Genesis 47

1 Then came Ioseph and tolde Pharaoh, and sayde, My father, and my brethren, and their sheepe, and their cattell, and all that they haue, are come out of the land of Canaan, and behold, they are in the land of Goshen.

Then Joseph went in and told Pharao, saying: My father and brethren, their sheep and their herds, and all that they possess, are come out of the land of Chanaan: and behold they stay in the land of Gessen.

2 And Ioseph tooke part of his brethren, euen fiue men, and presented them vnto Pharaoh.

Five men also the last of his brethren, he presented before the king:

3 Then Pharaoh said vnto his brethren, What is your trade? And they answered Pharaoh, Thy seruants are shepheards, both we and our fathers.

And he asked them: What is your occupation? They answered: We thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.

4 They sayde moreouer vnto Pharaoh, For to soiourne in ye lande are we come: for thy seruants haue no pasture for their sheepe, so sore is ye famine in the lande of Canaan. Nowe therefore, we pray thee, let thy seruants dwel in the land of Goshen.

We are come to sojourn in thy land, because there is no grass for the flocks of thy servants, the famine being very grievous in the land of Chanaan: and we pray thee to give orders that we thy servants may be in the land of Gessen.

5 Then spake Pharaoh to Ioseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come vnto thee.

The king therefore said to Joseph: Thy father and thy brethren are come to thee.

6 The lande of Egypt is before thee: in the best place of the land make thy father and thy brethren dwel: let the dwel in the land of Goshen: and if thou knowest that there be men of actiuitie among them, make them rulers ouer my cattell.

The land of Egypt is before thee: make them dwell in the best place, and give them the land of Gessen. And if thou knowest that there are industrious men among them, make them rulers over my cattle.

7 Ioseph also brought Iaakob his father, and set him before Pharaoh. And Iaakob saluted Pharaoh.

After this Joseph brought in his father to the king, and presented him before him: and he blessed him.

8 Then Pharaoh sayde vnto Iaakob, Howe olde art thou?

And being asked by him: How many are the days of the years of thy life?

9 And Iaakob sayd vnto Pharaoh, The whole time of my pilgrimage is an hundreth and thirty yeeres: fewe and euill haue the dayes of my life bene, and I haue not attayned vnto the yeeres of the life of my fathers, in the dayes of their pilgrimages.

He answered: The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few, and evil, and they are not come up to the days of the pilgrimage of my fathers.

10 And Iaakob tooke leaue of Pharaoh, and departed from the presence of Pharaoh.

And blessing the king, he went out.

11 And Ioseph placed his father, and his brethren, and gaue them possession in the lande of Egypt, in the best of the land, euen in the lande of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

But Joseph gave a possession to his father and his brethren in Egypt, in the best place of the land, in Ramesses, as Pharao had commanded.

12 And Ioseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his fathers houshold with bread, euen to the yong children.

And he nourished them, and all his father’s house, allowing food to every one.

13 Now there was no bread in all the land: for the famine was exceeding sore: so that the land of Egypt, and the land of Canaan were famished by reason of the famine.

For in the whole world there was want of bread, and a famine had oppressed the land: more especially of Egypt and Chanaan.

14 And Ioseph gathered all the money, that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corne which they bought, and Ioseph layd vp the money in Pharaohs house.

Out of which he gathered up all the money for the corn which they bought, and brought it into the king’s treasure.

15 So when money fayled in the lande of Egypt, and in the lande of Canaan, then all the Egyptians came vnto Ioseph, and sayde, Giue vs bread: for why should we dye before thee? for our money is spent.

And when the buyers wanted money, all Egypt came to Joseph, saying: Give us bread: why should we die in thy presence, having now no money.

16 Then saide Ioseph, Bring your cattell, and I will giue you for your cattell, if your money be spent.

And he answered them: Bring me your cattle, and for them I will give you food, if you have no money.

17 So they brought their cattell vnto Ioseph, and Ioseph gaue them bread for the horses, and for the flockes of sheepe, and for the heards of cattel, and for the asses: so he fed them with bread for all their cattell that yeere.

And when they had brought them, he gave them food in exchange for their horses, and sheep, and oxen, and asses and he maintained them that year for the exchange of their cattle.

