VAY’CHI (AND HE LIVED)

Parashat Vayechi

Joseph’s Promise to Jacob

²⁸ Now Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for 17 years, so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years. ²⁹ As the time of Israel’s death drew near, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh and show me faithful kindness. Please do not bury me in Egypt. ³⁰ When I lie down with my fathers, you must carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”

So he said, “I myself will do according to your word.”

³¹ “Swear to me,” he said. So he swore to him. Then Israel bowed down in worship on the head of his staff.^[a]

Blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh

48 After these things, someone told Joseph, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him. ² When someone told Jacob, saying, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel summoned his strength and sat up in the bed.

³ Then Jacob said to Joseph, “El Shaddai appeared to me in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me.” ⁴ He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and multiply you and turn you into an assembly of peoples, and I will give this land to your seed after you as an everlasting possession.’ ⁵ So now, your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just like Reuben and Simeon. ⁶ Any descendent of yours whom you father after them will be yours; they will be identified by the names of their brothers for their inheritance. ⁷ “Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way, in the land of Canaan, while we were still a distance from entering 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 Joseph said to his father, “They’re my sons, whom God has given me here.”

Then he said, “Please bring them to me, so I may bless them.”

¹⁰ Now Israel’s eyes had grown heavy with old age—he could not see. So he brought them near to him, and he kissed them and hugged them. ¹¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “To see your face, I didn’t expect—and look, God has let me see your offspring as well!”

¹² Then Joseph took them from his knees and bowed with his face down to the ground. ¹³ Then Joseph took the two of them—Ephraim with his right hand across from Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand across from Israel’s right—and brought them close to him. ¹⁴ But Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it upon Ephraim’s head (though he was the younger), and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands (though Manasseh was the firstborn). ¹⁵ Then he blessed Joseph and said,

¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand upon Ephraim’s head, it was wrong in his eyes. So his took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to his father, “Not like that, my father, because this one’s the firstborn. Put your right hand upon his head.”

¹⁹ But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will become great. But his younger brother will become greater than he and his seed will be the fullness of the nations.” ²⁰ Then he blessed them that day saying,

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die. But God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. ²² Now I myself give you one portion more than your brothers, that which I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

Jacob Speaks Over His Sons

49 Jacob called his sons and said to them:

²⁸ These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this is what their father spoke to them. He blessed them, each one he blessed with a suitable blessing. ²⁹ Then he charged them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, that is next to Mamre in the land of Canaan—the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a property for burial. ³¹ There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah, and there I buried Leah. ³² The field was purchased along with the cave in it from the sons of Het.”

³³ When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, then breathed his last and was gathered to his peoples.

Lamentation for Jacob

50 Joseph fell upon his father’s face, wept over him and kissed him. ² Then Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father, so the physicians embalmed Israel. ³ They took 40 days for him, because that is how long embalming takes, and Egypt wept 70 days.

⁴ When the days of formal weeping passed, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s house saying, “If I’ve found favor in your eyes, please say in Pharaoh’s ears, ⁵ “My father made me take an oath saying, ‘Behold, I am about to die. In my tomb—which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan—there you must bury me.’ So now, please allow me to go up and bury my father, and then return.”

⁶ Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father just as he made you swear on oath.”

⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father. Also all of Pharaoh’s servants, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt went up with him, ⁸ along with all of Joseph’s house, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and cattle were left in the land of Goshen. ⁹ Chariots and horsemen also went up with him—it was a very impressive company.

¹⁰ When they came to the threshing floor of the bramble on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned there—a very great and solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father. ¹¹ When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning ritual at the threshing floor of the prickly bush, they said, “A solemn mourning ritual this is for the Egyptians.” That is why it is named Abel-Mizraim, which is on the other side of the Jordan.

¹² So Jacob’s sons did for him just as he commanded them. ¹³ His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, the field that Abraham bought as a property for burial from Ephron the Hittite, next to Mamre.

¹⁴ After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all those who went up with him to bury his father.

