Genesis 47
1 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.”
若瑟遂去呈報法郎說：「我父和我兄弟，帶著他們的牛羊和一切所有，從客納罕地來了，現今都在哥笙地方。」
若瑟由他兄弟中選了五人，引他們去謁見法郎。
3 The king asked the brothers, “What work do you do?” They replied, “We are shepherds, just as our ancestors were.”
法郎問若瑟的兄弟們說：「你們有何職業﹖」他們回答法郎說：「你的僕人們是放羊的人，我們和我們的祖先，都是如此。」
4 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.”
繼而又對法郎說：「我們來僑居此地，因為客納罕地饑荒很凶，你僕人們的羊群找不到草地，所以請陛下讓你的僕人們住在哥笙地方。」
5 The king said to Joseph, “I am happy that your father and your [older] brothers [and younger brother] have come to you.
法郎遂面對若瑟說：「你父親和你兄弟既來到了你這裏，
6 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.”
埃及國全在你面前，你可叫你父親和你兄弟住在最好的地方，叫他們住在哥笙地；你若知道他們中有能幹的可派他們管我的牲畜。」
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob [into the palace] and introduced him to the king. Jacob asked God to bless the king.
然後若瑟引他父親來謁見法郎；雅各伯向法郎請安。
8 Then the king asked Jacob, “How old are you?”
法郎遂問雅各伯說：「請問高壽﹖」
9 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.”
雅各伯回答法郎說：「我寄居人世，已一百三十年；我一生歲月又少又苦，不會達到我祖先寄居人世的年數。」
10 Then Jacob again [asked God to] bless the king, and left him.
雅各伯再向法郎請安，辭別法郎出來了。
11 [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.
若瑟依照法郎的吩咐，給他父親和兄弟安排了住處，將埃及國辣默色斯境內最好的地方，給了他們作產業。
12 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.
若瑟並按照他們的人口，供給他父親和兄弟以及他父親全部家屬的食糧。
13 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.
那時因為饑荒十分嚴重，各地絕糧，連埃及國和客納罕地也因饑荒缺了糧。
14 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.
若瑟因售糧與民眾，將埃及國和客納罕地內所有的一切銀錢，都聚斂了來，將這些銀錢盡歸入法郎王室。
15 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!”
當埃及國和客納罕地的銀錢都用盡了，埃及人前來見若瑟說：「銀錢已用完了，請給我們糧食，免得我們死在你面前! 」
16 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.”
若瑟回答說：「如果沒有銀錢，可將你們的家畜送來；我將糧食給你們，交換你們的家畜。」
17 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.
他們遂將家畜送來，交給若瑟；若瑟便以糧食換取了他們的馬、牛、羊、驢；那一年人們就以所有的家畜，換糧食生活。
18 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.
這一年過後，第二年他們又來見他說：「我們實不瞞我主，銀錢都用盡了，畜養的家畜也全歸了我主，在我主面前什麼也沒有了，只剩下了我們自身和我們的田地。
19 (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.”
為什麼要我們死在你面前﹖讓田地荒蕪呢﹖你用糧食收買我們和我們的田地罷! 好叫我們的田地都歸法郎作主。請給我們穀種，好叫我們生活，不致於死，田地也不致於荒蕪。」
20 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.
埃及人為饑荒所迫，人人出賣了自己的農田；若瑟遂為法郎購得了埃及所有的田地，田地遂盡歸法郎所有。
21 As a result, Joseph caused all the people from one border of the country to the other to become the king’s slaves.
並使埃及境內的人民，從這邊直到那邊，都成了農奴；
22 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.
只有司祭的田地他沒有買得，因為司祭有得自法郎的常糧，可藉法郎賜與他們的常糧生活，所以沒有賣他們的田地。
23 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.
那時若瑟對人民說：「今天我將你們和你們的田地，都已買下歸於法郎，這裏有你們的穀種，你們拿去播種；
24 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.”
到了收穫的時候，五分之一應歸法郎，其餘四分歸你們自己，作為田地的穀種，作為你們和你們的家屬以及幼兒的食糧。」
25 They replied, “You have saved our lives! We want you to be pleased with us. And we will be the king’s slaves.”
他們答說：「你救了我們的性命! 唯願我們在我主前蒙恩，我們情願給法郎為奴! 」
26 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.
由此若瑟為埃及的田地立了法例，至今有效：五分之一應歸法郎；只有司祭的田地例外，不歸法郎。
27 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.
以色列人住在埃及國哥笙地方，那裏置業繁殖，人數大為增加。
28 Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years. Altogether he lived 147 years.
雅各伯在埃及國又活了十七年；雅各伯的一生歲月共計一百四十七年。
29 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.
以色列自知死期已近，便叫了他兒子若瑟來，對他說：「如果我在你眼內得寵，請將你的手放在我的胯下許下，以恩情和忠實對待我，不要將我埋在埃及。
30 Instead, take my body out of Egypt, and bury it in Canaan where my ancestors are buried.” Joseph replied, “I will do that.”
我與我的祖先同眠了，你應將我帶出埃及，葬在他們的墓地裏。」若瑟答說：「我必照你的話去行。」
31 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.
雅各伯接著說：「你對我發誓。」若瑟遂對他發了誓；以色列便靠著床頭屈身下拜。
