Day 15 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

Genesis 42

1 And Jacob having seen that there was a sale [of corn] in Egypt, said to his sons, Why are ye indolent? 2 Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt; go down thither, and buy for us a little food, that we may live, and not die. 3 And the ten brethren of Joseph went down to buy corn out of Egypt. 4 But [Jacob] sent not Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, with his brethren; for he said, Lest, haply, disease befal him. 5 And the sons of Israel came to buy with those that came, for the famine was in the land of Chanaan. 6 And Joseph was ruler of the land; he sold to all the people of the land. And the brethren of Joseph, having come, did reverence to him, [bowing] with the face to the ground. 7 And when Joseph saw his brethren, he knew them, and estranged himself from them, and spoke hard words to them; and said to them, Whence are ye come? And they said, Out of the land of Chanaan, to buy food. 8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. 9 And Joseph remembered his dream, which he saw; and he said to them, Ye are spies; to observe the marks of the land are ye come. 10 But they said, Nay, Sir, we thy servants are come to buy food; 11 we are all sons of one man; we are peaceable, thy servants are not spies. 12 And he said to them, Nay, but ye are come to observe the marks of the land. 13 And they said, We thy servants are twelve brethren, in the land of Chanaan; and, behold, the youngest is with our father to-day, but the other one is not. 14 And Joseph said to them, This is it that I spoke to you, saying, ye are spies; 15 herein shall ye be manifested; by the health of Pharao, ye shall not depart hence, unless your younger brother come hither. 16 Send one of you, and take your brother; and go ye to prison, till your words be clear, whether ye speak the truth or not; but, if not, by the health of Pharao, verily ye are spies. 17 And he put them in prison three days. 18 And he said to them on the third day, This do, and ye shall live, for I fear God. 19 If ye be peaceable, let one of your brethren be detained in prison; but go ye, and carry back the corn ye have purchased. 20 And bring your younger brother to me, and your words shall be believed; but, if not, ye shall die. And they did so. 21 And each said to his brother, Yes, indeed, for we are in fault concerning our brother, when we disregarded the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we hearkened not to him; and therefore has this affliction come upon us. 22 And Ruben answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Hurt not the boy, and ye heard me not? and, behold, his blood is required. 23 But they knew not that Joseph understood them; for there was an interpreter between them. 24 And Joseph turned away from them, and wept; and again he came to them, and spoke to them; and he took Symeon from them, and bound him before their eyes. 25 And Joseph gave orders to fill their vessels with corn, and to return their money to each into his sack, and to give them provision for the way; and it was so done to them. 26 And having put the corn on the asses, they departed thence. 27 And one having opened his sack to give his asses fodder, at the place where they rested, saw also his bundle of money, for it was on the mouth of his sack. 28 And he said to his brethren, My money has been restored to me, and behold this is in my sack. And their heart was wonder-struck, and they were troubled, saying one to another, What is this that God has done to us? 29 And they came to their father, Jacob, into the land of Chanaan, and reported to him all that had happened to them, saying, 30 The man, the lord of the land, spoke harsh words to us, and put us in prison as spies of the land. 31 And we said to him, We are men of peace, we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is with his father to-day in the land of Chanaan. 33 And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, Herein shall I know that ye are peaceable; leave one brother here with me, and having taken the corn ye have purchased for your family, depart. 34 And bring to me your younger brother; then I shall know that ye are not spies, but that ye are men of peace: and I will restore you your brother, and ye shall trade in the land. 35 And it came to pass as they were emptying their sacks, there was each man's bundle of money in his sack; and they and their father saw their bundles of money, and they were afraid. 36 And their father Jacob said to them, Ye have bereaved me. Joseph is not, Symeon is not, and will ye take Benjamin? all these things have come upon me. 37 And Ruben spoke to his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee; give him into my hand, and I will bring him back to thee. 38 But he said, My son shall not go down with you, because his brother is dead, and he only has been left; and [suppose] it shall come to pass that he is afflicted by the way by which ye go, then ye shall bring down my old age with sorrow to Hades.

