Genesis 46; Genesis 47; Genesis 48; Matthew 13:1-30

1 So Israeln took all he had and startedhis trip. He went to Beer- sheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

2 During the night God spoke to Israel in a vision and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And Jacob answered, "Here I am."

3 Then God said, "I am God, the God of your father. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt, because I will make your descendants a great nation there.

4 I will go to Egypt with you, and I will bring you out of Egypt again. Joseph's own hands will close your eyes when you die."

5 Then Jacob left Beersheba. The sons of Israel loaded their father, their children, and their wives in the wagons the king of Egypt had sent.

6 They also took their farm animals and everything they had gotten in Canaan. So Jacob went to Egypt with all his descendants --

7 his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters. He took all his family to Egypt with him.

8 Now these are the names of the children of Israel who went into Egypt (Jacob and his descendants). Reuben was Jacob's first son.

9 Reuben's sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

10 Simeon's sons were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul (Simeon's son by a Canaanite woman).

11 Levi's sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

12 Judah's sons were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). Perez's sons were Hezron and Hamul.

13 Issachar's sons were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.

14 Zebulun's sons were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

15 These are the sons of Leah and Jacob born in Northwest Mesopotamia, in addition to his daughter Dinah. There were thirty-three persons in this part of Jacob's family.

16 Gad's sons were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

17 Asher's sons were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and their sister was Serah. Beriah's sons were Heber and Malkiel.

18 These are Jacob's sons by Zilpah, the slave girl whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. There were sixteen persons in this part of Jacob's family.

19 The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

20 In Egypt, Joseph became the father of Manasseh and Ephraim by his wife Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

21 Benjamin's sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

22 These are the sons of Jacob by his wife Rachel. There were fourteen persons in this part of Jacob's family.

23 Dan's son was Hushim.

24 Naphtali's sons were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

25 These are Jacob's sons by Bilhah, the slave girl whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. There were seven persons in this part of Jacob's family.

26 So the total number of Jacob's direct descendants who went to Egypt was sixty-six, not counting the wives of Jacob's sons.

27 Joseph had two sons born in Egypt, so the total number in the family of Jacob in Egypt was seventy.

28 Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to see Joseph in Goshen. When Jacob and his people came into the land of Goshen,

29 Joseph prepared his chariot and went to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as Joseph saw his father, he hugged him, and cried there for a long time.

30 Then Israel said to Joseph, "Now I am ready to die, because I have seen your face and I know you are still alive."

31 Joseph said to his brothers and his father's family, "I will go and tell the king you are here. I will say, 'My brothers and my father's family have left the land of Canaan and have come here to me.

32 They are shepherds and take care of farm animals, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and everything they own with them.'

33 When the king calls you, he will ask, 'What work do you do?'

34 This is what you should tell him: 'We, your servants, have taken care of farm animals all our lives. Our ancestors did the same thing.' Then the king will allow you to settle in the land of Goshen, away from the Egyptians, because they don't like to be near shepherds."

1 Joseph went in to the king and said, "My father and my brothers have arrived from Canaan with their flocks and herds and everything they own. They are now in the land of Goshen."

2 Joseph chose five of his brothers to introduce to the king.

3 The king said to the brothers, "What work do you do?" And they said to him, "We, your servants, are shepherds, just as our ancestors were."

4 They said to the king, "We have come to live in this land, because there is no grass in the land of Canaan for our animals to eat, and the hunger is terrible there. So please allow us to live in the land of Goshen."

5 Then the king said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you,

6 and you may choose any place in Egypt for them to live. Give your father and your brothers the best land; let them live in the land of Goshen. And if any of them are skilled shepherds, put them in charge of my sheep and cattle."

7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and introduced him to the king, and Jacob blessed the king.

8 Then the king said to Jacob, "How old are you?"

9 Jacob said to him, "My life has been spent wandering from place to place. It has been short and filled with trouble -- only one hundred thirty years. My ancestors lived much longer than I."

