1 Then Jacob, hearing that food was being sold in Egypt, said to his sons: “Why are you negligent?
2 I have heard that wheat is being sold in Egypt. Go down and buy necessities for us, so that we may be able to live, and not be consumed by destitution.”
3 And so, when ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain in Egypt,
4 Benjamin was kept at home by Jacob, who said to his brothers, “Lest perhaps he may suffer harm on the journey.”
5 And they entered into the land of Egypt with the others who traveled to buy. For the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6 And Joseph was governor in the land of Egypt, and grain was sold under his direction to the people. And when his brothers had reverenced him
7 and he had recognized them, he spoke harshly, as if to foreigners, questioning them: “Where did you come from?” And they responded, “From the land of Canaan, to buy necessary provisions.”
8 And although he knew his brothers, he was not known by them.
9 And remembering the dreams, which he had seen in another time, he said to them: “You are scouts. You have come in order to see which parts of the land are weaker.”
10 And they said: “It is not so, my lord. But your servants have arrived in order to buy food.
11 We are all sons of one man. We have come in peace, nor do any of your subjects devise evil.”
12 And he answered them: “It is otherwise. You have come to examine the unguarded parts of this land.”
13 But they said: “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father; the other is not living.”
14 He said: “This is just as I have said. You are scouts.
15 I will now continue to put you to the test. By the health of Pharaoh, you will not depart from here, until your youngest brother arrives.
16 Send one of you and bring him. But you will be in chains, until what you have said is proven to be either true or false. Otherwise, by the health of Pharaoh, you are scouts.”
17 Therefore, he delivered them into custody for three days.
18 Then, on the third day, he brought them out of prison, and he said: “Do as I have said, and you will live. For I fear God.
19 If you are peaceful, let one of your brothers be bound in prison. Then you may go away and carry the grain that you have bought to your houses.
20 And bring your youngest brother to me, so that I may be able to test your words, and you may not die.” They did as he had said,
21 and they spoke to one another: “We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned against our brother, seeing the anguish of his soul, when he begged us and we would not listen. For that reason, this tribulation has come upon us.”
22 And Reuben, one of them, said: “Did not I say to you, ‘Do not sin against the boy,’ and you would not listen to me? See, his blood is exacted.”
23 But they did not know that Joseph understood, because he was speaking to them through an interpreter.
24 And he turned himself away briefly and wept. And returning, he spoke to them.
25 And taking Simeon, and binding him in their presence, he ordered his ministers to fill their sacks with wheat, and to replace each one’s money in their sacks, and to give them, in addition, provisions for the way. And they did so.
26 Then, having loaded their donkeys with the grain, they set out.
27 And one of them, opening a sack to give his beast of burden fodder at the inn, looked upon the money at the sack’s mouth,
28 and he said to his brothers: “My money has returned to me. See, it is held in the sack.” And they were astonished and troubled, and they said to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 And they went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, and they explained to him all the things that had befallen them, saying:
30 The lord of the land spoke harshly to us, and he considered us to be scouts of the province.
31 And we answered him: ‘We are peaceful, and we do not intend any treachery.
32 We are twelve brothers conceived of one father. One is not living; the youngest is with our father in the land of Canaan.’
33 And he said to us: ‘Thus will I prove that you are peaceful. Release one of your brothers to me, and take necessary provisions for your houses, and go away,
34 and bring your youngest brother to me, so that I may know that you are not scouts. And this one, who is held in chains, you may be able to receive again. And thereafter, you shall have permission to buy what you want.’ “
35 Having said this, when they poured out their grain, each found his money tied to the mouth of his sack. And all were terrified together.
36 Their father Jacob said, “You have caused me to be without children. Joseph is not living, Simeon is held in chains, and Benjamin you would carry away. All these evils have fallen back upon me.”
37 And Reuben answered him, “Put my two sons to death, if I do not lead him back to you. Deliver him into my hand, and I will restore him to you.”
38 But he said: “My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any adversity will befall him in the land to which you travel, you would lead my grey hairs down with sorrow to the grave.”
1 Meanwhile, the famine pressed heavily on all the land.
2 And having consumed the provisions that they had brought out of Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Return and buy us a little food.”
