January 24th - Day 24

GENESIS 48:1 - 49:33

48After this Joseph was told, ‘Your father is ill.’ So he took with him his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim. 2When Jacob was told, ‘Your son Joseph has come to you’, he* summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3And Jacob said to Joseph, ‘God Almighty* appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and he blessed me, 4and said to me, “I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers; I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your offspring after you for a perpetual holding.” 5Therefore your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are now mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are. 6As for the offspring born to you after them, they shall be yours. They shall be recorded under the names of their brothers with regard to their inheritance. 7For when I came from Paddan, Rachel, alas, died in the land of Canaan on the way, while there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath’ (that is, Bethlehem). 8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, ‘Who are these?’ 9Joseph said to his father, ‘They are my sons, whom God has given me here.’ And he said, ‘Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.’ 10Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, and he could not see well. So Joseph brought them near him; and he kissed them and embraced them. 11Israel said to Joseph, ‘I did not expect to see your face; and here God has let me see your children also.’ 12Then Joseph removed them from his father’s knees,* and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel’s left, and Manasseh in his left hand towards Israel’s right, and brought them near him. 14But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15He blessed Joseph, and said, ‘The God before whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, 16the angel who has redeemed me from all harm, bless the boys; and in them let my name be perpetuated, and the name of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude on the earth.’ 17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18Joseph said to his father, ‘Not so, my father! Since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.’ 19But his father refused, and said, ‘I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.’ 20So he blessed them that day, saying, ‘By you* Israel will invoke blessings, saying, “God make you* like Ephraim and like Manasseh.” ’ he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. 21Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your ancestors. 22I now give to you one portion* more than to your brothers, the portion* that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.’ 49Then Jacob called his sons, and said: ‘Gather around, that I may tell you what will happen to you in days to come. 2Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob; listen to Israel your father. 3‘Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the first fruits of my vigour, excelling in rank and excelling in power. 4Unstable as water, you shall no longer excel because you went up on to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—you* went up on to my couch!5‘Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. 6May I never come into their council; may I not be joined to their company—for in their anger they killed men, and at their whim they hamstrung oxen. 7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel!I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. 8‘Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. 9Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up.He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion, like a lioness—who dares rouse him up? 10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,until tribute comes to him;* and the obedience of the peoples is his. 11Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,he washes his garments in wine and his robe in the blood of grapes; 12his eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. 13‘Zebulun shall settle at the shore of the sea; he shall be a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon. 14‘Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds; 15he saw that a resting-place was good, and that the land was pleasant;so he bowed his shoulder to the burden, and became a slave at forced labour. 16‘Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 17Dan shall be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path,that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider falls backwards. 18‘I wait for your salvation, O Lord. 19‘Gad shall be raided by raiders, but he shall raid at their heels. 20‘Asher’s* food shall be rich, and he shall provide royal delicacies. 21‘Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears lovely fawns.* 22‘Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall.* 23The archers fiercely attacked him; they shot at him and pressed him hard. 24Yet his bow remained taut, and his arms* were made agileby the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25by the God of your father, who will help you, by the Almighty* who will bless you with blessings of heaven above,blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. 26The blessings of your father are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties* of the everlasting hills;may they be on the head of Joseph, on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers. 27‘Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at evening dividing the spoil.’ 28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, blessing each one of them with a suitable blessing. 29 Then he charged them, saying to them, ‘I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors—in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30in the cave in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land of Canaan, in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. 31There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah— 32the field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.’ 33When Jacob ended his charge to his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

MATTHEW 15:29 - 16:12

29 After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. 30Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, 31so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. 32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.’ 33The disciples said to him, ‘Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?’ 34Jesus asked them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ They said, ‘Seven, and a few small fish.’ 35Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 38Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan. 16The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus* they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2He answered them, ‘When it is evening, you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.” 3And in the morning, “It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.” You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.* 4An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.’ Then he left them and went away. 5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ 7They said to one another, ‘It is because we have brought no bread.’ 8And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, ‘You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? 9Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!’ 12Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

PSALM 20:1-9

1The Lord answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you! 2May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion. 3May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favour your burnt sacrifices. Selah 4May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfil all your plans. 5May we shout for joy over your victory, and in the name of our God set up our banners.May the Lord fulfil all your petitions. 6Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand. 7Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses, but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. 8They will collapse and fall, but we shall rise and stand upright. 9Give victory to the king, O Lord; answer us when we call.*

PROVERBS 4:20-27

20My child, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21Do not let them escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. 22For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. 23Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 24Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 25Let your eyes look directly forwards, and your gaze be straight before you. 26Keep straight the path of your feet, and all your ways will be sure. 27Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.