18 But when the yeere was ended, they came vnto him the next yeere, and sayd vnto him, We will not hide from my lord, that since our money is spent, and my lord hath the heards of the cattel, there is nothing left in the sight of my lorde, but our bodies and our ground.

And they came the second year, and said to him: We will not hide from our lord, how that our money is spent, and our cattle also are gone: neither art thou ignorant that we have nothing now left but our bodies and our lands.

19 Why shall we perish in thy sight, both we, and our land? bye vs and our land for bread, and we and our land will be bonde to Pharaoh: therefore giue vs seede, that we may liue and not dye, and that the land go not to waste.

Why therefore shall we die before thy eyes? we will be thine, both we and our lands: buy us to be the king’s servants, and give us seed, lest for want of tillers the land be turned into a wilderness.

20 So Ioseph bought all the lande of Egypt for Pharaoh: for the Egyptians solde euery man his ground because the famine was sore vpon the: so the land became Pharaohs.

So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, every man selling his possessions, because of the greatness of the famine. And he brought it into Pharao’s hands:

21 And he remoued the people vnto the cities, from one side of Egypt euen to the other.

And all its people from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to the other end thereof,

22 Onely the lande of the Priestes bought he not: for the Priestes had an ordinarie of Pharaoh, and they did eate their ordinarie, which Pharaoh gaue them: wherefore they solde not their grounde.

Except the land of the priests, which had been given them by the king: to whom also a certain allowance of food was given out of the public stores, and therefore they were not forced to sell their possessions.

23 Then Ioseph sayd vnto the people, Behold, I haue bought you this daye, and your lande for Pharaoh: lo, here is seede for you: sowe therefore the grounde.

Then Joseph said to the people: Behold as you see, both you and your lands belong to Pharao: take seed and sow the fields,

24 And of the encrease ye shall giue the fifth part vnto Pharaoh, and foure partes shalbe yours for the seede of the fielde, and for your meate, and for them of your housholdes, and for your children to eate.

That you may have corn. The fifth part you shall give to the king: the other four you shall have for seed, and for food for your families and children.

25 Then they answered, Thou hast saued our liues: let vs finde grace in the sight of my Lord, and we will be Pharaohs seruants.

And they answered: Our life is in thy hand: only let my lord look favourably upon us, and we will gladly serve the king.

26 Then Ioseph made it a lawe ouer the land of Egypt vnto this day, that Pharaoh should haue the fift part, except the land of the priests only, which was not Pharaohs.

From that time unto this day, in the whole land of Egypt, the fifth part is paid to the king, and it is become as a law, except the land of the priests, which was free from this covenant.

27 And Israel dwelt in the lande of Egypt, in the countrey of Goshen: and they had their possessions therein, and grewe and multiplied exceedingly.

So Israel dwelt in Egypt, that is, in the land of Gessen, and possessed it: and grew, and was multiplied exceedingly.

28 Moreouer, Iaakob liued in the lande of Egypt seuenteene yeeres, so that the whole age of Iaakob was an hundreth fourtie and seuen yeere.

And he lived in it seventeen years: and all the days of his life came to a hundred and forty-seven years.

29 Now when the time drewe neere that Israel must dye, he called his sonne Ioseph, and sayde vnto him, If I haue nowe founde grace in thy sight, put thine hand nowe vnder my thigh, and deale mercifully and truely with me: burie me not, I pray thee, in Egypt.

And when he saw that the day of his death drew nigh, he called his son Joseph, and said to him: If I have found favour in thy sight, put thy hand under my thigh; and thou shalt shew me this kindness and truth, not to bury me in Egypt:

30 But when I shall sleepe with my fathers, thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury mee in their buryall. And he answered, I will doe as thou hast sayde.

But I will sleep with my fathers, and thou shalt take me away out of this land, and bury me in the burying place of my ancestors. And Joseph answered him: I will do what thou hast commanded.

31 The he said, Sweare vnto me. And he sware vnto him. And Israel worshipped towardes the beds head.

And he said: Swear then to me. And as he was swearing, Israel adored God, turning to the bed’s head.