Saturday, 10 February

1.   Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, "Indeed your father is sick"; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2.   And Jacob was told, "Look, your son Joseph is coming to you"; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. 3.   Then Jacob said to Joseph: "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4.   "and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ 5.   "And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. 6.   "Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7.   "But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)." 8.   Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, "Who are these?" 9.   And Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place ." And he said, "Please bring them to me, and I will bless them." 10.   Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11.   And Israel said to Joseph, "I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!" 12.   So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 13.   And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14.   Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15.   And he blessed Joseph, and said: "God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to this day, 16.   The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." 17.   Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18.   And Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head." 19.   But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." 20.   So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’" And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21.   Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22.   "Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow."

1.   Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2.   "Can a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself? 3.   Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless? 4.   "Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you, And enters into judgment with you? 5.   Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquity without end? 6.   For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, And stripped the naked of their clothing. 7.   You have not given the weary water to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry. 8.   But the mighty man possessed the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it. 9.   You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the fatherless was crushed. 10.   Therefore snares are all around you, And sudden fear troubles you, 11.   Or darkness so that you cannot see; And an abundance of water covers you. 12.   "Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the highest stars, how lofty they are! 13.   And you say, ‘What does God know? Can He judge through the deep darkness? 14.   Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven.’ 15.   Will you keep to the old way Which wicked men have trod, 16.   Who were cut down before their time, Whose foundations were swept away by a flood? 17.   They said to God, ‘Depart from us! What can the Almighty do to them?’ 18.   Yet He filled their houses with good things ; But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 19.   "The righteous see it and are glad, And the innocent laugh at them: 20.   ‘Surely our adversaries are cut down, And the fire consumes their remnant.’ 21.   "Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you. 22.   Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart. 23.   If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; You will remove iniquity far from your tents. 24.   Then you will lay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. 25.   Yes, the Almighty will be your gold And your precious silver; 26.   For then you will have your delight in the Almighty, And lift up your face to God. 27.   You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows. 28.   You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways. 29.   When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come !’ Then He will save the humble person . 30.   He will even deliver one who is not innocent; Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands."

31.   "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32.   "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33.   "And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34.   "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35.   ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36.   ‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37.   "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You , or thirsty and give You drink? 38.   ‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You ? 39.   ‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40.   "And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41.   "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42.   ‘for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43.   ‘I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44.   "Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45.   "Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46.   "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."