Genesis 47

1 Therfor Joseph entride, and telde to Farao, and seide, My fadir and brethren, the scheep and grete beestis of hem, and alle thingis whiche thei welden, camen fro the lond of Canaan; and lo! thei stonden in the lond of Gessen.

And Joseph came and told Pharao, [saying], My father, and my brethren, and their cattle, and their oxen, and all their possessions, are come out of the land of Chanaan, and behold, they are in the land of Gesem.

2 And he ordeynede fyue, the laste men of hise britheren, bifore the kyng,

And he took of his brethren five men, and set them before Pharao.

3 whiche he axide, What werk han ye? Thei answeriden, We thi seruauntis ben kepers of scheep, bothe we and oure faderis;

And Pharao said to the brethren of Joseph, What is your occupation? and they said to Pharao, Your servants are shepherds, both we and our father.

4 we camen in to thi lond to be pilgrymys, for noo gras is to the flockis of thi seruauntis; hungur wexith greuouse in the lond of Canaan, and we axen that thou comaunde vs thi seruauntis to be in the lond of Gessen.

And they said to Pharao, We are come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, for the famine has prevailed in the land of Chanaan; now then, we will dwell in the land of Gesem. And Pharao said to Joseph, Let them dwell in the land of Gesem; and if you know that there are amongst them able men, make them overseers of my cattle. So Jacob and his sons came into Egypt, to Joseph; and Pharao, king of Egypt, heard [of it].

5 And so the kyng seide to Joseph, Thi fadir and thi britheren camen to thee;

And Pharao spoke to Joseph, saying, Your father, and your brethren, are come to you.

6 the lond of Egipt is in thi siyt, make thou hem to dwelle in the beste place, and yyue thou to hem the lond of Gessen; that if thou woost that witti men ben in hem, ordeyne thou hem maystris of my beestis.

Behold, the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brethren in the best land.

7 After these thingis Joseph brouyte in his fader to the king, and settide him bifor the king, which blesside the king;

And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharao; and Jacob blessed Pharao.

8 and he was axid of the king, Hou many ben the daies of the yeeris of thi lijf?

And Pharao said to Jacob, How many are the years of the days of your life?

9 And he answeride, The daies of pilgrymage of my lijf, ben feewe and yuele, of an hundrid and thretti yeer, and tho `camen not til to the daies of my fadris, in whiche thei weren pilgryms.

And Jacob said to Pharao, The days of the years of my life, wherein I sojourn, are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, they have not attained to the days of the life of my fathers, in which days they sojourned.

10 And whanne he hadde blessid the kyng, he yede out.

And Jacob blessed Pharao, and departed from him.

11 Forsothe Joseph yaf to hise fadir and britheren possessioun in Egipt, in Ramasses, the beste soile of erthe, as Farao comaundide;

And Joseph settled his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best land, in the land of Ramesses, as Pharao commanded.

12 and he fedde hem, and al the hows of his fadir, and yaf metis to alle.

And Joseph gave provision to his father, and his brethren, and to all the house of his father, corn for each person.

13 For breed failide in al the world, and hungur oppresside the lond, moost of Egipt and of Canaan;

And there was no corn in all the land, for the famine prevailed greatly; and the land of Egypt, and the land of Chanaan, fainted for the famine.

14 of whiche londis he gaderide al the money for the sillyng of wheete, and brouyte it in to the `tresorie of the kyng.

And Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and the land of Chanaan, [in return for] the corn which they bought, and he distributed corn to them; and Joseph brought all the money into the house of Pharao.

15 And whanne prijs failide to the bieris, al Egipt cam to Joseph, and seide, Yyue thou `looues to vs; whi shulen we die bifore thee, while monei failith?

And all the money failed out of the land of Egypt, and out of the land of Chanaan; and all the Egyptians came to Joseph, saying, Give us bread, and why do we die in your presence? for our money is spent.

16 To whiche he answeride, Brynge ye youre beestis, and Y schal yyue to you metis for tho, if ye han not prijs.

And Joseph said to them, Bring your cattle, and I will give you bread for your cattle, if your money is spent.

17 And whanne thei hadden brouyt tho, he yaf to hem metis for horsis, and scheep, and oxun, and assis; and he susteynede hem in that yeer for the chaungyng of beestis.

And they brought their cattle to Joseph; and Joseph gave them bread in return for their horses, and for their sheep, and for their oxen, and for their asses; and Joseph maintained them with bread for all their cattle in that year.

