Genesis 49, Luke 2, Job 15, 1 Corinthians 3

Genesis 49,

Then Jacob called for his sons and said: "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
"Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it.
"Simeon and Levi are brothers-- their swords are weapons of violence.
  
  Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
"Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you.
You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness--who dares to rouse him?
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
  
  He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.
"Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.
"Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down between two saddlebags.
When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.
  
  "Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
"I look for your deliverance, O LORD.
"Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.
"Asher's food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.
  
  "Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
"Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.
With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.
But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.
  
  Your father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder."
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.
Then he gave them these instructions: "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field.
  
  There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah.
The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites. "
When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people. 

Luke 2,

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
  
  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
  
  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
  
  So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
  
  On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"),
and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
  
  It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,
Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
  
  which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him.
Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
  
  There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.
And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
  
  Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.
When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom.
After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.
Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.
When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.
  
  After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"
But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
  
  Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. 

Job 15,

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
"Would a wise man answer with empty notions or fill his belly with the hot east wind?
Would he argue with useless words, with speeches that have no value?
But you even undermine piety and hinder devotion to God.
Your sin prompts your mouth; you adopt the tongue of the crafty.
  
  Your own mouth condemns you, not mine; your own lips testify against you.
"Are you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?
Do you listen in on God's council? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
What do you know that we do not know? What insights do you have that we do not have?
The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men even older than your father.
  
  Are God's consolations not enough for you, words spoken gently to you?
Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash,
so that you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth?
"What is man, that he could be pure, or one born of woman, that he could be righteous?
If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,
  
  how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks up evil like water!
"Listen to me and I will explain to you; let me tell you what I have seen,
what wise men have declared, hiding nothing received from their fathers
(to whom alone the land was given when no alien passed among them):
All his days the wicked man suffers torment, the ruthless through all the years stored up for him.
  
  Terrifying sounds fill his ears; when all seems well, marauders attack him.
He despairs of escaping the darkness; he is marked for the sword.
He wanders about--food for vultures ; he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
Distress and anguish fill him with terror; they overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack,
because he shakes his fist at God and vaunts himself against the Almighty,
  
  defiantly charging against him with a thick, strong shield.
"Though his face is covered with fat and his waist bulges with flesh,
he will inhabit ruined towns and houses where no one lives, houses crumbling to rubble.
He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land.
He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God's mouth will carry him away.
  
  Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless, for he will get nothing in return.
Before his time he will be paid in full, and his branches will not flourish.
He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.
For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes.
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb fashions deceit." 

1 Corinthians 3

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ.
I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?
For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe--as the Lord has assigned to each his task.
  
  I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.
  
  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,
his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.
If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.
If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
  
  Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?
If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness";
and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."
  
  So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours,
whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all are yours,
and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.