The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday January 22, 2024 (NIV)

Joseph tests his brothers

44 Joseph gave commands to his household manager: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they’ll hold, and put each man’s silver at the top of his sack. ² Put my cup, the silver cup, on top of the youngest brother’s sack, together with the silver for his grain.” So he did just as Joseph told him to do.

³ At dawn, the men and their donkeys were sent off. ⁴ They had left the city but hadn’t gone far when Joseph said to his household manager, “Get ready, go after the men and catch up with them! Ask them, ‘Why have you repaid hospitality with ingratitude?^{[a] 5} Isn’t this the cup^[b] my master drinks from and uses to discover God’s plans?^[c] What you’ve done is despicable.’”

⁶ When he caught up to them, he repeated these words. ⁷ They replied, “Why does my master talk to us like this? Your servants would never do such a thing. ⁸ The silver that we found at the top of our sacks, we’ve just brought back to you from the land of Canaan. We didn’t steal silver or gold from your master’s house. ⁹ Whoever of your servants is found with it will be put to death, and we’ll be my master’s slaves.”

¹⁰ He said, “Fine. We’ll do just as you’ve said. Whoever is found with it will be my slave, and the rest of you will go free.” ¹¹ Everyone quickly lowered their sacks down to the ground and each opened his sack. ¹² He searched the oldest first and the youngest last, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³ At this, they tore their clothing. Then everyone loaded their donkeys, and they returned to the city.

¹⁴ When Judah and his brothers arrived at Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground in front of him. ¹⁵ Joseph said to them, “What’s this you’ve done? Didn’t you know someone like me can discover God’s plans?”^[d]

¹⁶ Judah replied, “What can we say to my master? What words can we use? How can we prove we are innocent? God has found your servants guilty. We are now your slaves, all of us, including the one found with the cup.”

¹⁷ Joseph said, “I’d never do such a thing. Only the man found with the cup will be my slave. As for the rest of you, you are free to go back to your father.”

Judah appeals for Benjamin

¹⁸ Judah approached him and said, “Please, my master, allow your servant to say something to my master without getting angry with your servant since you are like Pharaoh himself. ¹⁹ My master asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or brother?’ ²⁰ And we said to my master, ‘Yes, we have an elderly father and a young brother, born when he was old. His brother is dead and he’s his mother’s only child. But his father loves him.’ ²¹ You told your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him.’ ²² And we said to my master, ‘The young man can’t leave his father. If he leaves, his father will die.’ ²³ You said to your servants, ‘If your youngest brother doesn’t come down with you, you’ll never see my face again.’

²⁴ “When we went back to my father your servant, we told him what you said. ²⁵ Our father told us, ‘Go back and buy for us a little food.’ ²⁶ But we said, ‘We can’t go down. We will go down only if our youngest brother is with us. We won’t be able to gain an audience with the man without our youngest brother with us.’ ²⁷ Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave birth to two sons for me. ²⁸ One disappeared and I said, “He must have been torn up by a wild animal,” and I haven’t seen him since. ²⁹ And if you take this one from me too, something terrible will happen to him, and you will send me—old as I am—to my grave in despair.’ ³⁰ When I now go back to your servant my father without the young man—whose life is so bound up with his— ³¹ and when he sees that the young man isn’t with us,^[e] he will die, and your servants will have sent our father your servant—old as he is—to his grave in grief. ³² I, your servant, guaranteed the young man’s safety to my father, telling him, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, it will be my fault forever.’ ³³ Now, please let your servant stay as your slave instead of the young man so that he can go back with his brothers. ³⁴ How can I go back to my father without the young man? I couldn’t bear to see how badly my father would be hurt.”

Joseph reveals his identity

45 Joseph could no longer control himself in front of all his attendants, so he declared, “Everyone, leave now!” So no one stayed with him when he revealed his identity to his brothers. ² He wept so loudly that the Egyptians and Pharaoh’s household heard him. ³ Joseph said to his brothers, “I’m Joseph! Is my father really still alive?” His brothers couldn’t respond because they were terrified before him.

