47 Joseph went to Pharaoh. He told him, ‘My father and brothers have arrived from Canaan. They have come with their animals and everything that belongs to them. They are now in Goshen.’ 2 Joseph took five of his brothers to go with him to meet Pharaoh. 3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, ‘What is your job?’ The brothers replied, ‘We are shepherds, sir. We take care of animals, just like our ancestors did.’ 4 They also said to Pharaoh, ‘We have come to stay here for a short time because there is a bad famine in Canaan. Our animals do not have any grass to eat there. Please sir, let us stay in Goshen.’
5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Your father and your brothers have now come to you. 6 The whole land of Egypt is here for them. Your father and your brothers should stay in the best part of the land. They may live in Goshen. Choose the best shepherds from among them to take care of my own animals.’
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob to meet Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Then Pharaoh asked Jacob, ‘How old are you?’ 9 Jacob replied, ‘I have been alive for 130 years. My years have been few, and they have been difficult. I have not lived for as long as my ancestors lived.’ [ a ] 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again and he left.
11 So Joseph helped his father and his brothers to make their home in Egypt. He gave them a good place to live in the best region of Egypt. This was in the region that is now called Rameses. Joseph did for his family what Pharaoh had told him to do. [ b ]
12 Joseph also sent food to his father, his brothers and all his father's people. He gave them enough food for themselves and all their children.
13 But because the famine was bad, no food grew in all of Egypt. As a result, the people of Egypt and Canaan became hungry and weak. 14 Joseph received money from the people when he sold food to them. He took all the money to Pharaoh's palace. 15 Soon the people of Egypt and Canaan did not have any more money. All the Egyptians went to Joseph and they said, ‘Give us food to eat. If not, we will die! We do not have any more money.’
16 Joseph said to the people, ‘If you have no money, bring me your animals. I will give you food if you pay me with your animals instead of money.’ 17 So the people brought their animals to Joseph. They brought horses, sheep, goats, cows and donkeys. Joseph sold food to them in return for their animals. In that way, he sold enough food for them to eat that year.
18 When that year finished, the people came to Joseph again. They said to him, ‘Sir, you know that we do not have any money. Our animals now belong to you. We have nothing left to give to you. We only have our land and our own bodies. 19 Do not let us die here and now! Do not destroy our land! If you give food to us, we will pay you with ourselves and with our land. We will become Pharaoh's slaves. Our land will become Pharaoh's land. Give us grain to eat and seed to plant. Then we will not die. Our fields will not be empty.’
20 Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Because the famine was very bad, all the Egyptians sold their fields to buy food. So all the land now belonged to Pharaoh. 21 Joseph made all the people become slaves, wherever they lived in Egypt. 22 But Joseph did not buy the land which belonged to the priests. Pharaoh himself gave the priests enough food. So the priests did not have to sell their land.
23 Joseph said to the people, ‘Now I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. So I will give you some seed to plant in your fields. 24 But when the plants are ready to eat, you must give one fifth part to Pharaoh. You may keep the other four parts. You may keep it for seed to plant again and you may eat it. It will be food for you, for your people and for your children.’ 25 The people said, ‘You have saved our lives! Because you have been kind to us, we agree to become Pharaoh's slaves.’
26 So Joseph made a law which everybody in Egypt has to obey. The law says that one fifth of all food that people grow belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests' land did not become Pharaoh's land. This law still has authority today. [ c ]
27 The Israelites stayed in Egypt, in the region called Goshen. They had their own land there. They gave birth to many children so that they became very many people.
28 Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years. His whole life was 147 years. 29 The time came for him to die. So he called his son Joseph to come to him. Jacob said to him, ‘If you agree, make a serious promise to me. Put your hand between my legs to show that I can trust you. Promise that you will be kind to me and that you will do as I ask. When I die, do not bury me here in Egypt. [ d ] 30 Carry my body out of Egypt. Bury me in the grave of my ancestors.’ Joseph said, ‘I will do as you say.’ 31 Jacob said, ‘Promise me that you will do this.’ Then Joseph made a promise to him. After that, Jacob rested on his bed and he thanked God.
47 Joseph went in to Pharaoh and said, “My father and my brothers and all their families are here. They have all their animals and everything they own from the land of Canaan with them. They are now in the land of Goshen.” 2 Joseph chose five of his brothers to be with him before the Pharaoh.