3 Judah answered: “The man himself declared to us, under the attestation of an oath, saying: ‘You will not see my face, unless you bring your youngest brother with you.’
4 If therefore you are willing to send him with us, we will travel together, and we will buy necessities for you.
5 But if you are not willing, we will not go. For the man, as we have often said, declared to us, saying: ‘You will not see my face without your youngest brother.’ “
6 Israel said to them, “You have done this for my misery, in that you revealed to him that you also had another brother.”
7 But they responded: “The man questioned us in order, concerning our family: whether our father lived, if we had a brother. And we answered him respectively, according to what he demanded. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother with you?’ “
8 Likewise, Judah said to his father: “Send the boy with me, so that we may set out and be able to live, lest we and our little ones should die.
9 I accept the boy; require him at my hand. Unless I lead him back and restore him to you, I will be guilty of a sin against you for all time.
10 If a delay had not intervened, by now we would have returned here a second time.”
11 Therefore, their father Israel said to them: “If it is necessary to do so, then do what you will. Take, in your vessels, from the best fruits of the land, and carry down gifts to the man: a little resin, and honey, and storax ointment, oil of myrrh, turpentine, and almonds.
12 Also, take with you double the money, and carry back what you found in your sacks, lest perhaps it was done in error.
13 But also take your brother, and go to the man.
14 Then may my Almighty God cause him to be pleased by you. And send your brother, whom he holds, back with you, along with this one, Benjamin. But as for me, without my children, I will be like one who is bereaved.”
15 Therefore, the men took the gifts, and double the money, and Benjamin. And they went down into Egypt, and they stood in the presence of Joseph.
16 And when he had seen them and Benjamin together, he instructed the steward of his house, saying: “Lead the men into the house, and kill victims, and prepare a feast, because they will be eating with me at midday.”
17 He did what he had been ordered to do, and he brought the men into the house.
18 And there, being terrified, they said one to another: “Because of the money, which we carried back the first time in our sacks, we have been brought in, so that he may unleash a false accusation against us, and by violence subjugate both us and our donkeys into servitude.”
19 For this reason, approaching the steward of the house at his door,
20 they said: “We beg you, lord, to hear us. We came down once before to buy food.
21 And having bought it, when we arrived at the inn, we opened our sacks and found the money in the mouths of the sacks, which we now have carried back in the same amount.
22 But we have also brought other silver, so that we may buy those things that are necessary for us. It is not on our conscience who had placed it in our bags.”
23 But he responded: “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid. Your God, and the God of your father, has given you the treasure in your sacks. As for the money that you gave to me, I held it as a test.” And he led Simeon out to them.
24 And having led them into the house, he brought water, and they washed their feet, and he gave fodder to their donkeys.
25 But they also prepared the gifts, until Joseph entered at midday. For they had heard that they would eat bread there.
26 And so Joseph entered his house, and they offered him the gifts, holding them in their hands. And they reverenced prone on the ground.
27 But he, gently greeting them again, questioned them, saying: “Is your father, the old man about whom you spoke to me, in good health? Is he still alive?”
28 And they answered: “Your servant, our father, is safe; he is still alive.” And bowing, they reverenced him.
29 Then Joseph, lifting up his eyes, saw Benjamin, his brother of the same womb, and he said, “Is this your little brother, about whom you spoke to me?” And again, he said, “May God be compassionate to you, my son.”
30 And he hurried out, because his heart had been moved over his brother, and tears gushed out. And going into his chamber, he wept.
31 And when he had washed his face, coming out again, he composed himself, and he said, “Set out bread.”
32 And when it was set out, separately for Joseph, and separately for his brothers, likewise separately for the Egyptians, who ate at the same time, (for it is unlawful for Egyptians to eat with Hebrews, and they consider feasting in this way to be profane)
33 they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his state of life. And they wondered exceedingly,
34 taking the portions that they received from him. And the greater portion went to Benjamin, so much so that it exceeded five parts. And they drank and became inebriated along with him.
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15 For you have said: “We struck a deal with death, and we formed a pact with Hell. When the inundating scourge passes through, it will not overwhelm us. For we have placed our hope in lies, and we are protected by what is false.”
