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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch23" data-usfm="MAT.23.11">
 <div class="p">11The greatest among you will be your servant. </div>
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The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

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Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkMAT">
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 <div class="label">23</div><div class="s1">A Warning Against Hypocrisy</div><div class="p"> 1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2&#8220;The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses&#8217; seat. 3So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people&#8217;s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.</div><div class="p"> 5 &#8220;Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries # 23:5 That is, boxes containing Scripture verses, worn on forehead and arm wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called &#8216;Rabbi&#8217; by others.</div><div class="p"> 8 &#8220;But you are not to be called &#8216;Rabbi,&#8217; for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth &#8216;father,&#8217; for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.</div><div class="s1">Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees</div><div class="p"> 13 &#8220;Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people&#8217;s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. [14]#23:14 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47.</div><div class="p"> 15 &#8220;Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.</div><div class="p"> 16 &#8220;Woe to you, blind guides! You say, &#8216;If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.&#8217; 17You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18You also say, &#8216;If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.&#8217; 19You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God&#8217;s throne and by the one who sits on it.</div><div class="p"> 23 &#8220;Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices&#8212;mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law&#8212;justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.</div><div class="p"> 25 &#8220;Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.</div><div class="p"> 27 &#8220;Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.</div><div class="p"> 29 &#8220;Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30And you say, &#8216;If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.&#8217; 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!</div><div class="p"> 33 &#8220;You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.</div><div class="p"> 37 &#8220;Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, &#8216;Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.&#8217;#23:39 Psalm 118:26&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">47</div><div class="p"> 1Joseph went and told Pharaoh, &#8220;My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.&#8221; 2He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.</div><div class="p"> 3Pharaoh asked the brothers, &#8220;What is your occupation?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Your servants are shepherds,&#8221; they replied to Pharaoh, &#8220;just as our fathers were.&#8221; 4They also said to him, &#8220;We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants&#8217; flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5Pharaoh said to Joseph, &#8220;Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed#47:7 Or greeted Pharaoh, 8Pharaoh asked him, &#8220;How old are you?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, &#8220;The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.&#8221; 10Then Jacob blessed#47:10 Or said farewell to Pharaoh and went out from his presence.</div><div class="p"> 11So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. 12Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father&#8217;s household with food, according to the number of their children.</div><div class="s1">Joseph and the Famine</div><div class="p"> 13There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 14Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh&#8217;s palace. 15When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, &#8220;Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16&#8220;Then bring your livestock,&#8221; said Joseph. &#8220;I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.&#8221; 17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.</div><div class="p"> 18When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, &#8220;We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19Why should we perish before your eyes&#8212;we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh&#8217;s, 21and Joseph reduced the people to servitude,#47:21 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also Vulgate); Masoretic Text and he moved the people into the cities from one end of Egypt to the other. 22However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.</div><div class="p"> 23Joseph said to the people, &#8220;Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. 24But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25&#8220;You have saved our lives,&#8221; they said. &#8220;May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 26So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt&#8212;still in force today&#8212;that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh&#8217;s.</div><div class="p"> 27Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.</div><div class="p"> 28Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. 29When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, &#8220;If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;I will do as you say,&#8221; he said.</div><div class="p"> 31&#8220;Swear to me,&#8221; he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.#47:31 Or Israel bowed down at the head of his bed</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch48" data-usfm="GEN.48">
 <div class="label">48</div><div class="s1">Manasseh and Ephraim</div><div class="p"> 1Some time later Joseph was told, &#8220;Your father is ill.&#8221; So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. 2When Jacob was told, &#8220;Your son Joseph has come to you,&#8221; Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.</div><div class="p"> 3Jacob said to Joseph, &#8220;God Almighty#48:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me 4and said to me, &#8216;I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 5&#8220;Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. 7As I was returning from Paddan,#48:7 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath&#8221; (that is, Bethlehem).</div><div class="p"> 8When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, &#8220;Who are these?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;They are the sons God has given me here,&#8221; Joseph said to his father.</div><div class="p">Then Israel said, &#8220;Bring them to me so I may bless them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10Now Israel&#8217;s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.</div><div class="p"> 11Israel said to Joseph, &#8220;I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Then Joseph removed them from Israel&#8217;s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. 13And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel&#8217;s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel&#8217;s right hand, and brought them close to him. 14But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim&#8217;s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh&#8217;s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.</div><div class="p"> 15Then he blessed Joseph and said,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;May the God before whom my fathers</div><div class="q2">Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,</div><div class="q1">the God who has been my shepherd</div><div class="q2">all my life to this day,</div><div class="q1"> 16the Angel who has delivered me from all harm</div><div class="q2">&#8212;may he bless these boys.</div><div class="q1">May they be called by my name</div><div class="q2">and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,</div><div class="q1">and may they increase greatly</div><div class="q2">on the earth.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim&#8217;s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father&#8217;s hand to move it from Ephraim&#8217;s head to Manasseh&#8217;s head. 18Joseph said to him, &#8220;No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19But his father refused and said, &#8220;I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.&#8221; 20He blessed them that day and said,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;In your#48:20 The Hebrew is singular. name will Israel pronounce this blessing:</div><div class="q2">&#8216;May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="m">So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.</div><div class="p"> 21Then Israel said to Joseph, &#8220;I am about to die, but God will be with you#48:21 The Hebrew is plural. and take you#48:21 The Hebrew is plural. back to the land of your#48:21 The Hebrew is plural. fathers. 22And to you I give one more ridge of land#48:22 The Hebrew for ridge of land is identical with the place name Shechem. than to your brothers, the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.&#8221;</div>
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 <div class="q1">16Dogs surround me,</div><div class="q2">a pack of villains encircles me;</div><div class="q2">they pierce#22:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text me, / like a lion my hands and my feet.</div><div class="q1"> 17All my bones are on display;</div><div class="q2">people stare and gloat over me.</div><div class="q1"> 18They divide my clothes among them</div><div class="q2">and cast lots for my garment.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 19But you, Lord, do not be far from me.</div><div class="q2">You are my strength; come quickly to help me.</div><div class="q1"> 20Deliver me from the sword,</div><div class="q2">my precious life from the power of the dogs.</div><div class="q1"> 21Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;</div><div class="q2">save me from the horns of the wild oxen.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 22I will declare your name to my people;</div><div class="q2">in the assembly I will praise you.</div><div class="q1"> 23You who fear the Lord, praise him!</div><div class="q2">All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!</div><div class="q2">Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!</div><div class="q1"> 24For he has not despised or scorned</div><div class="q2">the suffering of the afflicted one;</div><div class="q1">he has not hidden his face from him</div><div class="q2">but has listened to his cry for help.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 25From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;</div><div class="q2">before those who fear you#22:25 Hebrew him I will fulfill my vows.</div><div class="q1"> 26The poor will eat and be satisfied;</div><div class="q2">those who seek the Lord will praise him&#8212;</div><div class="q2">may your hearts live forever!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 27All the ends of the earth</div><div class="q2">will remember and turn to the Lord,</div><div class="q1">and all the families of the nations</div><div class="q2">will bow down before him,</div><div class="q1"> 28for dominion belongs to the Lord</div><div class="q2">and he rules over the nations.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 29All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;</div><div class="q2">all who go down to the dust will kneel before him&#8212;</div><div class="q2">those who cannot keep themselves alive.</div><div class="q1"> 30Posterity will serve him;</div><div class="q2">future generations will be told about the Lord.</div><div class="q1"> 31They will proclaim his righteousness,</div><div class="q2">declaring to a people yet unborn:</div><div class="q2">He has done it!</div>
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