3 Pharaoh said to the brothers, “What work do you do?”
The brothers said to Pharaoh, “Sir, we are shepherds, just as our ancestors were shepherds before us.” 4 They said to Pharaoh, “The famine is very bad in Canaan. There are no fields left with grass for our animals, so we have come to live in this land. We ask you to please let us live in Goshen.”
5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 You can choose any place in Egypt for them to live. Give your father and your brothers the best land. Let them live in the land of Goshen. And if they are skilled shepherds, they can also care for my cattle.”
7 Then Joseph called his father Jacob to come in to meet Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 Then Pharaoh said to him, “How old are you?”
9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “I have had a short life with many troubles. I am only 130 years old. My father and his ancestors lived to be much older than I am.”
10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left from his meeting with him.
11 Joseph did what Pharaoh said and gave his father and brothers land in Egypt. It was the best land in Egypt, in the eastern part of the country, around Rameses. 12 Joseph also gave his father, his brothers, and all their people the food they needed.
13 The famine got worse; there was no food anywhere in the land. Egypt and Canaan became very poor because of this bad time. 14 People in the land bought more and more grain. Joseph saved the money and brought it to Pharaoh’s house. 15 After some time, the people in Egypt and Canaan had no money left. They had spent all their money to buy grain. So the people of Egypt went to Joseph and said, “Please give us food. Our money is gone. If we don’t eat, we will die while you are watching.”
16 But Joseph answered, “Give me your cattle, and I will give you food.” 17 So the people used their cattle and horses and all their other animals to buy food. And that year, Joseph gave them food and took their animals.
18 But the next year the people had no animals and nothing to buy food with. So they went to Joseph and said, “You know that we have no money left, and all our animals belong to you. So we have nothing left—only what you see—our bodies and our land. 19 Surely we will die while you are watching. But if you give us food, we will give Pharaoh our land, and we will be his slaves. Give us seed so that we can plant. Then we will live and not die, and the land will grow food for us again.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. All the people in Egypt sold Joseph their fields. They did this because they were very hungry. 21 And everywhere in Egypt all the people became Pharaoh’s slaves. 22 The only land Joseph didn’t buy was the land that the priests owned. The priests didn’t need to sell their land because Pharaoh paid them for their work. So they used this money to buy food to eat.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Now I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. So I will give you seed, and you can plant your fields. 24 At harvest time, you must give one-fifth of your crops to Pharaoh. You can keep four-fifths for yourselves. You can use the seed you keep for food and planting the next year. Now you can feed your families and your children.”
25 The people said, “You have saved our lives. We are happy to be slaves to Pharaoh.”
26 So Joseph made a law at that time in the land, and that law continues today. The law says that one-fifth of everything from the land belongs to the Pharaoh who owns all the land. The only land he does not own is the land of the priests.
27 Israel stayed in Egypt. He lived in the land of Goshen. His family grew and became very large. They became landowners there and did very well.
28 Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years, so he was 147 years old. 29 The time came when Israel knew he would soon die, so he called his son Joseph to him. He said, “If you love me, put your hand under my leg and make a promise. [ a ] Promise that you will do what I say and that you will be truthful with me. When I die, don’t bury me in Egypt. 30 Bury me in the place where my ancestors are buried. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in our family grave.”
Joseph answered, “I promise that I will do what you say.”
31 Then Jacob said, “Make a vow to me.” And Joseph vowed to him that he would do this. Then Israel laid his head back down on the bed. [ b ]
47 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, 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 And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
3 And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.
4 They said morever unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
5 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:
6 The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?
9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families.
13 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
14 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 And when 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? for the money faileth.
16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
18 When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:
19 Wherefore shall we die before thine 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, that the land be not desolate.
20 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 as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
22 Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.
23 Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.
26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.
27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.
29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:
30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.
47 Then ( A ) Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of ( B ) Goshen.” 2 And he took five men from among his brothers and ( C ) presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “ ( D ) What is your occupation?” So they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are ( E ) shepherds, both we and our fathers.” 4 They also said to Pharaoh, “ ( F ) We have come to reside in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for ( G ) the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, please let your servants ( H ) live in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh said to [ a ] Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is [ b ] at your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in ( I ) the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any ( J ) capable men among them, then [ c ] put them in charge of my livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and [ d ] presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob ( K ) blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many [ e ] years have you lived?” 9 So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The [ f ] ( L ) years of my living abroad are [ g ] 130; few and [ h ] unpleasant have been the [ i ] years of my life, nor have they [ j ] attained ( M ) the [ k ] years [ l ] that my fathers lived during the days of their living abroad.” 10 So Jacob ( N ) blessed Pharaoh, and went out from [ m ] his presence. 11 Now Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them property in the land of Egypt, in ( O ) the best of the land, in the land of ( P ) Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered. 12 Joseph also ( Q ) provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with [ n ] food, according to the [ o ] number of their little ones.
