Friday 11 March 2039

3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children,because he was the son of his old age,and he made him a tunic of many colors.4His brothers sawthat their father loved him more than all his brothers,and they hated him,and couldn’t speak peaceably to him.

· · · verses 5–11 are not read12His brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.13Israel said to Joseph,“Aren’t your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem?Come, and I will send you to them.”He said to him, “Here I am.”

· · · verses 14–16 are not read17The man said, “They have left here,for I heard them say,‘Let’s go to Dothan.’”

Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan.18They saw him afar off,and before he came near to them,they conspired against him to kill him.19They said to one another, “Behold, this dreamer comes.20Come now therefore,and let’s kill him,and cast him into one of the pits,and we will say, ‘An evil animal has devoured him.’We will see what will become of his dreams.”

21Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand,and said, “Let’s not take his life.”22Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood.Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness,but lay no hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hand,to restore him to his father.23When Joseph came to his brothers,they stripped Joseph of his tunic,the tunic of many colors that was on him;24and they took him, and threw him into the pit.The pit was empty.There was no water in it.

25They sat down to eat bread,and they lifted up their eyes and looked,and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead,with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh,going to carry it down to Egypt.26Judah said to his brothers,“What profit is it if we kill our brotherand conceal his blood?27Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites,and not let our hand be on him;for he is our brother, our flesh.”His brothers listened to him.28Midianites who were merchants passed by,and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit,and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.The merchants brought Joseph into Egypt.

16He called for a famine on the land.He destroyed the food supplies.17He sent a man before them.Joseph was sold for a slave.

18They bruised his feet with shackles.His neck was locked in irons,19until the time that his word happened,and the Lord’s word proved him true.

20The king sent and freed him,even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free.21He made him lord of his house,and ruler of all of his possessions,

33“Hear another parable.There was a man who was a master of a householdwho planted a vineyard,set a hedge about it,dug a wine press in it,built a tower, leased it out to farmers,and went into another country.34When the season for the fruit came near,he sent his servants to the farmers to receive his fruit.35The farmers took his servants,beat one, killed another,and stoned another.36Again, he sent other servants more than the first;and they treated them the same way.37But afterward he sent to them his son,saying, ‘They will respect my son.’38But the farmers, when they saw the son,said among themselves,‘This is the heir.Come, let’s kill him and seize his inheritance.’39So they took himand threw him out of the vineyard, then killed him.40When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes,what will he do to those farmers?”

41They told him, “He will miserably destroy those miserable men,and will lease out the vineyard to other farmerswho will give him the fruit in its season.”

42Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,

‘The stone which the builders rejectedwas made the head of the corner.This was from the Lord.It is marvelous in our eyes’?

43“Therefore I tell you,God’s Kingdom will be taken away from youand will be given to a nation producing its fruit.

· · · verse 44 is not read45When the chief priestsand the Pharisees heard his parables,they perceived that he spoke about them.46When they sought to seize him,they feared the multitudes,because they considered him to be a prophet.