Daily Bible GNT February 06 Scroll

The Great Salvation

Hebrews 2 That is why we must hold on all the more firmly to the truths we have heard, so that we will not be carried away. ²The message given to our ancestors by the angels was shown to be true, and those who did not follow it or obey it received the punishment they deserved. ³How, then, shall we escape if we pay no attention to such a great salvation? The Lord himself first announced this salvation, and those who heard him proved to us that it is true. ⁴At the same time God added his witness to theirs by performing all kinds of miracles and wonders and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his will.

The One Who Leads Us to Salvation

⁵God has not placed the angels as rulers over the new world to come--the world of which we speak. ⁶Instead, as it is said somewhere in the Scriptures:

"What are human beings, O God, that you should think of them;

mere human beings, that you should care for them?

⁷You made them for a little while lower than the angels;

you crowned them with glory and honor,

⁸

and made them rulers over all things."
It says that God made them "rulers over all things"; this clearly includes everything. We do not, however, see human beings ruling over all things now. ⁹But we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, so that through God's grace he should die for everyone. We see him now crowned with glory and honor because of the death he suffered. ¹⁰It was only right that God, who creates and preserves all things, should make Jesus perfect through suffering, in order to bring many children to share his glory. For Jesus is the one who leads them to salvation.

¹¹He purifies people from their sins, and both he and those who are made pure all have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his family. ¹²He says to God,

"I will tell my people what you have done;

I will praise you in their meeting."
¹³He also says, "I will put my trust in God." And he also says, "Here I am with the children that God has given me."

¹⁴Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death, ¹⁵and in this way set free those who were slaves all their lives because of their fear of death. ¹⁶For it is clear that it is not the angels that he helps. Instead, he helps the descendants of Abraham. ¹⁷This means that he had to become like his people in every way, in order to be their faithful and merciful High Priest in his service to God, so that the people's sins would be forgiven. ¹⁸And now he can help those who are tempted, because he himself was tempted and suffered.

Jacob and His Family in Egypt

Genesis 46²⁸Jacob sent Judah ahead to ask Joseph to meet them in Goshen. When they arrived, ²⁹Joseph got in his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father. When they met, Joseph threw his arms around his father's neck and cried for a long time. ³⁰Jacob said to Joseph, "I am ready to die, now that I have seen you and know that you are still alive."

³¹Then Joseph said to his brothers and the rest of his father's family, "I must go and tell the king that my brothers and all my father's family, who were living in Canaan, have come to me. ³²I will tell him that you are shepherds and take care of livestock and that you have brought your flocks and herds and everything else that belongs to you. ³³When the king calls for you and asks what your occupation is, ³⁴be sure to tell him that you have taken care of livestock all your lives, just as your ancestors did. In this way he will let you live in the region of Goshen." Joseph said this because Egyptians will have nothing to do with shepherds.
Genesis 47 So Joseph took five of his brothers and went to the king. He told him, "My father and my brothers have come from Canaan with their flocks, their herds, and all that they own. They are now in the region of Goshen." ²He then presented his brothers to the king. ³The king asked them, "What is your occupation?"

"We are shepherds, sir, just as our ancestors were," they answered. ⁴"We have come to live in this country, because in the land of Canaan the famine is so severe that there is no pasture for our flocks. Please give us permission to live in the region of Goshen." ⁵The king said to Joseph, "Now that your father and your brothers have arrived, ⁶the land of Egypt is theirs. Let them settle in the region of Goshen, the best part of the land. And if there are any capable men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock."

⁷Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing, ⁸and the king asked him, "How old are you?"

⁹Jacob answered, "My life of wandering has lasted a hundred and thirty years. Those years have been few and difficult, unlike the long years of my ancestors in their wanderings." ¹⁰Jacob gave the king a farewell blessing and left. ¹¹Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt, giving them property in the best of the land near the city of Rameses, as the king had commanded. ¹²Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all the rest of his father's family, including the very youngest.

The Famine

¹³The famine was so severe that there was no food anywhere, and the people of Egypt and Canaan became weak with hunger. ¹⁴As they bought grain, Joseph collected all the money and took it to the palace. ¹⁵When all the money in Egypt and Canaan was spent, the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, "Give us food! Don't let us die. Do something! Our money is all gone."

¹⁶Joseph answered, "Bring your livestock; I will give you food in exchange for it if your money is all gone." ¹⁷So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. That year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock.

¹⁸The following year they came to him and said, "We will not hide the fact from you, sir, that our money is all gone and our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left to give you except our bodies and our lands. ¹⁹Don't let us die. Do something! Don't let our fields be deserted. Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We will be the king's slaves, and he will own our land. Give us grain to keep us alive and seed so that we can plant our fields."