13 Now there was no [ p ] food in all the land, because the famine was very severe, so that ( R ) the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14 And ( S ) Joseph collected all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan in payment for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 15 When the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph saying, “Give us [ q ] food, for ( T ) why should we die in your presence? For our money is [ r ] gone.” 16 Then Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food for your livestock, since your money is [ s ] gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them [ t ] food in exchange for the horses and the [ u ] flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he [ v ] fed them with [ w ] food in exchange for all their livestock [ x ] that year. 18 But when that year ended, they came to him the [ y ] next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord the fact that our money is all spent, and the [ z ] livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left [ aa ] for my lord except our bodies and our lands. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for [ ab ] food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. So give us seed, so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for [ ac ] every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 As for the people, he relocated them to the cities from one end of Egypt’s border to the other. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy, because the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they [ ad ] lived off the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore, they did not sell their land. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, today I have purchased you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land. 24 [ ae ] At the harvest you shall give a ( U ) fifth to Pharaoh, and [ af ] four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food, and for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” 25 So 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 Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, valid to this day, that Pharaoh was to have the fifth; ( V ) only the land of the priests [ ag ] did not become Pharaoh’s.
27 Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in [ ah ] Goshen, and they ( W ) acquired property in it and ( X ) were fruitful and became very numerous. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for ( Y ) seventeen years; so the [ ai ] length of Jacob’s life was 147 years.
29 When [ aj ] ( Z ) the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Please, if I have found favor in your sight, ( AA ) place your hand under my thigh now and ( AB ) deal with me in kindness and [ ak ] faithfulness: please do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I ( AC ) [ al ] lie down with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in ( AD ) their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” 31 And he said, “ ( AE ) Swear to me.” So he swore to him. Then ( AF ) Israel bowed in worship at the head of the bed.
47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan ( A ) and are now in Goshen.” ( B ) 2 He chose five of his brothers and presented them ( C ) before Pharaoh.
3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?” ( D )
“Your servants ( E ) are shepherds, ( F ) ” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” 4 They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while, ( G ) because the famine is severe in Canaan ( H ) and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. ( I ) So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.” ( J )
5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 and the land of Egypt is before you; settle ( K ) your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. ( L ) Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, ( M ) put them in charge of my own livestock. ( N ) ”
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him ( O ) before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed [ a ] Pharaoh, ( P ) 8 Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”
9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. ( Q ) My years have been few and difficult, ( R ) and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers. ( S ) ” 10 Then Jacob blessed [ b ] Pharaoh ( T ) and went out from his presence.
11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, ( U ) the district of Rameses, ( V ) as Pharaoh directed. 12 Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children. ( W )
13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. ( X ) 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, ( Y ) and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. ( Z ) 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, ( AA ) all Egypt came to Joseph ( AB ) and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? ( AC ) Our money is all gone.”
16 “Then bring your livestock, ( AD ) ” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone. ( AE ) ” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, ( AF ) their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. ( AG ) And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone ( AH ) and our livestock belongs to you, ( AI ) there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes ( AJ ) —we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, ( AK ) and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. ( AL ) Give us seed so that we may live and not die, ( AM ) and that the land may not become desolate.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe ( AN ) for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, [ c ] ( AO ) from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests, ( AP ) because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment ( AQ ) Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed ( AR ) for you so you can plant the ground. ( AS ) 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth ( AT ) of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”
25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; ( AU ) we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.” ( AV )
26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth ( AW ) of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s. ( AX )
27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. ( AY ) They acquired property there ( AZ ) and were fruitful and increased greatly in number. ( BA )
28 Jacob lived in Egypt ( BB ) seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. ( BC ) 29 When the time drew near for Israel ( BD ) to die, ( BE ) he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, ( BF ) put your hand under my thigh ( BG ) and promise that you will show me kindness ( BH ) and faithfulness. ( BI ) Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers, ( BJ ) carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” ( BK )
“I will do as you say,” he said.
31 “Swear to me,” ( BL ) he said. Then Joseph swore to him, ( BM ) and Israel ( BN ) worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. [ d ] ( BO )
