Daily Bible CEV February 05 Scroll

HEBREWS

Hebrews 1 Long ago in many ways and at many times God's prophets spoke his message to our ancestors. ²But now at last, God sent his Son to bring his message to us. God created the universe by his Son, and everything will someday belong to the Son. ³God's Son has all the brightness of God's own glory and is like him in every way. By his own mighty word, he holds the universe together.

After the Son had washed away our sins, he sat down at the right side of the glorious God in heaven. ⁴He had become much greater than the angels, and the name he was given is far greater than any of theirs.

God's Son Is Greater than Angels

⁵God has never said to any of the angels,

"You are my Son, because today

I have become your Father!"

Neither has God said to any of them,

"I will be his Father, and he will be my Son!"

⁶When God brings his first-born Son into the world, he commands all of his angels to worship him.

⁷And when God speaks about the angels, he says,

"I change my angels into wind

and my servants into flaming fire."

⁸But God says about his Son, /sb1

"You are God, and you will rule as King forever!

Your royal power brings about justice.

⁹You loved justice and hated evil,

and so I, your God, have chosen you.

I appointed you and made you happier

than any of your friends."

¹⁰The Scriptures also say, "In the beginning, Lord,

you were the one who laid the foundation of the earth

and created the heavens.

¹¹They will all disappear and wear out like clothes,

but you will last forever.

¹²You will roll them up like a robe

and change them like a garment.

But you are always the same, and you will live forever."

¹³God never said to any of the angels, "Sit at my right side

until I make your enemies into a footstool for you!"

¹⁴Angels are merely spirits sent to serve people who are going to be saved.

Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is

Genesis 45 Since Joseph could no longer control his feelings in front of his servants, he sent them out of the room. When he was alone with his brothers, he told them, "I am Joseph." ²Then he cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him and told about it in the king's palace.

³Joseph asked his brothers if his father was still alive, but they were too frightened to answer. ⁴Joseph told them to come closer to him, and when they did, he said:

Yes, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. ⁵Don't worry or blame yourselves for what you did. God is the one who sent me ahead of you to save lives.

⁶There has already been a famine for two years, and for five more years no one will plow fields or harvest grain. ⁷But God sent me on ahead of you to keep your families alive and to save you in this wonderful way. ⁸After all, you weren't really the ones who sent me here--it was God. He made me the highest official in the king's court and placed me over all Egypt.

⁹Now hurry back and tell my father that his son Joseph says, "God has made me ruler of Egypt. Come here as quickly as you can. ¹⁰You will live near me in the region of Goshen with your children and grandchildren, as well as with your sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else you own. ¹¹I will take care of you there during the next five years of famine. But if you don't come, you and your family and your animals will starve to death."

¹²All of you, including my brother Benjamin, can tell by what I have said that I really am Joseph. ¹³Tell my father about my great power here in Egypt and about everything you have seen. Hurry and bring him here.

¹⁴Joseph and Benjamin hugged each other and started crying. ¹⁵Joseph was still crying as he kissed each of his other brothers. After this, they started talking with Joseph.

¹⁶When it was told in the palace that Joseph's brothers had come, the king and his officials were happy. ¹⁷So the king said to Joseph:

Tell your brothers to load their donkeys and return to Canaan. ¹⁸Have them bring their father and their families here. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they can eat and enjoy everything that grows on it. ¹⁹Also tell your brothers to take some wagons from Egypt for their wives and children to ride in. And be sure to have them bring their father. ²⁰They can leave their possessions behind, because they will be given the best of everything in Egypt.

²¹Jacob's sons agreed to do what the king had said. And Joseph gave them wagons and food for their trip home, just as the king had ordered. ²²Joseph gave some new clothes to each of his brothers, but to Benjamin he gave five new outfits and three hundred pieces of silver. ²³To his father he sent ten donkeys loaded with the best things in Egypt, and ten other donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other food for the return trip. ²⁴Then he sent his brothers off and told them, "Don't argue on the way home!"

²⁵Joseph's brothers left Egypt, and when they arrived in Canaan, ²⁶they told their father that Joseph was still alive and was the ruler of Egypt. But their father was so surprised that he could not believe them. ²⁷Then they told him everything Joseph had said. When he saw the wagons Joseph had sent, he felt much better ²⁸and said, "Now I can believe you! My son Joseph must really be alive, and I will get to see him before I die."

Jacob and His Family Go to Egypt

Genesis 46 Jacob packed up everything he owned and left for Egypt. On the way he stopped near the town of Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God his father Isaac had worshiped. ²That night, God spoke to him and said, "Jacob! Jacob!"

"Here I am," Jacob answered.

³God said, "I am God, the same God your father worshiped. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation. ⁴I will go with you to Egypt, and later I will bring your descendants back here. Your son Joseph will be at your side when you die."

^5-7Jacob and his family set out from Beersheba and headed for Egypt. His sons put him in the wagon that the king had sent for him, and they put their small children and their wives in the other wagons. Jacob's whole family went to Egypt, including his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters. They took along their animals and everything else they owned.

^8-15When Jacob went to Egypt, his children who were born in northern Syria also went along with their families.

Jacob and his wife Leah had a total of thirty-three children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but two of their grandchildren had died in Canaan.

Their oldest son Reuben took his sons Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

Their son Simeon took his sons Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, whose mother was a Canaanite.

Their son Levi took his sons Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Their son Judah took his sons Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. Judah's sons Er and Onan had died in Canaan. Judah's son Perez took his sons Hezron and Hamul.

Their son Issachar took his sons Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron.

Their son Zebulun took his sons Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

Their daughter Dinah also went.

^16-18Jacob and Zilpah, the servant woman Laban had given his daughter Leah, had a total of sixteen children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Their son Gad took his sons Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

Their son Asher took his sons Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, who took his sons, Heber and Malchiel.

Serah, the daughter of Asher, also went.

^19-22Jacob and Rachel had fourteen children and grandchildren.

Their son Joseph was already in Egypt, where he had married Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of Heliopolis. Joseph and Asenath had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

Jacob and Rachel's son Benjamin took his sons Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

^23-25Jacob and Bilhah, the servant woman Laban had given his daughter Rachel, had seven children and grandchildren.

Their son Dan took his son Hushim.

Their son Naphtali took his sons Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

²⁶Sixty-six members of Jacob's family went to Egypt with him, not counting his daughters-in-law. ²⁷Jacob's two grandsons who were born there made it a total of seventy members of Jacob's family in Egypt.

Psalm 36
[For the music leader by David, the LORD's servant.]
Human Sin and God's Goodness

¹Sinners don't respect God; sin is all they think about.

²They like themselves too much to hate their own sins

or even to see them.

³They tell deceitful lies,

and they don't have the sense to live right.

⁴Those people stay awake, thinking up mischief,

and they follow the wrong road,

refusing to turn from sin.

⁵Your love is faithful, LORD,

and even the clouds in the sky can depend on you.

⁶Your decisions are always fair.

They are firm like mountains, deep like the sea,

and all people and animals are under your care.

⁷Your love is a treasure, and everyone finds shelter

in the shadow of your wings.

⁸You give your guests a feast in your house,

and you serve a tasty drink that flows like a river.

⁹The life-giving fountain belongs to you,

and your light gives light to each of us.

¹⁰Our LORD, keep showing love

to everyone who knows you,

and use your power to save

all whose thoughts please you.

¹¹Don't let those proud and merciless people

kick me around or chase me away.

¹²Look at those wicked people!

They are knocked down, never to get up again.

These daily Bible readings from the Contemporary English Version (CEV) are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. BibleCard® images copyright iCreative. All rights reserved.