Genesis 47
1 So Joseph went and told Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.”
Joseph chose five of his [older] brothers to go with him to talk to the king. He introduced his [older] brothers to the king, and then he said, “My father and my [older] brothers [and younger brother] have come from the Canaan region. They have brought all their sheep and goats and cattle and everything else that they own, and they are living now in Goshen region.”
2 And he chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.
3 “What is your occupation?” Pharaoh asked Joseph’s brothers. “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “both we and our fathers.”
The king asked the brothers, “What work do you do?” They replied, “We are shepherds, just as our ancestors were.”
4 Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live in the land for a time, because there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please allow your servants to settle in the land of Goshen.”
They also said to him, “We have come here to live for a while in this land, because the famine is very severe in Canaan, and our animals have no (pasture/grass to eat) there. So now, please let us live in the Goshen region.”
5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you,
The king said to Joseph, “I am happy that your father and your [older] brothers [and younger brother] have come to you.
6 the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”
They can live wherever you want in the whole country of Egypt. Give your father and your brothers the best part of the land. They can live in Goshen. And if you know that any of them have any special ability to work with livestock, have them be in charge of my own livestock, too.”
7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
Then Joseph brought his father Jacob [into the palace] and introduced him to the king. Jacob asked God to bless the king.
8 “How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked.
Then the king asked Jacob, “How old are you?”
9 “My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”
Jacob replied, “I have been traveling around for 130 years. I have not lived as long as my ancestors, but my life has been full of troubles.”
10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from his presence.
Then Jacob again [asked God to] bless the king, and left him.
11 So Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
[That is how Joseph enabled his father and older] brothers [and younger brother] to start living in Egypt. As the king had commanded, he gave them property in the best part of the land, in [Goshen, which is now called] Rameses.
12 Joseph also provided his father and brothers and all his father’s household with food for their families.
Joseph also provided food for all his father’s family. The amounts that he gave them were according to how many children each of them had.
13 There was no food, however, in all that region, because the famine was so severe; the lands of Egypt and Canaan had been exhausted by the famine.
There were no crops growing in the whole region, because the famine was very severe. The people of Egypt and Canaan [MTY] became weak because they did not have enough food to eat.
14 Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were buying, and he brought it into Pharaoh’s palace.
Joseph collected all the money that the people in Egypt and Canaan paid for the grain they were buying from him, and he brought the money to the king’s palace.
15 When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our funds have run out!”
When the people of Egypt and Canaan had spent all their money for grain, they all kept coming to Joseph and saying, “Please give us some food! If you do not give us grain, we will die [RHQ]! We have used all our money to buy food, and we have no money left!”
16 “Then bring me your livestock,” said Joseph. “Since the money is gone, I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock.”
Joseph replied, “Since your money is all gone, bring me your livestock. If you do that, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.”
17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. Throughout that year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
So they brought their livestock to Joseph. He gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle, and their donkeys.
18 When that year was over, they came to him the second year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord that our money is gone and all our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.
The next year they came to him again and said, “We cannot hide this from you: We have no more money, and now our livestock belongs to you. We have only our bodies and our land to give to you. We have nothing else left.
19 Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Purchase us and our land in exchange for food. Then we, along with our land, will be slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”
(If you do not give us some food, we will die!/Do you want to watch us die?) [RHQ] If you do not give us seeds, our fields will become useless [IDM]. Buy us and our land in exchange for food. Then we will be the king’s slaves, and he will own the land. Give us seeds that we can plant and grow food, in order that we will not die, and in order that our land will not become like a desert.”
20 So Joseph acquired for Pharaoh all the land in Egypt; the Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields because the famine was so severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s,
So Joseph bought all the farms in Egypt for the king. The people of Egypt each sold their land to him because the famine was very severe, [and they had no other way to get money to buy food]. So all the farms became the king’s farms.
21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude from one end of Egypt to the other.
As a result, Joseph caused all the people from one border of the country to the other to become the king’s slaves.
22 However, he did not acquire the priests’ portion of the land, for it had been given to them by Pharaoh. They ate the rations that Pharaoh supplied; so they did not sell their land.
But he did not buy the priests’ land, because they received food from the king regularly, so the food that the king gave them was enough for them. That is the reason they did not sell their land to him.
23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh this day, here is seed for you to sow in the land.
Joseph said to the people [who sold themselves and their land to him], “Listen to me! Today I have bought you and your land for the king. So here are seeds for you so that you can plant them in the ground.
24 At harvest time, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and food for yourselves and your households and children.”
But when you harvest the crop, you must give one-fifth of the crop to the king. The rest of the crop you can keep, to be seed to plant in the fields, and to be food for you and your children and for everyone else in your household to eat.”
25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor in our lord’s eyes, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”
They replied, “You have saved our lives! We want you to be pleased with us. And we will be the king’s slaves.”
26 So Joseph established a law that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh, and it is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.
So Joseph made a law about all the land in Egypt, stating that one-fifth of the crops that are harvested belongs to the king. That law still exists. Only the land that belonged to the priests did not become the king’s land.
27 Now the Israelites settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and became fruitful and increased greatly in number.
Jacob and his family started to live in Egypt, in the Goshen region. They acquired property there. Many children were born to them there. As a result, their population increased greatly.
28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the length of his life was 147 years.
Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years. Altogether he lived 147 years.
29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt,
When it was almost time for him to die, he summoned his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have pleased you, make a solemn promise that you will be kind to me and faithfully do what I am now asking you: When I die, do not bury me here in Egypt.
30 but when I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me with them.” Joseph answered, “I will do as you have requested.”
Instead, take my body out of Egypt, and bury it in Canaan where my ancestors are buried.” Joseph replied, “I will do that.”
31 “Swear to me,” Jacob said. So Joseph swore to him, and Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.
Jacob said, “(Swear/Solemnly promise) to me that you will do it!” So Joseph swore to do it. Then Jacob turned over in bed, bowed his head, and worshiped God.