Joseph Comforts His Brothers

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father had died, they said, “Maybe Joseph will be hostile towards us and pay us back in full for all the evil we showed him. ¹⁶ So they charged Joseph saying, “Before his death, your father gave a command, saying, ¹⁷ “Thus you must say to Joseph: ‘Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin because they treated you wrongly.’ Therefore, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.”

Then Joseph wept when they spoke to him, ¹⁸ and his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your slaves!”

¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. For am I in the place of God? ²⁰ Yes, you yourselves planned evil against me. God planned it for good, in order to bring about what it is this day—to preserve the lives of many people. ²¹ So now, don’t be afraid. I myself will provide food for you and your little ones.” So he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.

²² Joseph remained in Egypt—he and his father’s household—and Joseph lived 110 years. ²³ Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s sons. Also the sons of Machir, Manasseh’s son, were born upon Joseph’s knees.

²⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I’m about to die. But God will surely take notice of you and will bring you up from this land to the land that He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” ²⁵ Then Joseph made Israel’s sons swear an oath saying, “When God takes notice of you, you will bring my bones up from here.”

²⁶ So Joseph died at 110 years old, and they embalmed him and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

David’s Last Instructions

2 Now when the time of David drew near to die, he charged his son Solomon, saying: ² “I—I am going the way of all the earth. So be strong^[a] and be a man. ³ Keep the charge of Adonai your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His decrees, according to what is written in the Torah of Moses, so that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn ⁴ so that Adonai may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying: ‘If your children watch their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

⁵ “Moreover, you also know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, whom he killed, shedding the blood of war in peacetime, and putting the blood of war on his waistband and on his sandals on his feet. ⁶ So act according to your wisdom, and let his gray hair not go down to Sheol in shalom. ⁷ But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table—for they befriended me when I fled from your brother Absalom. ⁸ Also behold, you have with you Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by Adonai saying: ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ ⁹ Now don’t let him go unpunished. For you are a wise man, and you will know how to deal with him, and bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood.”

¹⁰ Then David slept with his fathers^[b] and was buried in the city of David. ¹¹ The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years—seven years he reigned in Hebron and 33 years he reigned in Jerusalem. ¹² Then Solomon sat upon the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was established firmly.

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Greetings

1 Peter, an emissary of Messiah Yeshua,

To the sojourners of the Diaspora in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia—chosen ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, set apart by the Ruach for obedience and for sprinkling with the blood^[a] of Yeshua the Messiah:

May grace and shalom be multiplied to you.

A Message of Living Hope

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah! In His great mercy He caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua from the dead. ⁴ An incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inheritance has been reserved in heaven for you. ⁵ By trusting, you are being protected by God’s power for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ You rejoice in this greatly, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. ⁷ These trials are so that the true metal^[b] of your faith (far more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire) may come to light in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua. ⁸ Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. And even though you don’t see Him now, you trust Him and are filled with a joy that is glorious beyond words, ⁹ receiving the outcome of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

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Parable of the Ten Virgins

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ^{[a] 2} Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ For when the foolish ones took their lamps, they took no oil with them. ⁴ But the wise ones took oil in jars along with their lamps.

⁵ “Now while the bridegroom was taking a long time, they all got drowsy and started falling asleep. ⁶ But in the middle of the night there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ Now the foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, since our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, there won’t be enough for us and for you. Instead, go to those who sell, and buy some for yourselves.’

¹⁰ “But while they were going off to buy, the bridegroom came. And those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Now later, the other virgins came, saying, ‘Sir, Sir, open up for us!’

¹² “But he replied, ‘Amen, I tell you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Therefore stay alert, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Parable of the Talents

¹⁴ “For it is like a man about to go on a journey. He called his own servants and handed over his possessions to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents,^[b] to another two, and to another one, each according to his own ability. Then he went on his journey.

