Daily Bible GNT February 05 Scroll

God's Word through His Son

Hebrews 1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets, ²but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one through whom God created the universe, the one whom God has chosen to possess all things at the end. ³He reflects the brightness of God's glory and is the exact likeness of God's own being, sustaining the universe with his powerful word. After achieving forgiveness for the sins of all human beings, he sat down in heaven at the right side of God, the Supreme Power.

The Greatness of God's Son

⁴The Son was made greater than the angels, just as the name that God gave him is greater than theirs. ⁵For God never said to any of his angels,

"You are my Son;

today I have become your Father."
Nor did God say about any angel,

"I will be his Father,

and he will be my Son."
⁶But when God was about to send his first-born Son into the world, he said,

"All of God's angels must worship him."

⁷But about the angels God said,

"God makes his angels winds,

and his servants flames of fire."
⁸About the Son, however, God said:

"Your kingdom, O God, will last forever and ever!

You rule over your people with justice.

⁹You love what is right and hate what is wrong.

That is why God, your God, has chosen you

and has given you the joy of an honor far greater

than he gave to your companions."
¹⁰He also said,

"You, Lord, in the beginning created the earth,

and with your own hands you made the heavens.

¹¹They will disappear, but you will remain;

they will all wear out like clothes.

¹²You will fold them up like a coat,

and they will be changed like clothes.

But you are always the same,

and your life never ends."
¹³God never said to any of his angels:

"Sit here at my right side

until I put your enemies

as a footstool under your feet."

¹⁴What are the angels, then? They are spirits who serve God and are sent by him to help those who are to receive salvation.

Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is

Genesis 45 Joseph was no longer able to control his feelings in front of his servants, so he ordered them all to leave the room. No one else was with him when Joseph told his brothers who he was. ²He cried with such loud sobs that the Egyptians heard it, and the news was taken to the king's palace. ³Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But when his brothers heard this, they were so terrified that they could not answer. ⁴Then Joseph said to them, "Please come closer." They did, and he said, "I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵Now do not be upset or blame yourselves because you sold me here. It was really God who sent me ahead of you to save people's lives. ⁶This is only the second year of famine in the land; there will be five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor reaping. ⁷God sent me ahead of you to rescue you in this amazing way and to make sure that you and your descendants survive. ⁸So it was not really you who sent me here, but God. He has made me the king's highest official. I am in charge of his whole country; I am the ruler of all Egypt.

⁹"Now hurry back to my father and tell him that this is what his son Joseph says: 'God has made me ruler of all Egypt; come to me without delay. ¹⁰You can live in the region of Goshen, where you can be near me--you, your children, your grandchildren, your sheep, your goats, your cattle, and everything else that you have. ¹¹If you are in Goshen, I can take care of you. There will still be five years of famine; and I do not want you, your family, and your livestock to starve.'"

¹²Joseph continued, "Now all of you, and you too, Benjamin, can see that I am really Joseph. ¹³Tell my father how powerful I am here in Egypt and tell him about everything that you have seen. Then hurry and bring him here."

¹⁴He threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and began to cry; Benjamin also cried as he hugged him. ¹⁵Then, still weeping, he embraced each of his brothers and kissed them. After that, his brothers began to talk with him.

¹⁶When the news reached the palace that Joseph's brothers had come, the king and his officials were pleased. ¹⁷He said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers to load their animals and to return to the land of Canaan. ¹⁸Let them get their father and their families and come back here. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they will have more than enough to live on. ¹⁹Tell them also to take wagons with them from Egypt for their wives and small children and to bring their father with them. ²⁰They are not to worry about leaving their possessions behind; the best in the whole land of Egypt will be theirs."

²¹Jacob's sons did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons, as the king had ordered, and food for the trip. ²²He also gave each of them a change of clothes, but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes. ²³He sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the best Egyptian goods and ten donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and other food for the trip. ²⁴He sent his brothers off and as they left, he said to them, "Don't quarrel on the way."

²⁵They left Egypt and went back home to their father Jacob in Canaan. ²⁶"Joseph is still alive!" they told him. "He is the ruler of all Egypt!" Jacob was stunned and could not believe them.

²⁷But when they told him all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to take him to Egypt, he recovered from the shock. ²⁸"My son Joseph is still alive!" he said. "This is all I could ask for! I must go and see him before I die."

Jacob and His Family Go to Egypt

Genesis 46 Jacob packed up all he had and went to Beersheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ²God spoke to him in a vision at night and called, "Jacob, Jacob!"

"Yes, here I am," he answered.

³"I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Do not be afraid to go to Egypt; I will make your descendants a great nation there. ⁴I will go with you to Egypt, and I will bring your descendants back to this land. Joseph will be with you when you die."

⁵Jacob set out from Beersheba. His sons put him, their small children, and their wives in the wagons which the king of Egypt had sent. ⁶They took their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan and went to Egypt. Jacob took all his descendants with him: ⁷his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters.

⁸The members of Jacob's family who went to Egypt with him were his oldest son Reuben ⁹and Reuben's sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ¹⁰Simeon and his sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. ¹¹Levi and his sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹²Judah and his sons: Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (Judah's other sons, Er and Onan, had died in Canaan.) Perez' sons were Hezron and Hamul. ¹³Issachar and his sons: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron. ¹⁴Zebulun and his sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. ¹⁵These are the sons that Leah had borne to Jacob in Mesopotamia, besides his daughter Dinah. In all, his descendants by Leah numbered thirty-three.

¹⁶Gad and his sons: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arod, and Areli. ¹⁷Asher and his sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. Beriah's sons were Heber and Malchiel. ¹⁸These sixteen are the descendants of Jacob by Zilpah, the slave woman whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah.

¹⁹Jacob's wife Rachel bore him two sons: Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁰In Egypt Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, by Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, a priest in Heliopolis. ²¹Benjamin's sons were Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. ²²These fourteen are the descendants of Jacob by Rachel.

²³Dan and his son Hushim. ²⁴Naphtali and his sons: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. ²⁵These seven are the descendants of Jacob by Bilhah, the slave woman whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel.

²⁶The total number of the direct descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt was sixty-six, not including his sons' wives. ²⁷Two sons were born to Joseph in Egypt, bringing to seventy the total number of Jacob's family who went there.

Human Wickedness

Psalm 36 Sin speaks to the wicked deep in their hearts;

they reject God and do not have reverence for him.

²Because they think so highly of themselves,

they think that God will not discover their sin and condemn it.

³Their speech is wicked and full of lies;

they no longer do what is wise and good.

⁴They make evil plans as they lie in bed;

nothing they do is good,

and they never reject anything evil.

The Goodness of God

⁵LORD, your constant love reaches the heavens;

your faithfulness extends to the skies.

⁶Your righteousness is towering like the mountains;

your justice is like the depths of the sea.

People and animals are in your care.

⁷How precious, O God, is your constant love!

We find protection under the shadow of your wings.

⁸We feast on the abundant food you provide;

you let us drink from the river of your goodness.

⁹You are the source of all life,

and because of your light we see the light.

¹⁰Continue to love those who know you

and to do good to those who are righteous.

¹¹Do not let proud people attack me

or the wicked make me run away.

¹²See where evil people have fallen.

There they lie, unable to rise.

This reading is from The Holy Bible, Today's English Version, Second Edition copyright © American Bible Society, 1992;
Old Testament copyright © American Bible Society, 1976, 1992; New Testament © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992.

These daily Bible readings from the Good News Translation (GNT), formerly the Today's English Version (TEV), are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. All BibleCard® images are copyrighted by iCreative. All rights reserved.