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Old Testament:  Genesis 39-40

Genesis 39

Joseph in Potiphar's House
 1  When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
   2  The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.  3  Potiphar noticed this and realized that the LORD was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.  4  This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned.  5  From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master's household and property, the LORD began to bless Potiphar's household for Joseph's sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished.  6  So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn't worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!
  Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man,  7  and Potiphar's wife soon began to look at him lustfully. "Come and sleep with me," she demanded.
   8  But Joseph refused. "Look," he told her, "my master trusts me with everything in his entire household.  9  No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God."
   10  She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible.  11  One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work.  12  She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, "Come on, sleep with me!" Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.
   13  When she saw that she was holding his cloak and he had fled,  14  she called out to her servants. Soon all the men came running. "Look!" she said. "My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed.  15  When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me."
   16  She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home.  17  Then she told him her story. "That Hebrew slave you've brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me," she said.  18  "But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!"

Joseph Put in Prison
 19  Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife's story about how Joseph had treated her.  20  So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king's prisoners were held, and there he remained.  21  But the LORD was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the LORD made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden.  22  Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison.  23  The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The LORD was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.

Genesis 40

Joseph Interprets Two Dreams
 1  Some time later, Pharaoh's chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their royal master.  2  Pharaoh became angry with these two officials,  3  and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard.  4  They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them.
   5  While they were in prison, Pharaoh's cup-bearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning.  6  When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset.  7  "Why do you look so worried today?" he asked them.
   8  And they replied, "We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean."
  "Interpreting dreams is God's business," Joseph replied. "Go ahead and tell me your dreams."
   9  So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream first. "In my dream," he said, "I saw a grapevine in front of me.  10  The vine had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes.  11  I was holding Pharaoh's wine cup in my hand, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand."
   12  "This is what the dream means," Joseph said. "The three branches represent three days.  13  Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer.  14  And please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place.  15  For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I'm here in prison, but I did nothing to deserve it."
   16  When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given the first dream such a positive interpretation, he said to Joseph, "I had a dream, too. In my dream there were three baskets of white pastries stacked on my head.  17  The top basket contained all kinds of pastries for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them from the basket on my head."
   18  "This is what the dream means," Joseph told him. "The three baskets also represent three days.  19  Three days from now Pharaoh will lift you up and impale your body on a pole. Then birds will come and peck away at your flesh."
   20  Pharaoh's birthday came three days later, and he prepared a banquet for all his officials and staff. He summoned [20]  his chief cup-bearer and chief baker to join the other officials.  21  He then restored the chief cup-bearer to his former position, so he could again hand Pharaoh his cup.  22  But Pharaoh impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had predicted when he interpreted his dream.  23  Pharaoh's chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.
<<  40:20 Hebrew He lifted up the head of.

New Testament:  Matthew 11

Matthew 11

Jesus and John the Baptist
 1  When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he went out to teach and preach in towns throughout the region.
   2  John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus,  3  "Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, [3]  or should we keep looking for someone else?"
   4  Jesus told them, "Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—  5  the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.  6  "And tell him, 'God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.'"    7  As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. "What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind?  8  Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces.  9  Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet.  10  John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,

`Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
  and he will prepare your way before you.' [10] 

   11  "I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!  12  "And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it."  13  For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time.  14  And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come. [14]   15  Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!
   16  "To what can I compare this generation? It is like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends,

 17  `We played wedding songs,
  and you didn't dance,
so we played funeral songs,
  and you didn't mourn.'

 18  For John didn't spend his time eating and drinking, and you say, `He's possessed by a demon.'  19  The Son of Man, [19]  on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, `He's a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!' But wisdom is shown to be right by its results."

Judgment for the Unbelievers
 20  Then Jesus began to denounce the towns where he had done so many of his miracles, because they hadn't repented of their sins and turned to God.  21  "What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse.  22  I tell you, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you.
   23  "And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead. [23]  For if the miracles I did for you had been done in wicked Sodom, it would still be here today.  24  I tell you, even Sodom will be better off on judgment day than you."

Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving
 25  At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.  26  Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!
   27  "My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
   28  Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."  29  "Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls."  30  "For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light."
<<  11:3 Greek Are you the one who is coming?
<<  11:6 Or who are not offended by me.
<<  11:10 Mal 3:1.
<<  11:12 Or the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered from violence.
<<  11:14 See Mal 4:5.
<<  11:19 "Son of Man" is a title Jesus used for himself.
<<  11:23 Greek to Hades.

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