16 For this reason, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will set a stone within the foundations of Zion, a tested stone, a cornerstone, a precious stone, which has been established in the foundation: whoever trusts in him need not hurry.
17 And I will establish judgment in weights, and justice in measures. And a hailstorm will overturn hope in what is false; and waters will inundate its protection.
18 And your deal with death will be abolished, and your pact with Hell will not stand. When the inundating scourge passes through, you will be trampled down by it.
19 Whenever it passes through, it will take you away. For, at first light of morning, it will pass through, in the day and in the night, and vexation alone will make you understand what you hear.
20 For the bed has been narrowed, so much so that one alone would fall out, and the short blanket is not able to cover two.
21 For the Lord will stand, just as at the mountain of divisions. He will be angry, just as in the valley which is in Gibeon, so that he may accomplish his work, his strange work, so that he may complete his work, his work which is foreign even to him.
22 And now, do not be willing to mock, lest your chains be tightened. For I have heard, from the Lord, the God of hosts, about the consummation and the abridgement concerning the entire earth.
23 Pay close attention, and listen to my voice! Attend and hear my eloquence!
24 Would the plowman, after plowing all day so that he may sow, instead cut open and hoe his soil?
25 Will he not, when he has made the surface level, sow coriander, and scatter cumin, and plant wheat in rows, and barley, and millet, and vetch in their places?
26 For he will be instructed in judgment; his God will teach him.
27 For coriander cannot be threshed with a saw, and a cartwheel cannot revolve over cumin. Instead, coriander is shaken out with a stick, and cumin with a staff.
28 But grain for bread must be crushed. Truly, the thresher cannot thresh it unceasingly, and the cartwheel can neither disrupt it, nor break it with its surface.
29 And this has gone forth from the Lord, the God of hosts, so that he may accomplish his miraculous plan and magnify justice.
7 shew forth thy wonderful mercies; thou who savest them that trust in thee.
8 From them that resist thy right hand keep me, as the apple of thy eye. Protect me under the shadow of thy wings.
9 From the face of the wicked who have afflicted me. My enemies have surrounded my soul:
10 They have shut up their fat: their mouth hath spoken proudly.
11 They have cast me forth and now they have surrounded me: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth.
12 They have taken me, as a lion prepared for the prey; and as a young lion dwelling in secret places.
13 Arise, O Lord, disappoint him and supplant him; deliver my soul from the wicked one: thy sword
14 From the enemies of thy hand. O Lord, divide them from the few of the earth in their life: their belly is filled from thy hidden stores. They are full of children: and they have left to their little ones the rest of their substance.
15 But as for me, I will appear before thy sight in justice: I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear.
12 But I say to you, that Elijah has already arrived, and they did not recognize him, but they did whatever they wanted to him. So also shall the Son of man suffer from them.”
13 Then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them about John the Baptist.
14 And when he had arrived at the multitude, a man approached him, falling to his knees before him, saying: “Lord, take pity on my son, for he is an epileptic, and he suffers harm. For he frequently falls into fire, and often also into water.
15 And I brought him to your disciples, but they were not able to cure him.”
16 Then Jesus responded by saying: “What an unbelieving and perverse generation! How long shall I be with you? How long shall I endure you? Bring him here to me.”
17 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour.
18 Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why were we unable to cast him out?”
19 Jesus said to them: “Because of your unbelief. Amen I say to you, certainly, if you will have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move. And nothing will be impossible for you.
20 But this kind is not cast out, except through prayer and fasting.”
21 And when they were conversing together in Galilee, Jesus said to them: “The Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
22 And they will kill him, but he will rise again on the third day.” And they were extremely saddened.
23 And when they had arrived at Capernaum, those who collected the half shekel approached Peter, and they said to him, “Doesn’t your Teacher pay the half shekel?”
24 He said, “Yes.” And when he had entered into the house, Jesus went before him, saying: “How does it seem to you, Simon? The kings of the earth, from whom do they receive tribute or the census tax: from their own sons or from foreigners?”
25 And he said, “From foreigners.” Jesus said to him: “Then the sons are free.
26 But so that we may not become an obstacle to them: go to the sea, and cast in a hook, and take the first fish that is brought up, and when you have opened its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take it and give it to them, for me and for you.”
