Genesis 39
Joseph Imprisoned in Egypt
1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, Pharaoh’s eunuch and captain of the guard, an Egyp-tian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.
2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was living in the house of his lord the Egyptian.
3 So his lord saw that the Lord was with him and the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.
4 Thus Joseph found grace in his sight and was pleasing to him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and put everything he had under Joseph’s authority.
5 So it was, from the time he made him overseer of his house and all he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyp-tian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all he had in the house and in the field.
6 Thus he left all he had in Joseph’s hand, and did not know what he had except for the bread he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
7 Then it came to pass after these things that his lord’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”
8 But he refused and said to his lord’s wife, “Look, my lord does not know what is with me in the house and has committed all he has to my hand.
9 There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?Ӡ
10 So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to have relations with her.
11 But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside,
12 she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.
13 So it was, when she saw he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside,
14 she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice.
15 Thus it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”
16 So she kept his garment with her until his lord came home.
17 Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant you brought to us came in to me to mock me;
18 so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, he left his garment with me and fled outside.”
19 So it was, when his lord heard the words his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” his anger was aroused.
20 Then Joseph’s lord took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined.†
21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him grace in the sight of the chief prison keeper.†
22 So the chief keeper of the prison put under Joseph’s authority both the prison and all the prisoners, and whatever they did there.
23 The chief keeper of the prison did not look into anything under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.†
Psalms 36
1 Of David. †Do not be envious of those who do evil, Nor be jealous of those who work lawlessness;
2 For like grass they shall be dried up quickly, And like green vegetables they shall swiftly wither.
3 Hope in the Lord, and work goodness; Dwell in the land, and you shall be nurtured by its riches.
4 Delight in the Lord, And He will give you the requests of your heart.
5 Reveal your way to the Lord, And hope in Him; and He will do it.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as light, And your judgment as the noonday sun.
7 Submit to the Lord, and supplicate Him; Do not be envious of him who prospers in his way, Nor of him who transgresses the law.
8 Cease from wrath and forsake anger; Do not be envious so as to do evil;
9 Because evildoers will be destroyed, But those who wait on the Lord, these shall inherit the earth.
10 For in a little while the sinner shall no longer be present, And you will look for his place, but not find it.
11 But the gentle shall inherit the earth, And they will delight in the fullness of peace.
12 The sinner will closely observe the just man And gnash at him with his teeth.
13 But the Lord shall laugh at him, Because He foresees his day will come.
14 The sinners draw the sword And stretch their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay the upright in heart.
15 May their sword enter their heart, And may their bows be shattered.
16 Better the little with the just man Than the great riches of sinners;
17 For the arms of sinners shall be shattered, But the Lord supports the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the ways of the blameless, And their inheritance shall be forever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in an evil time, And in days of famine they shall be filled.
20 But the sinners shall perish, And the enemies of the Lord altogether, When they glorify and exalt themselves; Like smoke they shall vanish away.
Proverbs of Solomon 7
21 So she leads him astray with much conversation, And with snares from her lips she compels him.
22 And being cajoled, he follows her As an ox is led for slaughter
23 And as a dog to bonds, Or as a deer struck with an arrow in the liver;
24 And he hastens even as a bird into a snare, Not knowing he runs for his life.
Matthew 24
The End
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.†
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.†
31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.†
No One Knows the Hour
32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!
34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.†
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.†
37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.†
38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.†
43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
We Must Be Loyal
45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’
49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,
50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,
51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.