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.

Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and my brothers, with their flocks, their herds, and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan. And look, they are in the land of Gesen."

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

And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh.

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

Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers."

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 Pharaoh, "We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks. For the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Gesen."

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

Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have 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.

and the land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. They may live in the land of Gesen. If you know any able men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock."

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

Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob, and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

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

And Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the days of the years 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.

So Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my sojourning are one hundred thirty years. Few and difficult have been the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning."

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

Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from Pharaoh's presence.

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

Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and gave them property in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

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

And Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all of his father's household, according to the number of their dependents.

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

Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan grew weak because of 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.

Joseph gathered up all of the money to be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain they were purchasing. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's treasury.

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 when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, "Give us food, for why should we die in your presence? For our money is gone."

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

Then Joseph said, "Give me your livestock and I will give you food for your livestock, if your silver is gone."

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.

So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle, and for the donkeys. And he fed them with food in exchange for all their livestock for 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;

When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, "We will not hide from my lord that all our silver is spent and that the herds of livestock belong to my lord. There is nothing left, as my lord can see, except our bodies and our lands.

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.

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 so that we may live and not die, and that the land won't become desolate."

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

So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, because every Egyptian sold his field, since the famine was severe on them. So the land became Pharaoh'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 as for the people, he subjugated them as slaves from one end of the border of Egypt to the other end of it.

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.

Only he did not buy the land of the priests, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived off their allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore they did not have to sell 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,

Then Joseph said to the people, "Look, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you so you can plant the seed in 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 it will come to pass at the harvests that you must give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours for seed for the field, and for your food, and for those of your households, and as food for your little ones."

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

Then they said, "You have saved our lives. Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's slaves."

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.

So Joseph made it a statute still in effect for the land of Egypt, that a fifth must go to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh'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.

So Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Gesen. And they acquired property in it and were fertile and became numerous.

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 lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred 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 time approached for Israel to die, so he summoned his son Joseph and said to him, "If now I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not 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 when I lie down with my fathers you must carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place." And he said, "I will do what you have asked."

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

Then he said, "Take an oath to me," and he took an oath to him. Then Israel bowed over the top of his staff.