10 Then Jacob blessed the king and left.

11 Joseph obeyed the king and gave his father and brothers the best land in Egypt, near the city of Rameses.

12 And Joseph gave his father, his brothers, and everyone who lived with them the food they needed.

13 The hunger became worse, and since there was no food anywhere in the land, Egypt and Canaan became very poor.

14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan. People paid for the grain they were buying, and he brought that money to the king's palace.

15 After some time, when the people in Egypt and Canaan had no money left, they went to Joseph and said, "Please give us food. Our money is gone, and if we don't eat, we will die here in front of you."

16 Joseph answered, "Since you have no money, give me your farm animals, and I will give you food in return."

17 So people brought their farm animals to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. And he kept them alive by trading food for their farm animals that year.

18 The next year the people came to Joseph and said, "You know we have no money left, and all our animals belong to you. We have nothing left except our bodies and our land.

19 Surely both we and our land will die here in front of you. Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we will be slaves to the king, together with our land. Give us seed to plant so that we will live and not die, and the land will not become a desert."

20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian sold Joseph his field, because the hunger was very great. So the land became the king's,

21 and Joseph made the people slaves from one end of Egypt to the other.

22 The only land he did not buy was the land the priests owned. They did not need to sell their land because the king paid them for their work. So they had money to buy food.

23 Joseph said to the people, "Now I have bought you and your land for the king, so I will give you seed and you can plant your fields.

24 At harvest time you must give one-fifth to the king. You may keep four-fifths for yourselves to use as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your families, and your children."

25 The people said, "You have saved our lives. If you like, we will become slaves of the king."

26 So Joseph made a law in Egypt, which continues today: One-fifth of everything from the land belongs to the king. The only land the king did not get was the priests' land. "Don't Bury Me in Egypt"

27 The Israelites continued to live in the land of Goshen in Egypt. There they got possessions and had many children and grew in number.

28 Jacobn lived in Egypt seventeen years, so he lived to be one hundred forty-seven years old.

29 When Israel knew he soon would die, he called his son Joseph to him and said to him, "If you love me, put your hand under my leg. Promise me you will not bury me in Egypt.

30 When I die, carry me out of Egypt, and bury me where my ancestors are buried." Joseph answered, "I will do as you say."

31 Then Jacob said, "Promise me." And Joseph promised him that he would do this. Then Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his walking stick.

1 Some time later Joseph learned that his father was very sick, so he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim and went to his father.

2 When Joseph arrived, someone told Jacob, "Your son Joseph has come to see you." Jacob was weak, so he used all his strength and sat up on his bed.

3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me there.

4 He said to me, 'I will give you many children. I will make you the father of many peoples, and I will give your descendants this land forever.'

5 Your two sons, who were born here in Egypt before I came, will be counted as my own sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will be my sons just as Reuben and Simeon are my sons.

6 But if you have other children, they will be your own, and their land will be part of the land given to Ephraim and Manasseh.

7 When I came from Northwest Mesopotamia, Rachel died in the land of Canaan, as we were traveling toward Ephrath. This made me very sad, and I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath." (Today Ephrath is Bethlehem.)

8 Then Israel saw Joseph's sons and said, "Who are these boys?"

9 Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons that God has given me here in Egypt." Israel said, "Bring your sons to me so I may bless them."

10 At this time Israel's eyesight was bad because he was old. So Joseph brought the boys close to him, and Israel kissed the boys and put his arms around them.

11 He said to Joseph, "I thought I would never see you alive again, and now God has let me see you and also your children."

12 Then Joseph moved his sons off Israel's lap and bowed facedown to the ground.

13 He put Ephraim on his right side and Manasseh on his left. (So Ephraim was near Israel's left hand, and Manasseh was near Israel's right hand.) Joseph brought the boys close to Israel.

14 But Israel crossed his arms and put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, who was younger. He put his left hand on the head of Manasseh, the firstborn son.

