Today’s
Reading : Genesis 49 – 50 and Matthew 25 (KJV)
Genesis 49
Gen
49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said,
Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that
which shall befall you in the last days.
Gen 49:2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons
of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
Gen 49:3 Reuben, thou art
my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency
of power:
Gen 49:4 Unstable as water, thou shalt
not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's
bed; then defiledst thou it:
he went up to my couch.
Gen 49:5 Simeon and Levi are
brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
Gen 49:6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret;
unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they
slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a
wall.
Gen 49:7 Cursed be
their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I
will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Gen 49:8 Judah, thou art
he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy
hand shall be
in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children
shall bow down before thee.
Gen 49:9 Judah is
a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he
couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor
a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Gen 49:11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's
colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in
the blood of grapes:
Gen 49:12 His eyes shall
be red with wine, and his teeth white
with milk.
Gen 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell
at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for a haven of ships; and his border shall be
unto Zidon.
Gen 49:14 Issachar is
a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
Gen 49:15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was
pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
Gen 49:16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the
tribes of Israel.
Gen 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder
in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his
rider shall fall backward.
Gen 49:18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
Gen 49:19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall
overcome at the last.
Gen 49:20 Out of Asher his bread shall be
fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
Gen 49:21 Naphtali is
a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
Gen 49:22 Joseph is
a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough
by a well; whose branches run over the
wall:
Gen 49:23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot
at him,
and hated him:
Gen 49:24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms
of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
Gen 49:25 Even
by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall
bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
Gen 49:26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed
above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting
hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him
that was separate from his brethren.
Gen 49:27 Benjamin shall ravin
as a wolf: in the morning he shall
devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
Gen 49:28 All these are
the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is
it that their father spoke unto them,
and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
Gen 49:29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am
to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron
the Hittite,
Gen 49:30 In the cave that is
in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the
land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron
the Hittite for a possession of a burial place.
Gen 49:31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife;
there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and
there I buried Leah.
Gen 49:32 The purchase of the field and of the cave
that is therein was from the children of Heth.
Gen 49:33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding
his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and
was gathered unto his people.
Genesis 50
Gen
50:1 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and
wept upon him, and kissed him.
Gen 50:2 And Joseph commanded his servants the
physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
Gen 50:3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so
are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned
for him threescore and ten days.
Gen 50:4 And when the days of his mourning were past,
Joseph spoke unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in
your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
Gen 50:5 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die:
in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of
Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let
me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.
Gen 50:6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father,
according as he made thee swear.
Gen 50:7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and
with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all
the elders of the land of Egypt,
Gen 50:8 And all the house of Joseph, and his
brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and
their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
Gen 50:9 And there went up with him both chariots and
horsemen: and it was a very great company.
Gen 50:10 And they came to the threshingfloor
of Atad, which is
beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation:
and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
Gen 50:11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the
Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad,
they said, This is a grievous mourning
to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim,
which is beyond Jordan.
Gen 50:12 And his sons did unto him according as he
commanded them:
Gen 50:13 For his sons carried him into the land of
Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah,
which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a burial place of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
Gen 50:14 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his
brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried
his father.
Gen 50:15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their
father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will
certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
Gen 50:16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph,
saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
Gen 50:17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray
thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee
evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of
thy father. And Joseph wept when they spoke unto him.
Gen 50:18 And his brethren also went and fell down
before his face; and they said, Behold, we be
thy servants.
Gen 50:19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
Gen 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this
day, to save much people alive.
Gen 50:21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish
you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spoke kindly unto them.
Gen 50:22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his
father's house: and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years.
Gen 50:23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the
third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's
knees.
Gen 50:24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and
God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which
he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Gen 50:25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of
Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from
hence.
Gen 50:26 So Joseph died, being
a hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin
in Egypt.
Matthew 25
Mat
25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Mat 25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
Mat 25:3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
Mat 25:4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Mat 25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
Mat 25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Mat 25:7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
Mat 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
Mat 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
Mat 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready
went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Mat 25:11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Mat 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Mat 25:14 For the kingdom
of heaven
is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
Mat 25:15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
Mat 25:16 Then he that had received the
five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
Mat 25:17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
Mat 25:18 But he that had received one
went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
Mat 25:19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
Mat 25:20 And so he that had received
five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst
unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
Mat 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou
good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Mat 25:22 He also that had
received two talents
came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst
unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
Mat 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Mat 25:24 Then he which had received the
one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strewed:
Mat 25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Mat 25:26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strewed:
Mat 25:27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Mat 25:28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
Mat 25:29 For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Mat 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35 For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42 For I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment:
but the righteous into life eternal.