Genesis 47

1 Joseph went to report to Pharaoh and told him, “My father and brothers, along with their flocks and herds and all their possessions, have arrived from the land of Canaan and now they're here in Goshen.”

Then came Joseph and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brothers, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.

2 Joseph took five of his brothers to go with him and introduced them to Pharaoh.

And he took some of his brothers, five men, and presented them before Pharaoh.

3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What work do you do?” “Your servants are shepherds, just like our fathers before us,” they replied.

And Pharaoh said unto his brothers, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, as also our fathers.

4 “We have come to live in Egypt because there's no grass left in Canaan for our flocks to eat,” they explained. “The famine is really bad in Canaan. So we would like to please ask permission to live in Goshen.”

They said moreover unto Pharaoh, To sojourn in the land are we come; because there is no pasture for the flocks of thy servants, for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan; and now let thy servants dwell, we pray thee, in the land of Goshen.

5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have arrived to join you,

And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, thus, Thy father and thy brothers are come unto thee:

6 you can choose wherever you like in Egypt, the best place, for them to live. Let them live in Goshen. If you know any of them who are good at what they do, put them in charge of my livestock as well.”

The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land let thy father and brothers dwell; let them dwell in the land of Goshen; and if thou knowest that there are among them men of activity, then appoint them rulers over my cattle.

7 Then Joseph went with his father Jacob and introduced him Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh,

And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and placed him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

8 Pharaoh asked him, “So how long have you lived?”

And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?

9 “I have been wandering for 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My life has been short and difficult—I have not lived as long as my forefathers who also wandered from place to place.”

And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years: few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving him.

And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

11 So Joseph arranged for his father and brothers to live in Egypt and gave them land in the best part near Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered.

And Joseph assigned places of residence for his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Ra'meses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

12 He also provided food for all of them—his father, his brothers, and his father's whole household—depending on family size.

And Joseph supplied his father, and his brothers, and all his father's household, with bread, in proportion to their families.

13 No food was left in the whole country because the famine had become so bad. Throughout Egypt and Canaan people were starving.

And there was no bread in all the land: for the famine was very sore; and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.

14 By selling grain Joseph collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan, and placed it in Pharaoh's treasury.

And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.

15 Once the money from Egypt and Canaan had run out, the Egyptians all came to Joseph and demanded, “Give us food! Do you want us to die right in front of you? All our money is gone!”

And when the money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread, for why should we die in thy presence, since the money is all gone?

16 “Bring me your livestock,” Joseph told them. “I'll give you grain in exchange for your livestock if you've run out of money.”

And Joseph said, Give up your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if the money be all gone.

17 So they brought Joseph their livestock, and he provided them with grain in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. He gave them grain in return for their livestock during that year.

And they brought their cattle unto Joseph; and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks of sheep, and for the herds of cattle, and for the asses; and he supplied them with bread for all their cattle for that year.

18 But when that year was over, they came to him the next year and said, “My lord, we can't hide from you the fact that our money is gone and that you now own our livestock. All we have left to give you are our bodies and our land.

And when that year was ended, they came unto him in the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money with our herds of cattle hath entirely passed into the possession of my lord; there is naught left in sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our land.

19 Do you want us to die right in front of you? So buy us and our land in return for food. Then our land will belong to Pharaoh, and we'll be his slaves. Just give us grain so we can live and won't die, and so the land won't be abandoned.”

Wherefore shall we die before thy eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread; and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh; and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land be not rendered desolate.

20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Each and every Egyptian sold their fields, because the famine was hurting them so badly. The land ended up being owned by Pharaoh,

And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.

21 and all the people became his slaves, from one end of Egypt to the other.

And as for the people, he removed them to the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end thereof.

22 The only land he didn't buy belonged to the priests because they had a food allowance provided to them by Pharaoh, so they didn't have to sell their land.

Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them by Pharaoh, and they ate their portion which Pharaoh gave them: therefore they did not sell their land.

23 Then Joseph told the people, “Listen to me! Now that I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh, I'm giving you some seed for you to sow the fields.

Then said Joseph unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and sow ye the land.

24 However, when it's harvested, you have to give one fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you can keep as seed for the fields and as food for you, your households, and your children.”

And it shall come to pass in the harvest times, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh; and four parts shall be your own, for the seed of the field, and for your food, and for those belonging to your households, and for food for your little ones.

25 “You've saved our lives,” they declared. “May you continue to treat us well, my lord, and we'll be Pharaoh's slaves.”

And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us but find grace in the eyes of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.

26 So Joseph made it a law for Egypt which is still is in effect today that one fifth of all produce from the land belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests' land was exempt since it did not belong to Pharaoh.

And Joseph made it a statute unto this day over the land of Egypt, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests alone became not Pharaoh's.

27 The Israelites settled in Goshen in Egypt where they became prosperous landowners and rapidly increased in number.

And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly.

28 Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years, so he lived in total 137 years.

And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: and the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred forty and seven years.

29 When the time came for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If you think well of me, place your hand under my thigh and promise to treat me with trustworthy love and faithfulness. Don't bury me here in Egypt.

And when the time of Israel drew near that he was to die, he sent to call his son Joseph, and said unto him, if now I have found grace in thy eyes, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh; and deal with me in kindness and truth; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt.

30 When I die, bury me with my forefathers. You must take my body from Egypt to the family tomb and bury me with them.” “I will do as you say,” Joseph promised.

But when I shall lie with my fathers, thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

31 “Swear to me that you will,” he said. Joseph swore that he would. Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.

And he said, Swear unto me; and he swore unto him; and Israel bowed himself upon the head of the bed.