⁴ Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me,” and they moved closer. He said, “I’m your brother Joseph! The one you sold to Egypt. ⁵ Now, don’t be upset and don’t be angry with yourselves that you sold me here. Actually, God sent me before you to save lives. ⁶ We’ve already had two years of famine in the land, and there are five years left without planting or harvesting. ⁷ God sent me before you to make sure you’d survive^[f] and to rescue your lives in this amazing way. ⁸ You didn’t send me here; it was God who made me a father to Pharaoh, master of his entire household, and ruler of the whole land of Egypt.

⁹ “Hurry! Go back to your father. Tell him this is what your son Joseph says: ‘God has made me master of all of Egypt. Come down to me. Don’t delay. ¹⁰ You may live in the land of Goshen, so you will be near me, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everyone with you. ¹¹ I will support you there, so you, your household, and everyone with you won’t starve, since the famine will still last five years.’ ¹² You and my brother Benjamin have seen with your own eyes that I’m speaking to you. ¹³ Tell my father about my power in Egypt and about everything you’ve seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” ¹⁴ He threw his arms around his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder. ¹⁵ He kissed all of his brothers and wept, embracing them. After that, his brothers were finally able to talk to him.

Joseph’s brothers return for Jacob

¹⁶ When Pharaoh’s household heard the message “Joseph’s brothers have arrived,” both Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. ¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Give your brothers these instructions: Load your pack animals and go back to the land of Canaan. ¹⁸ Get your father and your households and come back to me. Let me provide you with good things from the land of Egypt so that you may eat the land’s best food. ¹⁹ Give them these instructions too: Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your children and wives, and pick up your father and come back. ²⁰ Don’t worry about your possessions because you will have good things from the entire land of Egypt.”

²¹ So Israel’s sons did that. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh instructed, and he gave them provisions for the road. ²² To all of them he gave a change of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. ²³ To his father he sent ten male donkeys carrying goods from Egypt, ten female donkeys carrying grain and bread, and rations for his father for the road. ²⁴ He sent his brothers off; and as they were leaving, he told them, “Don’t be worried about the trip.”^[g]

²⁵ So they left Egypt and returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. ²⁶ They announced to him, “Joseph’s still alive! He’s actually ruler of all the land of Egypt!” Jacob’s heart nearly failed, and he didn’t believe them.

²⁷ When they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, Jacob recovered. ²⁸ Then Israel said, “This is too much! My son Joseph is still alive! Let me go and see him before I die.”

Feeding the five thousand

¹³ When Jesus heard about John, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. When the crowds learned this, they followed him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ When Jesus arrived and saw a large crowd, he had compassion for them and healed those who were sick. ¹⁵ That evening his disciples came and said to him, “This is an isolated place and it’s getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, “There’s no need to send them away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ They replied, “We have nothing here except five loaves of bread and two fish.”

¹⁸ He said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹ He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them and broke the loaves apart and gave them to his disciples. Then the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ Everyone ate until they were full, and they filled twelve baskets with the leftovers. ²¹ About five thousand men plus women and children had eaten.

Walking on the water

²² Right then, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead to the other side of the lake while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ When he sent them away, he went up onto a mountain by himself to pray. Evening came and he was alone. ²⁴ Meanwhile, the boat, fighting a strong headwind, was being battered by the waves and was already far away from land. ²⁵ Very early in the morning he came to his disciples, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified and said, “It’s a ghost!” They were so frightened they screamed.

²⁷ Just then Jesus spoke to them, “Be encouraged! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ Peter replied, “Lord, if it’s you, order me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ And Jesus said, “Come.”

Then Peter got out of the boat and was walking on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when Peter saw the strong wind, he became frightened. As he began to sink, he shouted, “Lord, rescue me!”

³¹ Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him, saying, “You man of weak faith! Why did you begin to have doubts?” ³² When they got into the boat, the wind settled down.

³³ Then those in the boat worshipped Jesus and said, “You must be God’s Son!”

Healing the sick

³⁴ When they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. ³⁵ When the people who lived in that place recognized him, they sent word throughout that whole region, and they brought to him everyone who was sick. ³⁶ Then they begged him that they might just touch the edge of his clothes. Everyone who touched him was cured.