Day 37 – February 6, 2021

Genesis 37

Joseph’s Dream

1 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.

2 This is the genealogy of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the sheep with his brothers. Now the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age. He also made him a tunic of many colors.†

4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak civilly to him.

5 Then Joseph had a dream, and reported it to his brothers.

6 Thus he said to them, “Hear this dream I dreamed:

7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

8 So his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.†

9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come and bow down on the ground before you?”

11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Joseph Is Sold into Egypt

12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.

13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers shepherding the sheep in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.”

14 Then Israel said to him, “Go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the sheep, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.

15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. So the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”

16 He replied, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me where they are feeding their sheep.”

17 The man said to him, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.”’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.

19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming.

20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams.”

21 But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, “Let us not kill him.”

22 Again, Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit in the desert; and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.

23 So it came to pass, when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped the tunic of many colors off him.

24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit, which was empty; for there was no water in it.

25 They then sat down to eat a meal, and lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelite wayfarers coming from Gilead with their camels bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt.

26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?†

27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh”; and his brothers listened.

28 Thus the Midianite traders passed by, and the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit; and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of gold. So they took Joseph to Egypt.†

29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and when he saw Joseph was not in there, he tore his clothes.

30 So he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is not there; and I, where shall I go?”

31 Thus they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood.

32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and had it brought to their father and said, “We found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”

33 So he recognized it and said, “This is my son’s tunic. A wild animal has devoured Joseph and carried him off.”

34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

35 Thus all his sons and daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” So his father wept for him.

36 Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

Psalms 34

17 O Lord, when will You look on this? Restore my soul from their malice, My only-begotten from the lions. 

18 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, in the great church; I will praise You among a mighty people. 

19 Let them not rejoice over me, those who are unjustly my enemies, Those who hate me without a cause, and wink with their eyes. 

20 For they spoke peace to me, But in their wrath they schemed deceit, 

21 And opened wide their mouth at me, Saying, “Well done! Well done! Our eyes saw it!” 

22 You saw this, O Lord; do not keep silence; O Lord, do not be far from me. 

23 Arise, O Lord, attend to my judgment, My God and my Lord, to my cause. 

24 Judge me according to Your righteousness, O Lord my God, And let them not rejoice against me; 

25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Well done! Well done, our soul!” Let them not say, “We swallowed him up!” 

26 May those who rejoice at my troubles be altogether dishonored and shamed; Let those who boast against me be clothed with shame and humiliation. 

27 Let those who desire my righteousness greatly rejoice, and be glad, And let them say continually, “The Lord be magnified,” Those who desire His servant’s peace. 

28 And my tongue shall meditate on Your righteousness, And on Your praise all the day long.

Proverbs of Solomon 7

A Son without Discernment

7 For she looks from a window of her house into the streets Upon whom she might see among the undiscerning children,† 

8 A young man lacking discernment Passing by near the corner on the pathways of her house; 

9 And she speaks in the darkness at evening, When there is silence on a dark night;

10 And the woman meets him, having the appearance of a prostitute; She makes the heart of young men throb. 

11 She is excited and debauched, And her feet do not rest at home. 

12 For at times she is outside roaming about, And another time she is in the streets near every corner laying a trap.

Matthew 23

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.†

24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!†

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.

26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 

33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?

34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,

35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.†

36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

The Fate of Jerusalem

37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!†

38 See! Your house is left to you desolate;

39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”