Genesis 43

1 But the famine prevailed in the land. 2 And it came to pass, when they had finished eating the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, that their father said to them, Go again; buy us a little food. 3 And Judas spoke to him, saying, The man, the lord of the country, positively testified to us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, unless your younger brother be with you. 4 If, then, thou send our brother with us, we will go down, and buy thee food; 5 but if thou send not our brother with us, we will not go: for the man spoke to us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, unless your younger brother be with you. 6 And Israel said, Why did ye harm me, inasmuch as ye told the man that ye had a brother? 7 And they said, The man closely questioned us about our family also, saying, Does your father yet live, and have ye a brother? and we answered him according to this question: did we know that he would say to us, Bring your brother? 8 And Judas said to his father Israel, Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and thou, and our store. 9 And I engage for him; at my hand do thou require him; if I bring him not to thee, and place him before thee, I shall be guilty toward thee for ever. 10 For if we had not tarried, we should now have returned twice. 11 And Israel, their father, said to them, If it be so, do this; take of the fruits of the earth in your vessels, and carry down to the man presents of gum and honey, and frankincense, and stacte, and turpentine, and walnuts. 12 And take double money in your hands, and the money that was returned in your sacks, carry back with you, lest peradventure it is a mistake. 13 And take your brother; and arise, go down to the man. 14 And my God give you favour in the sight of the man, and send away your other brother, and Benjamin, for I accordingly as I have been bereaved, am bereaved. 15 And the men having taken these presents, and the double money, took in their hands also Benjamin; and they rose up and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. 16 And Joseph saw them and his brother Benjamin, born of the same mother; and he said to the steward of his household, Bring the men into the house, and slay beasts and make ready, for the men are to eat bread with me at noon. 17 And the man did as Joseph said; and he brought the men into the house of Joseph. 18 And the men, when they perceived that they were brought into the house of Joseph, said, We are brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first; even in order to inform against us, and lay it to our charge; to take us for servants, and our asses. 19 And having approached the man who was over the house of Joseph, they spoke to him in the porch of the house, 20 saying, We pray [thee], Sir; we came down at first to buy food. 21 And it came to pass, when we came to unlade, and opened our sacks, [there was] also this money of each in his sack; we have now brought back our money by weight in our hands. 22 And we have brought other money with us to buy food; we know not who put the money into our sacks. 23 And he said to them, [God deal] mercifully with you; be not afraid; your God, and the God of your fathers, has given you treasures in your sacks, and I have enough of your good money. And he brought Symeon out to them. 24 And he brought water to wash their feet; and gave provender to their asses. 25 And they prepared their gifts, until Joseph came at noon, for they heard that he was going to dine there. 26 And Joseph entered into the house, and they brought him the gifts which they had in their hands, into the house; and they did him reverence with their face to the ground. 27 And he asked them, How are ye? and he said to them, Is your father, the old man of whom ye spoke, well? Does he yet live? 28 And they said, Thy servant our father is well; he is yet alive. And he said, Blessed be that man by God;—and they bowed, and did him reverence. 29 And Joseph lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, born of the same mother; and he said, Is this your younger brother, whom ye spoke of bringing to me? and he said, God have mercy on thee, my son. 30 And Joseph was troubled, for his bowels yearned over his brother, and he sought to weep; and he went into his chamber, and wept there. 31 And he washed his face and came out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. 32 And they set on [bread] for him alone, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians feasting with him by themselves, for the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for it is an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they sat before him, the first-born according to his seniority, and the younger according to his youth; and the men looked with amazement every one at his brother. 34 And they took their portions from him to themselves; but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as the portions of [the others]. And they drank and were filled with drink with him.