¹⁶ “Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them and gained five more. ¹⁷ In the same way, the one with two gained two more. ¹⁸ But the one who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “Now after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The one who had received the five talents came up and brought another five talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed me five talents. Look, I’ve gained five more.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a little, so I’ll put you in charge of much. Enter into your master’s joy!’

²² “The one who had received the two talents also came up and said, ‘Master, you handed me two talents. Look, I’ve gained two more.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a little, so I’ll put you in charge of much. Enter into your master’s joy!’

²⁴ “Then the one who had received the one talent also came up and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you didn’t sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid, and I went off and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his master responded, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I didn’t sow and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷ Then you should have brought my money to the brokers, and when I came I would have received it back with interest. ²⁸ Therefore take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents. ²⁹ For to the one who has, more shall be given, and he shall have an abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ³⁰ Throw the worthless servant out, into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

The Righteous Judge

³¹ “Now when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ^{[c] 33} And He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on His left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited 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.’^[d]

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see You a stranger and invite You in? Or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’

⁴⁰ “And answering, the King will say to them, ‘Amen, I tell you, whatever you did to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ ^{[e] 41} Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Go away from Me, you cursed ones, into the everlasting fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in; naked and you did not clothe Me; sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

⁴⁴ “Then they too will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not care for You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Amen, I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’ ⁴⁶ These shall go off to everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life.”^[f]

The Conspiracy Grows

26 Now it happened that when Yeshua had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, ² “You know that Passover comes in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be executed.”

³ Then the ruling kohanim and elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the kohen gadol named Caiaphas. ⁴ They plotted together in order that they might seize Yeshua by stealth and kill Him. ⁵ “But not during the festival,” they were saying, “so there won’t be a riot among the people.”

A Woman Anoints Yeshua for Burial

⁶ Now while Yeshua was in Bethany at the house of Simon ha-Metzora, ⁷ a woman came up to Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive oil. And she poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table. ⁸ But when the disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹ It could have been sold for a lot, and the money given to the poor!”

¹⁰ But Yeshua, knowing this, said to them, “Why do you cause trouble for this woman? She’s done Me a mitzvah. ¹¹ You always have the poor with you,^[g] but you won’t always have Me. ¹² For when she poured this oil on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. ¹³ Amen, I tell you, wherever this Good News is proclaimed in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Betrayed and Sold for Silver

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judah of Kriot, went to the ruling kohanim ¹⁵ and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they weighed out thirty shekels^[h] of silver for him. ¹⁶ From then on, Judah began looking for a chance to hand Him over.

¹⁷ Now on the first day of matzah,^[i] the disciples came to Yeshua, saying, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

¹⁸ He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near; at your house I am to keep the Passover with My disciples.”’” ¹⁹ The disciples did as Yeshua had ordered them, and they prepared the Passover.^[j]

²⁰ Now when it was evening, Yeshua was reclining at the table with the Twelve. ²¹ As they were eating, He said, “Amen, I tell you, one of you will betray Me.”

²² And being very sorrowful, they began, each one, to say to Him, “I’m not the one, am I, Master?”

²³ And He replied, “The one who dipped his hand in the bowl with Me, he’s the one who will betray Me. ^{[k] 24} The Son of Man indeed goes, just as it is written about Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!^[l] It would have been better for that man if he had not been born!”

²⁵ And Judah, the one betraying Him, replied, “I’m not the one, am I, Rabbi?”

Yeshua said to him, “You’ve said it yourself.”

²⁶ Now while they were eating, Yeshua took matzah;^[m] and after He offered the bracha, He broke and gave to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” ²⁷ And He took a cup; and after giving thanks, He gave to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸ for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the removal of sins. ^{[n] 29} But I say to you, I will never drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

³⁰ After singing the Hallel,^[o] they went out to the Mount of Olives. ³¹ Then Yeshua said to them, “This night you will all fall away because of Me; for it is written,

³² But after I am raised up, I will go before you to the Galilee.”

³³ But Peter replied to Him, “Though all fall away because of You, I’ll never fall away.”

