 18Verse 18. But the brothers were frightened that they had been taken to Joseph’s house. “We have been brought here because of the silver that was returned in our bags the first time,” they said. “They intend to overpower us and take us as slaves, along with our donkeys.” 19Verse 19. So they approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 20Verse 20. “Please, sir,” they said, “we really did come down here the first time to buy food. 21Verse 21. But when we came to the place we lodged for the night, we opened our sacks and, behold, each of us found his silver in the mouth of his sack! It was the full amount of our silver, and we have brought it back with us. 22Verse 22. We have brought additional silver with us to buy food. We do not know who put our silver in our sacks.” 23Verse 23. “It is fine,” said the steward. “Do not be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, gave you the treasure that was in your sacks. I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. 24Verse 24. And the steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided food for their donkeys. 25Verse 25. Since the brothers had been told that they were going to eat a meal there, they prepared their gift for Joseph’s arrival at noon. 26Verse 26. When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought, and they bowed to the ground before him. 27Verse 27. He asked if they were well, and then he asked, “How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?” 28Verse 28. “Your servant our father is well,” they answered. “He is still alive.” And they bowed down to honor him. 29Verse 29. When Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” Then he declared, “May God be gracious to you, my son.” 30Verse 30. Joseph hurried out because he was moved to tears for his brother, and he went to a private room to weep. 31Verse 31. Then he washed his face and came back out. Regaining his composure, he said, “Serve the meal.” 32Verse 32. They separately served Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptians. They ate separately because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, since that was detestable to them. 33Verse 33. They were seated before Joseph in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. 34Verse 34. When the portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of the others. So they feasted and drank freely with Joseph.

1Verse 1. Now Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in his master’s sight and highly regarded, for through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. And he was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2Verse 2. At this time the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken a young girl from the land of Israel, and she was serving Naaman’s wife. 3Verse 3. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would go to the prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy.” 4Verse 4. And Naaman went and told his master what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5Verse 5. “Go now,” said the king of Aram, “and I will send you with a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman departed, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of clothing. 6Verse 6. And the letter that he took to the king of Israel stated: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman, so that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 7Verse 7. When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and asked, “Am I God, killing and giving life, that this man expects me to cure a leper? Surely you can see that he is seeking a quarrel with me!” 8Verse 8. Now when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king: “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let the man come to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9Verse 9. So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10Verse 10. Then Elisha sent him a messenger, who said, “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored, and you will be clean.” 11Verse 11. But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out, stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the spot to cure my leprosy. 12Verse 12. Are not the Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not have washed in them and been cleansed?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13Verse 13. Naaman’s servants, however, approached him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’?” 14Verse 14. So Naaman went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored and became like that of a little child, and he was clean.