Genesis 47

• 1. So Joseph went to see Pharaoh and said, "My father and my brothers are here from Canaan. They came with all their flocks and herds and possessions, and they are now in the land of Goshen."
• 2. Joseph took five of his brothers with him and presented them to Pharaoh.
• 3. Pharaoh asked them, "What is your occupation?" And they replied, "We are shepherds like our ancestors.
• 4. We have come to live here in Egypt, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very severe there. We request permission to live in the land of Goshen."
• 5. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Now that your family has joined you here,
• 6. choose any place you like for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt--the land of Goshen will be fine. And if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock, too."
• 7. Then Joseph brought his father, Jacob, and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
• 8. "How old are you?" Pharaoh asked him.
• 9. Jacob replied, "I have lived for 130 hard years, but I am still not nearly as old as many of my ancestors."
• 10. Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before he left.
• 11. So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt--the land of Rameses--to his father and brothers, just as Pharaoh had commanded.
• 12. And Joseph furnished food to his father and brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents.
• 13. Meanwhile, the famine became worse and worse, and the crops continued to fail throughout Egypt and Canaan.
• 14. Joseph collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan in exchange for grain, and he brought the money to Pharaoh's treasure-house.
• 15. When the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money, they came to Joseph crying again for food. "Our money is gone," they said, "but give us bread. Why should we die?"
• 16. "Well, then," Joseph replied, "since your money is gone, give me your livestock. I will give you food in exchange."
• 17. So they gave their livestock to Joseph in exchange for food. Soon all the horses, flocks, herds, and donkeys of Egypt were in Pharaoh's possession. But at least they were able to purchase food for that year.
• 18. The next year they came again and said, "Our money is gone, and our livestock are yours. We have nothing left but our bodies and land.
• 19. Why should we die before your very eyes? Buy us and our land in exchange for food; we will then become servants to Pharaoh. Just give us grain so that our lives may be saved and so the land will not become empty and desolate."
• 20. So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the famine was so severe, and their land then belonged to Pharaoh.
• 21. Thus, all the people of Egypt became servants to Pharaoh.
• 22. The only land he didn't buy was that belonging to the priests, for they were assigned food from Pharaoh and didn't need to sell their land.
• 23. Then Joseph said to the people, "See, I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I will provide you with seed, so you can plant the fields.
• 24. Then when you harvest it, a fifth of your crop will belong to Pharaoh. Keep four-fifths for yourselves, and use it to plant the next year's crop and to feed yourselves, your households, and your little ones."
• 25. "You have saved our lives!" they exclaimed. "May it please you, sir, to let us be Pharaoh's servants."
• 26. Joseph then made it a law throughout the land of Egypt--and it is still the law--that Pharaoh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown on his land. But since Pharaoh had not taken over the priests' land, they were exempt from this payment.
• 27. So the people of Israel settled in the land of Goshen in Egypt. And before long, they began to prosper there, and their population grew rapidly.
• 28. Jacob lived for seventeen years after his arrival in Egypt, so he was 147 years old when he died.
• 29. As the time of his death drew near, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "If you are pleased with me, swear most solemnly that you will honor this, my last request: Do not bury me in Egypt.
• 30. When I am dead, take me out of Egypt and bury me beside my ancestors." So Joseph promised that he would.
• 31. "Swear that you will do it," Jacob insisted. So Joseph gave his oath, and Jacob bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.

Luke 2

• 1. At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.
• 2. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
• 3. All returned to their own towns to register for this census.
• 4. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.
• 5. He took with him Mary, his fiance, who was obviously pregnant by this time.
• 6. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.
• 7. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.
• 8. That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep.
• 9. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened,
• 10. but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!
• 11. The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!
• 12. And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!"
• 13. Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others--the armies of heaven--praising God:
• 14. "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors. "
• 15. When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Come on, let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
• 16. They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
• 17. Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.
• 18. All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished,
• 19. but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often.
• 20. The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said.
• 21. Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.
• 22. Then it was time for the purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
• 23. The law of the Lord says, "If a woman's first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord."
• 24. So they offered a sacrifice according to what was required in the law of the Lord--"either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."
• 25. Now there was a man named Simeon who lived in Jerusalem. He was a righteous man and very devout. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he eagerly expected the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.
• 26. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah.
• 27. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required,
• 28. Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,
• 29. "Lord, now I can die in peace! As you promised me,
• 30. I have seen the Savior
• 31. you have given to all people.
• 32. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!"
• 33. Joseph and Mary were amazed at what was being said about Jesus.
• 34. Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, "This child will be rejected by many in Israel, and it will be their undoing. But he will be the greatest joy to many others.
• 35. Thus, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul."
• 36. Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, and was very old. She was a widow, for her husband had died when they had been married only seven years.
• 37. She was now eighty-four years old. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer.
• 38. She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about Jesus to everyone who had been waiting for the promised King to come and deliver Jerusalem.
• 39. When Jesus' parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee.
• 40. There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom beyond his years, and God placed his special favor upon him.
• 41. Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.
• 42. When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual.
• 43. After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn't miss him at first,
• 44. because they assumed he was with friends among the other travelers. But when he didn't show up that evening, they started to look for him among their relatives and friends.
• 45. When they couldn't find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there.
• 46. Three days later they finally discovered him. He was in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, discussing deep questions with them.
• 47. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
• 48. His parents didn't know what to think. "Son!" his mother said to him. "Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere."
• 49. "But why did you need to search?" he asked. "You should have known that I would be in my Father's house."
• 50. But they didn't understand what he meant.
• 51. Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them; and his mother stored all these things in her heart.
• 52. So Jesus grew both in height and in wisdom, and he was loved by God and by all who knew him.

Job 14

• 1. "How frail is humanity! How short is life, and how full of trouble!
• 2. Like a flower, we blossom for a moment and then wither. Like the shadow of a passing cloud, we quickly disappear.
• 3. Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me?
• 4. Who can create purity in one born impure? No one!
• 5. You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.
• 6. So give us a little rest, won't you? Turn away your angry stare. We are like hired hands, so let us finish the task you have given us.
• 7. "If a tree is cut down, there is hope that it will sprout again and grow new branches.
• 8. Though its roots have grown old in the earth and its stump decays,
• 9. at the scent of water it may bud and sprout again like a new seedling.
• 10. "But when people die, they lose all strength. They breathe their last, and then where are they?
• 11. As water evaporates from a lake and as a river disappears in drought,
• 12. people lie down and do not rise again. Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up nor be roused from their sleep.
• 13. "I wish you would hide me with the dead and forget me there until your anger has passed. But mark your calendar to think of me again!
• 14. If mortals die, can they live again? This thought would give me hope, and through my struggle I would eagerly wait for release.
• 15. You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork.
• 16. For then you would count my steps, instead of watching for my sins.
• 17. My sins would be sealed in a pouch, and you would cover over my iniquity.
• 18. "But as mountains fall and crumble and as rocks fall from a cliff,
• 19. as water wears away the stones and floods wash away the soil, so you destroy people's hope.
• 20. You always overpower them, and then they pass from the scene. You disfigure them in death and send them away.
• 21. They never know if their sons grow up in honor or sink to insignificance.
• 22. They are absorbed in their own pain and grief."

New Living Translation: 46 of 365 days.