< Genesis 47 >

1 And Joseph came and told Pharao, [saying], My father, and my brethren, and their cattle, and their oxen, and all their possessions, are come out of the land of Chanaan, and behold, they are in the land of Gesem.
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 Gesen."
2 And he took of his brethren five men, and set them before Pharao.
And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh.
3 And Pharao said to the brethren of Joseph, What is your occupation? and they said to Pharao, Thy servants are shepherds, both we and our father.
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 Pharao, We are come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for the flocks of thy servants, for the famine has prevailed in the land of Chanaan; now then, we will dwell in the land of Gesem. And Pharao said to Joseph, Let them dwell in the land of Gesem; and if thou knowest that there are among them able men, make them overseers of my cattle. So Jacob and his sons came into Egypt, to Joseph; and Pharao, king of Egypt, heard [of it].
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 Gesen."
5 And Pharao spoke to Joseph, saying, Thy father, and thy brethren, are come to thee.
Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you,
6 Behold, the land of Egypt is before thee; settle thy father and thy brethren in the best land.
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 Gesen. If you know any able men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock."
7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharao; and Jacob blessed Pharao.
Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob, and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 And Pharao said to Jacob, How many are the years of the days of thy life?
And Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the days of the years of your life?"
9 And Jacob said to Pharao, The days of the years of my life, wherein I sojourn, are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, they have not attained to the days of the life of my fathers, in which days they sojourned.
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 blessed Pharao, and departed from him.
Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from Pharaoh's presence.
11 And Joseph settled his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best land, in the land of Ramesses, as Pharao commanded.
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 gave provision to his father, and his brethren, and to all the house of his father, corn for each person.
And Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all of his father's household, according to the number of their dependents.
13 And there was no corn in all the land, for the famine prevailed greatly; and the land of Egypt, and the land of Chanaan, fainted for the famine.
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 Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and the land of Chanaan, [in return for] the corn which they bought, and he distributed corn to them; and Joseph brought all the money into the house of Pharao.
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 all the money failed out of the land of Egypt, and out of the land of Chanaan; and all the Egyptians came to Joseph, saying, Give us bread, and why do we die in thy presence? for our money is spent.
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 to them, Bring your cattle, and I will give you bread for your cattle, if your money is spent.
Then Joseph said, "Give me your livestock and I will give you food for your livestock, if your silver is gone."
17 And they brought their cattle to Joseph; and Joseph gave them bread in return for their horses, and for their sheep, and for their oxen, and for their asses; and Joseph maintained them with bread for all their cattle in that year.
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 that year passed, and they came to him in the second year, and said to him, Must we then be consumed from before our lord? for if our money has failed, and our possessions, and our cattle, [brought] to thee our lord, and there has not been left to us before our lord more than our own bodies and our land, [we are indeed destitute].
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 In order, then, that we die not before thee, and the land be made desolate, buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharao: give seed that we may sow, and live and not die, so our land shall not be made desolate.
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 And Joseph bought all the land of the Egyptians, for Pharao; for the Egyptians sold their land to Pharao; for the famine prevailed against them, and the land became Pharao'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 he brought the people into bondage to him, for servants, from one extremity 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 except only the land of the priests; Joseph bought not this, for Pharao gave a portion in the way of gift to the priests; and they ate their portion which Pharao gave them; therefore they sold not 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 And Joseph said to all the Egyptians, Behold, I have bought you and your land this day for Pharao; take seed for you, and sow the land.
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 there shall be the fruits of it; and ye shall give the fifth part to Pharao, and the four [remaining] parts shall be for yourselves, for seed for the earth, and for food for you, and all that are in your houses.
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, Thou hast saved us; we have found favour before our lord, and we will be servants to Pharao.
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 And Joseph appointed it to them for an ordinance until this day; to reserve a fifth part for Pharao, on the land of Egypt, except only the land of the priests, that was not Pharao's.
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 Israel dwelt in Egypt, in the land of Gesem, and they gained an inheritance upon it; and they increased and multiplied very greatly.
So Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Gesen. And they acquired property in it and were fertile and became numerous.
28 And Jacob survived seventeen years in the land of Egypt; and Jacob's days of the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven years.
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 days of Israel drew nigh for him to die: and he called his son Joseph, and said to him, If I have found favour before thee, put thy hand under my thigh, and thou shalt execute mercy and truth toward me, so as not to bury me 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 I will sleep with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me up out of Egypt, and bury me in their sepulchre. And he said, I will do according to thy word.
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, Swear to me; and he swore to him. And Israel did reverence, leaning on the top of his staff.
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 >