²⁰Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian was forced to sell his land, because the famine was so severe; and all the land became the king's property. ²¹Joseph made slaves of the people from one end of Egypt to the other. ²²The only land he did not buy was the land that belonged to the priests. They did not have to sell their lands, because the king gave them an allowance to live on. ²³Joseph said to the people, "You see, I have now bought you and your lands for the king. Here is seed for you to sow in your fields. ²⁴At the time of harvest you must give one-fifth to the king. You can use the rest for seed and for food for yourselves and your families."

²⁵They answered, "You have saved our lives; you have been good to us, sir, and we will be the king's slaves." ²⁶So Joseph made it a law for the land of Egypt that one-fifth of the harvest should belong to the king. This law still remains in force today. Only the lands of the priests did not become the king's property.

Jacob's Last Request

²⁷The Israelites lived in Egypt in the region of Goshen, where they became rich and had many children. ²⁸Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, until he was a hundred and forty-seven years old. ²⁹When the time drew near for him to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "Place your hand between my thighs and make a solemn vow that you will not bury me in Egypt. ³⁰I want to be buried where my fathers are; carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried."

Joseph answered, "I will do as you say."

³¹Jacob said, "Make a vow that you will." Joseph made the vow, and Jacob gave thanks there on his bed.

The Destiny of the Wicked and of the Good

Psalm 37 Don't be worried on account of the wicked;

don't be jealous of those who do wrong.

²They will soon disappear like grass that dries up;

they will die like plants that wither.

³Trust in the LORD and do good;

live in the land and be safe.

⁴Seek your happiness in the LORD,

and he will give you your heart's desire.

⁵Give yourself to the LORD;

trust in him, and he will help you;

⁶he will make your righteousness shine like the noonday sun.

⁷Be patient and wait for the LORD to act;

don't be worried about those who prosper

or those who succeed in their evil plans.

⁸Don't give in to worry or anger;

it only leads to trouble.

⁹Those who trust in the LORD will possess the land,

but the wicked will be driven out.

¹⁰Soon the wicked will disappear;

you may look for them, but you won't find them;

¹¹but the humble will possess the land

and enjoy prosperity and peace.

¹²The wicked plot against good people

and glare at them with hate.

¹³But the Lord laughs at wicked people,

because he knows they will soon be destroyed.

¹⁴The wicked draw their swords and bend their bows

to kill the poor and needy,

to slaughter those who do what is right;

¹⁵but they will be killed by their own swords,

and their bows will be smashed.

¹⁶The little that a good person owns

is worth more than the wealth of all the wicked,

¹⁷because the LORD will take away the strength of the wicked,

but protect those who are good.

¹⁸The LORD takes care of those who obey him,

and the land will be theirs forever.

¹⁹They will not suffer when times are bad;

they will have enough in time of famine.

²⁰But the wicked will die;

the enemies of the LORD will vanish like wild flowers;

they will disappear like smoke.

²¹The wicked borrow and never pay back,

but good people are generous with their gifts.

²²Those who are blessed by the LORD will possess the land,

but those who are cursed by him will be driven out.

²³The LORD guides us in the way we should go

and protects those who please him.

²⁴If they fall, they will not stay down,

because the LORD will help them up.

²⁵I am old now; I have lived a long time,

but I have never seen good people abandoned by the LORD

or their children begging for food.

²⁶At all times they give freely and lend to others,

and their children are a blessing.

²⁷Turn away from evil and do good,

and your descendants will always live in the land;

²⁸for the LORD loves what is right

and does not abandon his faithful people.

He protects them forever,

but the descendants of the wicked will be driven out.

²⁹The righteous will possess the land

and live in it forever.

³⁰The words of good people are wise,

and they are always fair.

³¹They keep the law of their God in their hearts

and never depart from it.

³²Wicked people watch good people

and try to kill them;

³³but the LORD will not abandon them to their enemy's power

or let them be condemned when they are on trial.

³⁴Put your hope in the LORD and obey his commands;

he will honor you by giving you the land,

and you will see the wicked driven out.

³⁵I once knew someone wicked who was a tyrant;

he towered over everyone like a cedar of Lebanon;

³⁶but later I passed by, and he wasn't there;

I looked for him, but couldn't find him.

³⁷Notice good people, observe the righteous;

peaceful people have descendants,

³⁸but sinners are completely destroyed,

and their descendants are wiped out.

³⁹The LORD saves the righteous

and protects them in times of trouble.

⁴⁰He helps them and rescues them;

he saves them from the wicked,

because they go to him for protection.

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.