³⁴ Yeshua said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

³⁵ “Even if I must die with You,” Peter says to Him, “I’ll never deny You!” And so said all the disciples.

“Your Will Be Done”

³⁶ Then Yeshua comes with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He tells the disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ And He took along Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, and He began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸ Then He tells them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.” ³⁹ Going a little farther, He fell face down and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me! Yet not as I will, but as You will.”

⁴⁰ Then He comes to the disciples and finds them sleeping; and He tells Peter, “So couldn’t you keep watch with Me for one hour? ⁴¹ Keep watching and praying, so that you won’t enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ⁴² Again for a second time He went away and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, let Your will be done.” ⁴³ And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So He left them again and prayed a third time, saying the same words once more. ⁴⁵ Then He comes to the disciples and says to them, “Still sleeping? Taking your rest? Look, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being delivered into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Get up, let’s go! Look, My betrayer is near.”

Taken into Custody

⁴⁷ While Yeshua was still speaking, here came Judah, one of the Twelve, and with him a big crowd with swords and clubs, from the ruling kohanim and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘The One I kiss, He’s the One—seize Him!’ ⁴⁹ And immediately Judah drew near^[q] to Yeshua and said, “Shalom, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

⁵⁰ “Friend,” Yeshua said to him, “do what you’ve come to do.” Then they came up and threw their hands on Yeshua and seized Him. ⁵¹ And suddenly, one of those with Yeshua stretched out his hand and drew his sword, and he struck the kohen gadol’s servant and cut off his ear.

⁵² Then Yeshua said to him, “Put your sword back in its place! For all who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. ^{[r] 53} Or do you suppose that I cannot call on My Father, and at once He will place at My side twelve legions^[s] of angels? ⁵⁴ How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”

⁵⁵ At that hour Yeshua said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, to capture Me as you would a revolutionary?^[t] Every day I sat teaching in the Temple, and you didn’t seize Me. ⁵⁶ But all this has happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples fled, abandoning Him.

⁵⁷ Now those who had seized Yeshua led Him away to Caiaphas, the kohen gadol, where the Torah scholars and elders had gathered. ⁵⁸ Peter was following Him from a distance as far as the courtyard of the kohen gadol. And after going inside, he was sitting with the guards, to see the outcome.

Yeshua’s Trial Begins

⁵⁹ Now the ruling kohanim and all the Sanhedrin kept trying to get false testimony against Yeshua so they could put Him to death. ⁶⁰ But they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward ⁶¹ and said, “This fellow said, ‘I’m able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days!’”

⁶² The kohen gadol stood up and said to Yeshua, “Have You no answer? What’s this they’re testifying against You?” ⁶³ But Yeshua kept silent.

The kohen gadol said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God, tell us if You are Mashiach Ben-Elohim!”^[u]

⁶⁴ “As you have said,” replied Yeshua. “Besides that, I tell you, soon after you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”^[v]

⁶⁵ Then the kohen gadol tore his clothes and said, “Blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, you’ve heard the blasphemy. ⁶⁶ What’s your verdict?”^[w]

“Guilty,” they answered. “He deserves death!” ⁶⁷ Then they spat in His face and pounded Him with their fists.^[x] Others slapped Him and demanded, ⁶⁸ “Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Which one hit You?”

Peter Denies Yeshua

⁶⁹ Meanwhile, Peter was sitting in the courtyard. A servant girl came over to him and said, “You also were with Yeshua of the Galilee.”

⁷⁰ But he denied it before everyone, saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

⁷¹ When he went onto the porch, another servant girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Yeshua ha-Natzrati.”

⁷² Again he denied it with an oath: “I don’t know the Man!”

⁷³ A little while later, some of the bystanders approached Peter and said to him, “Surely you’re one of them, too—your accent gives you away.”

⁷⁴ Then he began to curse^[y] and to swear an oath: “I do not know the Man!” Right then, a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ Then Peter reminded himself of the word Yeshua had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went away and wept bitterly.