< Genesis 47 >

1 Then Joseph went to Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brothers with their flocks and their herds and all they have, are come from Canaan, and are now in the land of Goshen.
Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and my brothers, with their flocks, their herds, and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan. And look, they are in the land of Goshen."
2 And he took five of his brothers to Pharaoh.
And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh.
3 And Pharaoh said to them, What is your business? And they said, Your servants are keepers of sheep, as our fathers were before us.
Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers."
4 And they said to Pharaoh, We have come to make a living in this land, because we have no grass for our flocks in the land of Canaan; so now let your servants make a place for themselves in the land of Goshen.
And they said to Pharaoh, "We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks. For the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen."
5 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Let them have the land of Goshen; and if there are any able men among them, put them over my cattle.
Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you,
6 And Jacob and his sons came to Joseph in Egypt, and when word of it came to the ears of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, he said to Joseph, Your father and brothers have come to you; all the land of Egypt is before you; let your father and your brothers have the best of the land for their resting-place.
and the land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know any able men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock."
7 Then Joseph made his father Jacob come before Pharaoh, and Jacob gave him his blessing.
Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob, and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 And Pharaoh said to him, How old are you?
And Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the days of the years of your life?"
9 And Jacob said, The years of my wanderings have been a hundred and thirty; small in number and full of sorrow have been the years of my life, and less than the years of the wanderings of my fathers.
So Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my sojourning are one hundred thirty years. Few and difficult have been the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning."
10 And Jacob gave Pharaoh his blessing, and went out from before him.
Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from Pharaoh's presence.
11 And Joseph made a place for his father and his brothers, and gave them a heritage in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had given orders.
Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and gave them property in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12 And Joseph took care of his father and his brothers and all his father's people, giving them food for the needs of their families.
And Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all of his father's household, according to the number of their dependents.
13 Now there was no food to be had in all the land, so that all Egypt and Canaan were wasted from need of food.
Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan grew weak because of the famine.
14 And all the money in Egypt and in the land of Canaan which had been given for grain, came into the hands of Joseph: and he put it in Pharaoh's house.
Joseph gathered up all of the money to be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain they were purchasing. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's treasury.
15 And when all the money in Egypt and Canaan was gone, the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, Give us bread; would you have us come to destruction before your eyes? for we have no more money.
And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, "Give us food, for why should we die in your presence? For our money is gone."
16 And Joseph said, Give me your cattle; I will give you grain in exchange for your cattle if your money is all gone.
Then Joseph said, "Give me your livestock and I will give you food for your livestock, if your silver is gone."
17 So they took their cattle to Joseph and he gave them bread in exchange for their horses and flocks and herds and asses, so all that year he gave them food in exchange for their cattle.
So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle, and for the donkeys. And he fed them with food in exchange for all their livestock for that year.
18 And when that year was ended, they came to him in the second year, and said, We may not keep it from our lord's knowledge that all our money is gone, and all the herds of cattle are my lord's; there is nothing more to give my lord but our bodies and our land;
When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, "We will not hide from my lord that all our silver is spent and that the herds of livestock belong to my lord. There is nothing left, as my lord can see, except our bodies and our lands.
19 Are we to come to destruction before your eyes, we and our land? take us and our land and give us bread; and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh; and give us seed so that we may have life and the land may not become waste.
Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land won't become desolate."
20 So Joseph got all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh; for every Egyptian gave up his land in exchange for food, because of their great need; so all the land became Pharaoh's.
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field, since the famine was severe on them. So the land became Pharaoh's.
21 And as for the people, he made servants of them, town by town, from one end of Egypt to the other.
And as for the people, he subjugated them as slaves from one end of the border of Egypt to the other end of it.
22 Only he did not take the land of the priests, for the priests had their food given them by Pharaoh, and having what Pharaoh gave them, they had no need to give up their land.
Only he did not buy the land of the priests, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived off their allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore they did not have to sell their land.
23 Then Joseph said to the people, I have made you and your land this day the property of Pharaoh; here is seed for you to put in your fields.
Then Joseph said to the people, "Look, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you so you can plant the seed in the land.
24 And when the grain is cut, you are to give a fifth part to Pharaoh, and four parts will be yours for seed and food, and for your families and your little ones.
And it will come to pass at the harvests that you must give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours for seed for the field, and for your food, and for those of your households, and as food for your little ones."
25 And they said to him, Truly you have kept us from death; may we have grace in your eyes, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.
Then they said, "You have saved our lives. Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's slaves."
26 Then Joseph made a law which is in force to this day, that Pharaoh was to have the fifth part; only the land of the priests did not become his.
So Joseph made it a statute still in effect for the land of Egypt, that a fifth must go to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's.
27 And so Israel was living among the Egyptians in the land of Goshen; and they got property there, and became very great in numbers and in wealth.
So Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they acquired property in it and were fertile and became numerous.
28 And Jacob was living in the land of Goshen for seventeen years; so the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred forty-seven years.
29 And the time of his death came near, and he sent for his son Joseph and said to him, If now I am dear to you, put your hand under my leg and take an oath that you will not put me to rest in Egypt;
And the time approached for Israel to die, so he summoned his son Joseph and said to him, "If now I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,
30 But when I go to my fathers, you are to take me out of Egypt and put me to rest in their last resting-place. And he said, I will do so.
but when I lie down with my fathers you must carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place." And he said, "I will do what you have asked."
31 And he said, Take an oath to me; and he took an oath to him: and Israel gave worship on the bed's head.
Then he said, "Take an oath to me," and he took an oath to him. Then Israel bowed over the top of his staff.

< Genesis 47 >