Matthew 7:1-14; Acts 10:1-23; Psalms 17; Genesis 37; Genesis 38

Matthew 7:1-14

1 "Judge not, that you be not judged.

2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

4 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?

5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

6 "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?

10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?

11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

12 "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

13 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Acts 10:1-23

1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort,

2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.

3 About the ninth hour of the dayhe saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, "Cornelius."

4 And he stared at him in terror and said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.

5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter.

6 He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea."

7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him,

8 and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance

11 and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.

12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.

13 And there came a voice to him: "Rise, Peter; kill and eat."

14 But Peter said, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean."

15 And the voice came to him again a second time, "What God has made clean, do not call common."

16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate

18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there.

19 And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are looking for you.

20 Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them."

21 And Peter went down to the men and said, "I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?"

22 And they said, "Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say."

23 So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.

Psalms 17

1 Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!

2 From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right!

3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

4 With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.

5 My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.

6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.

7 Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.

8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,

9 from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me.

10 They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly.

11 They have now surrounded our steps; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.

12 He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush.

13 Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,

14 from men by your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants.

15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

Genesis 37

1 Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.

2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.

4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.

6 He said to them, "Hear this dream that I have dreamed:

7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf."

8 His brothers said to him, "Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, "Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?"

11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem.

13 And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." And he said to him, "Here I am."

14 So he said to him, "Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word." So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, "What are you seeking?"

16 "I am seeking my brothers," he said. "Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock."

17 And the man said, "They have gone away, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.

19 They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer.

20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams."

21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life."

22 And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him"--that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.

23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore.

24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.

26 Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers listened to him.

28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes

30 and returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?"

31 Then they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.

32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, "This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not."

33 And he identified it and said, "It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces."

34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.

35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, "No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning." Thus his father wept for him.

36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

Genesis 38

1 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.

2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her,

3 and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.

4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.

5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she bore him.

6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD put him to death.

8 Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother."

9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother's wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother.

10 And what he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and he put him to death also.

11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house, till Shelah my son grows up"--for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father's house.

12 In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua's daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

13 And when Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,"

14 she took off her widow's garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage.

15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.

16 He turned to her at the roadside and said, "Come, let me come in to you," for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?"

17 He answered, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." And she said, "If you give me a pledge, until you send it--"

18 He said, "What pledge shall I give you?" She replied, "Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand." So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him.

19 Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

20 When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman's hand, he did not find her.

21 And he asked the men of the place, "Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?" And they said, "No cult prostitute has been here."

22 So he returned to Judah and said, "I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, 'No cult prostitute has been here.'"

23 And Judah replied, "Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her."

24 About three months later Judah was told, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality." And Judah said, "Bring her out, and let her be burned."

25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, "By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant." And she said, "Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff."

26 Then Judah identified them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not know her again.

27 When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb.

28 And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, "This one came out first."

29 But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" Therefore his name was called Perez.

30 Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.