15 And Israel blessed Joseph and said, "My ancestors Abraham and Isaac served our God, and like a shepherd God has led me all my life.

16 He was the Angel who saved me from all my troubles. Now I pray that he will bless these boys. May my name be known through these boys, and may the names of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac be known through them. May they have many descendants on the earth."

17 When Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on Ephraim's head, he didn't like it. So he took hold of his father's hand, wanting to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.

18 Joseph said to his father, "You are doing it wrong, Father. Manasseh is the firstborn son. Put your right hand on his head."

19 But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. Manasseh will be great and have many descendants. But his younger brother will be greater, and his descendants will be enough to make a nation."

20 So Israel blessed them that day and said, "When a blessing is given in Israel, they will say: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.'" In this way he made Ephraim greater than Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, "Look at me; I am about to die. But God will be with you and will take you back to the land of your fathers.

22 I have given you something that I did not give your brothers -- the land of Shechem that I took from the Amorite people with my sword and my bow."

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.

2 Large crowds gathered around him, so he got into a boat and sat down, while the people stood on the shore.

3 Then Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He said: "A farmer went out to plant his seed.

4 While he was planting, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate it all up.

5 Some seed fell on rocky ground, where there wasn't much dirt. That seed grew very fast, because the ground was not deep.

6 But when the sun rose, the plants dried up, because they did not have deep roots.

7 Some other seed fell among thorny weeds, which grew and choked the good plants.

8 Some other seed fell on good ground where it grew and produced a crop. Some plants made a hundred times more, some made sixty times more, and some made thirty times more.

9 You people who can hear me, listen."

10 The followers came to Jesus and asked, "Why do you use stories to teach the people?"

11 Jesus answered, "You have been chosen to know the secrets about the kingdom of heaven, but others cannot know these secrets.

12 Those who have understanding will be given more, and they will have all they need. But those who do not have understanding, even what they have will be taken away from them.

13 This is why I use stories to teach the people: They see, but they don't really see. They hear, but they don't really hear or understand.

14 So they show that the things Isaiah said about them are true: 'You will listen and listen, but you will not understand. You will look and look, but you will not learn.

15 For the minds of these people have become stubborn. They do not hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might really understand what they see with their eyes and hear with their ears. They might really understand in their minds and come back to me and be healed.'

16 But you are blessed, because you see with your eyes and hear with your ears.

17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and good people wanted to see the things that you now see, but they did not see them. And they wanted to hear the things that you now hear, but they did not hear them.

18 "So listen to the meaning of that story about the farmer.

19 What is the seed that fell by the road? That seed is like the person who hears the message about the kingdom but does not understand it. The Evil One comes and takes away what was planted in that person's heart.

20 And what is the seed that fell on rocky ground? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching and quickly accepts it with joy.

21 But he does not let the teaching go deep into his life, so he keeps it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching he accepted, he quickly gives up.

22 And what is the seed that fell among the thorny weeds? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching but lets worries about this life and the temptation of wealth stop that teaching from growing. So the teaching does not produce fruitn in that person's life.

23 But what is the seed that fell on the good ground? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching and understands it. That person grows and produces fruit, sometimes a hundred times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes thirty times more."

24 Then Jesus told them another story: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who planted good seed in his field.

25 That night, when everyone was asleep, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and then left.

26 Later, the wheat sprouted and the heads of grain grew, but the weeds also grew.

27 Then the man's servants came to him and said, 'You planted good seed in your field. Where did the weeds come from?'

28 The man answered, 'An enemy planted weeds.' The servants asked, 'Do you want us to pull up the weeds?'

29 The man answered, 'No, because when you pull up the weeds, you might also pull up the wheat.

30 Let the weeds and the wheat grow together until the harvest time. At harvest time I will tell the workers, "First gather the weeds and tie them together to be burned. Then gather the wheat and bring it to my barn."'"