August 21, 2026 PORTALS OF PRAYER READINGS
Genesis 45:4-15
4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.”
And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold
into Egypt. 5 And
now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me
here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two
years, and there are yet five years in which there will be
neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And
God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep
alive for you many survivors. 8 So
it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh,
and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus
says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do
not tarry. 10 You shall dwell in
the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your
children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will provide for you, for there are yet
five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you
have, do not come to poverty.’ 12 And
now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my
mouth that speaks to you. 13 You
must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen.
Hurry and bring my father down here.” 14 Then
he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his
neck. 15 And he kissed all his
brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.
Psalm 10
Why Do You Hide Yourself?
10 Why,
O Lord, do
you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself
in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes
that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of
his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses[a] and renounces the Lord.
4 In the pride of his face[b] the wicked does not seek him;[c]
all his thoughts are, “There is no
God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of
his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at
them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be
moved;
throughout all generations I shall
not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing
and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief
and iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the
innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in
his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into
his net.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will
never see it.”
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will
not call to account”?
14 But you do see, for you note mischief
and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the
fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you
find none.
16 The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you hear
the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you
will incline your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless
and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may
strike terror no more.
Footnotes
- Psalm 10:3 Or and he blesses the one greedy for gain
- Psalm 10:4 Or of his anger
- Psalm 10:4 Or the wicked says, “He will not call to
account”
ESV® - The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright ©
2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights
reserved.
Source for Bible text - www.biblegateway.com
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