Genesis 44

1 And Joseph charged the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put the money of each in the mouth of his sack. 2 And put my silver cup into the sack of the youngest, and the price of his corn. And it was done according to the word of Joseph, as he said. 3 The morning dawned, and the men were sent away, they and their asses. 4 And when they had gone out of the city, [and] were not far off, then Joseph said to his steward, Arise, and pursue after the men; and thou shalt overtake them, and say to them, Why have ye returned evil for good? 5 Why have ye stolen my silver cup? is it not this out of which my lord drinks? and he divines augury with it; ye have accomplished evil in that which ye have done. 6 And he found them, and spoke to them according to these words. 7 And they said to him, Why does our lord speak according to these words? far be it from thy servants to do according to this word. 8 If we brought back to thee out of the land of Chanaan the money which we found in our sacks, how should we steal silver or gold out of the house of thy lord? 9 With whomsoever of thy servants thou shalt find the cup, let him die; and, moreover, we will be servants to our lord. 10 And he said, Now then it shall be as ye say; with whomsoever the cup shall be found, he shall be my servant, and ye shall be clear. 11 And they hasted, and took down every man his sack on the ground, and they opened every man his sack. 12 And he searched, beginning from the eldest, until he came to the youngest; and he found the cup in Benjamin's sack. 13 And they rent their garments, and laid each man his sack on his ass, and returned to the city. 14 And Judas and his brethren came in to Joseph, while he was yet there, and fell on the ground before him. 15 And Joseph said to them, What is this thing that ye have done? know ye not that a man such as I can surely divine? 16 And Judas said, What shall we answer to our lord, or what shall we say, or wherein should we be justified? whereas God has discovered the unrighteousness of thy servants; behold, we are slaves to our lord, both we and he with whom the cup has been found. 17 And Joseph said, Far be it from me to do this thing; the man with whom the cup has been found, he shall be my servant; but do ye go up with safety to your father. 18 And Judas drew near him, and said, I pray, Sir, let thy servant speak a word before thee, and be not angry with thy servant, for thou art next to Pharao. 19 Sir, thou askedst thy servants, saying, Have ye a father or a brother? 20 And we said to [my] lord, We have a father, an old man, and he has a son of his old age, a young one, and his brother is dead, and he alone has been left behind to his mother, and his father loves him. 21 And thou saidst to thy servants, Bring him down to me, and I will take care of him. 22 And we said to [my] lord, The child will not be able to leave his father; but if he should leave his father, he will die. 23 But thou saidst to thy servants, Except your younger brother come down with you, ye shall not see my face again. 24 And it came to pass, when we went up to thy servant our father, we reported to him the words of our lord. 25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. 26 And we said, We shall not be able to go down; but if our younger brother go down with us, we will go down; for we shall not be able to see the man's face, our younger brother not being with us. 27 And thy servant our father said to us, Ye know that my wife bore me two [sons]; 28 and one is departed from me; and ye said that he was devoured of wild beasts, and I have not seen him until now. 29 If then ye take this one also from my presence, and an affliction happen to him by the way, then shall ye bring down my old age with sorrow to the grave. 30 Now then, if I should go in to thy servant, and our father, and the boy should not be with us, (and his life depends on this [lad's] life)— 31 it shall even come to pass, when he sees the boy is not with us, [that] he will die, and thy servants will bring down the old age of thy servant, and our father, with sorrow to the grave. 32 For thy servant has received the boy [in charge] from his father, saying, If I bring him not to thee, and place him before thee, I shall be guilty towards my father for ever. 33 Now then I will remain a servant with thee instead of the lad, a domestic of my lord; but let the lad go up with his brethren. 34 For how shall I go up to my father, the lad not being with us? lest I behold the evils which will befal my father.

Matthew 11

1 When Jesus had finished directing his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach and preach in their cities. 2 Now when John heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?” 4 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.” 7 As these went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11 Most certainly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptizer until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call to their companions 17 and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you didn’t dance. We mourned for you, and you didn’t lament.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.” 20 Then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they didn’t repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until today. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.” 25 At that time, Jesus answered, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants. 26 Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight. 27 All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him. 28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”