18 And thei camen in the secunde yeer, and seiden to hym, We helen not fro oure lord, that the while monei failith, also beestis failiden togidere, nether it is hid fro thee, that with out bodies and lond we han no thing;

And that year passed, and they came to him in the second year, and said to him, Must we then be consumed from before our lord? for if our money has failed, and our possessions, and our cattle, [brought] to you our lord, and there has not been left to us before our lord more than our own bodies and our land, [we are indeed destitute].

19 whi therfor schulen we die, while thou seest? bothe we and oure lond schulen be thine, bie thou vs in to the kyngis seruage, and yyue thou seedis, lest the while the tiliere perischith, the lond be turned in to wildirnesse.

In order, then, that we die not before you, and the land be made desolate, buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharao: give seed that we may sow, and live and not die, so our land shall not be made desolate.

20 Therfor Joseph bouyte al the lond of Egipt, while all men seelden her possessiouns, for the greetnesse of hungur;

And Joseph bought all the land of the Egyptians, for Pharao; for the Egyptians sold their land to Pharao; for the famine prevailed against them, and the land became Pharao's.

21 and he made it and alle puplis therof suget to Farao, fro the laste termes of Egipt til to the laste endis therof,

And he brought the people into bondage to him, for servants, from one extremity of Egypt to the other,

22 outakun the lond of preestis, that was youun of the kyng to hem, to whiche preestis also metis weren youun of the comun bernys, and therfor thei weren not compellid to sille her possessiouns.

except only the land of the priests; Joseph bought not this, for Pharao gave a portion in the way of gift to the priests; and they ate their portion which Pharao gave them; therefore they sold not their land.

23 Therfor Joseph seide to the puplis, Lo! as ye seen, Farao weldith bothe you and youre lond; take ye seedis, and `sowe ye feeldis,

And Joseph said to all the Egyptians, Behold, I have bought you and your land this day for Pharao; take seed for you, and sow the land.

24 that ye moun haue fruytis; ye schulen yyue the fifthe part to the kyng; Y suffre to you the foure residue partis in to seed and in to meetis, to you, and to youre fre children.

And there shall be the fruits of it; and you shall give the fifth part to Pharao, and the four [remaining] parts shall be for yourselves, for seed for the earth, and for food for you, and all that are in your houses.

25 Whiche answeriden, Oure helthe is in thin hond; oneli oure God biholde vs, and we schulen ioifuli serue the kyng.

And they said, You have saved us; we have found favour before our lord, and we will be servants to Pharao.

26 For that tyme til in to present dai, in al the lond of Egipt, the fyuethe part is paied to the kyngis, and it is maad as in to a lawe, with out the lond of preestis, that was fre fro this condicioun.

And Joseph appointed it to them for an ordinance until this day; to reserve a fifth part for Pharao, on the land of Egypt, except only the land of the priests, that was not Pharao's.

27 Therfor Israel dwellide in Egipt, that is, in the lond of Jessen, and weldide it; and he was encreessid and multiplied ful mych.

And Israel lived in Egypt, in the land of Gesem, and they gained an inheritance upon it; and they increased and multiplied very greatly.

28 And he lyuede therynne sixtene yeer; and alle the daies of his lijf weren maad of an hundrid and seuene and fourti yeer.

And Jacob survived seventeen years in the land of Egypt; and Jacob's days of the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven years.

29 And whanne he seiy the dai of deeth nyye, he clepide his sone Joseph, and seide to hym, If Y haue founde grace in thi siyt; putte thin hond vndur myn hipe, and thou schal do merci and treuthe to me, that thou birie not me in Egipt;

and the days of Israel drew near for him to die: and he called his son Joseph, and said to him, If I have found favour before you, put your hand under my thigh, and you shall execute mercy and truth towards me, so as not to bury me in Egypt.

30 but `Y schal slepe with my fadris, and take thou awey me fro this lond, and birie in the sepulcre of my grettere. To whom Joseph answeride, Y schal do that that thou comaundist.

But I will sleep with my fathers, and you shall carry me up out of Egypt, and bury me in their sepulchre. And he said, I will do according to your word.

31 And Israel seide, Therfor swere thou to me; and whanne Joseph swoor, Israel turnede to the heed of the bed, and worschipide God.

And he said, Swear to me; and he swore to him. And Israel did reverence, leaning on the top of his staff.