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.”
Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, their flocks, their herds, and all that they own, have arrived from the land of Canaan. See, they are in the land of Goshen.”
He took five of his brothers and introduced them to Pharaoh.
3 The king asked the brothers, “What work do you do?” They replied, “We are shepherds, just as our ancestors were.”
Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our ancestors.”
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.”
Then they said to Pharaoh, “We come as temporary residents in the land. There is no pasture for your servants' flocks, because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.”
5 The king said to Joseph, “I am happy that your father and your [older] brothers [and younger brother] have come to you.
Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.
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.”
The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best region, the land of Goshen. If you know any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob [into the palace] and introduced him to the king. Jacob asked God to bless the king.
Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 Then the king asked Jacob, “How old are you?”
Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How long have you lived?”
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.”
Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my travels are a hundred and thirty. The years of my life have been few and painful. They have not been as long as those of my ancestors.”
10 Then Jacob again [asked God to] bless the king, and left him.
Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.
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.
Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers. He gave them a territory in the land of Egypt, the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
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.
Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all his father's household, according the number of their dependents.
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.
Now there was no food in all the land; for the famine was severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away because of the famine.
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.
Joseph gathered all the money that was in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, by selling grain to the inhabitants. Then Joseph brought the money to Pharaoh's palace.
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!”
When all the money of the lands of Egypt and Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph saying, “Give us food! Why should we die in your presence because our money is gone?”
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.”
Joseph said, “If your money is gone, bring your livestock and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.”
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.
So they brought their livestock to Joseph. Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, for the flocks, for the herds, and for the donkeys. He fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.
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.
When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my master that our money is all gone, and the herds of cattle are my master's. There is nothing left in the sight of my master, except our bodies and our land.
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.”
Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”
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.
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. For every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was very severe. In this way, the land became Pharaoh's.
21 As a result, Joseph caused all the people from one border of the country to the other to become the king’s slaves.
As for the people, he made them slaves from one end of Egypt's border to the other end.
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.
It was only the land of the priests that Joseph did not buy, because the priests were given an allowance. They ate from the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore they did not sell their land.
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.
Then Joseph said to the people, “See, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you will plant the land.
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.”
At the harvest, you must give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts will be your own, for seed of the field and for food for your households and your children.”
25 They replied, “You have saved our lives! We want you to be pleased with us. And we will be the king’s slaves.”
They said, “You have saved our lives. May we find favor in your eyes. We will be Pharaoh's servants.”
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.
So Joseph made it a statute which is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day, that one-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh's.
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.
So Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. His people gained possessions there. They were fruitful and multiplied greatly.
28 Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years. Altogether he lived 147 years.
Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, so the years of Jacob's life were one hundred forty-seven years.
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.
When the time approached for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh, and show me faithfulness and trustworthiness. Please do not bury me in Egypt.
30 Instead, take my body out of Egypt, and bury it in Canaan where my ancestors are buried.” Joseph replied, “I will do that.”
When I sleep with my fathers, you will carry me out of Egypt and bury me in my forefathers' burial place.” Joseph said, “I will do as you have said.”
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.
Israel said, “Swear to me,” and Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed down at the head of his bed.
