Genesis 47
1 Ingressus ergo Ioseph nunciavit Pharaoni, dicens: Pater meus et fratres, oves eorum et armenta, et cuncta quæ possident, venerunt de Terra Chanaan: et ecce consistunt in Terra Gessen.
Joseph went to report to Pharaoh and told him, “My father and brothers, along with their flocks and herds and all their possessions, have arrived from the land of Canaan and now they're here in Goshen.”
2 Extremos quoque fratrum suorum quinque viros constituit coram rege:
Joseph took five of his brothers to go with him and introduced them to Pharaoh.
3 quos ille interrogavit: Quid habetis operis? Responderunt: Pastores ovium sumus servi tui, et nos, et patres nostri.
Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What work do you do?” “Your servants are shepherds, just like our fathers before us,” they replied.
4 Ad peregrinandum in terra tua venimus: quoniam non est herba gregibus servorum tuorum, ingravescente fame in terra Chanaan: petimusque ut esse nos iubeas servos tuos in Terra Gessen.
“We have come to live in Egypt because there's no grass left in Canaan for our flocks to eat,” they explained. “The famine is really bad in Canaan. So we would like to please ask permission to live in Goshen.”
5 Dixit itaque rex ad Ioseph: Pater tuus et fratres tui venerunt ad te.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have arrived to join you,
6 Terra Ægypti in conspectu tuo est: in optimo loco fac eos habitare, et trade eis Terram Gessen. Quod si nosti in eis esse viros industrios, constitue illos magistros pecorum meorum.
you can choose wherever you like in Egypt, the best place, for them to live. Let them live in Goshen. If you know any of them who are good at what they do, put them in charge of my livestock as well.”
7 Post hæc introduxit Ioseph patrem suum ad Regem, et statuit eum coram eo: qui benedicens illi,
Then Joseph went with his father Jacob and introduced him Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh,
8 et interrogatus ab eo: Quot sunt dies annorum vitæ tuæ?
Pharaoh asked him, “So how long have you lived?”
9 Respondit: Dies peregrinationis meæ centum triginta annorum sunt, parvi et mali, et non pervenerunt usque ad dies patrum meorum quibus peregrinati sunt.
“I have been wandering for 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My life has been short and difficult—I have not lived as long as my forefathers who also wandered from place to place.”
10 Et benedicto rege, egressus est foras.
Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving him.
11 Ioseph vero patri et fratribus suis dedit possessionem in Ægypto in optimo terræ loco, Ramesses, ut præceperat Pharao.
So Joseph arranged for his father and brothers to live in Egypt and gave them land in the best part near Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered.
12 Et alebat eos, omnemque domum patris sui, præbens cibaria singulis.
He also provided food for all of them—his father, his brothers, and his father's whole household—depending on family size.
13 In toto enim orbe panis deerat, et oppresserat fames terram, maxime Ægypti et Chanaan.
No food was left in the whole country because the famine had become so bad. Throughout Egypt and Canaan people were starving.
14 E quibus omnem pecuniam congregavit pro venditione frumenti, et intulit eam in ærarium regis.
By selling grain Joseph collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan, and placed it in Pharaoh's treasury.
15 Cumque defecisset emptoribus pretium, venit cuncta Ægyptus ad Ioseph, dicens: Da nobis panes: quare morimur coram te, deficiente pecunia?
Once the money from Egypt and Canaan had run out, the Egyptians all came to Joseph and demanded, “Give us food! Do you want us to die right in front of you? All our money is gone!”
16 Quibus ille respondit: Adducite pecora vestra, et dabo vobis pro eis cibos, si pretium non habetis.
“Bring me your livestock,” Joseph told them. “I'll give you grain in exchange for your livestock if you've run out of money.”
17 Quæ cum adduxissent, dedit eis alimenta pro equis, et ovibus, et bobus, et asinis: sustentavitque eos illo anno pro commutatione pecorum.
So they brought Joseph their livestock, and he provided them with grain in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. He gave them grain in return for their livestock during that year.
18 Venerunt quoque anno secundo, et dixerunt ei: Non celabimus dominum nostrum quod deficiente pecunia, pecora simul defecerunt: nec clam te est, quod absque corporibus et terra nihil habeamus.
But when that year was over, they came to him the next year and said, “My lord, we can't hide from you the fact that our money is gone and that you now own our livestock. All we have left to give you are our bodies and our land.
19 Cur ergo moriemur te vidente? et nos et terra nostra tui erimus: eme nos in servitutem regiam, et præbe semina, ne pereunte cultore redigatur terra in solitudinem.
Do you want us to die right in front of you? So buy us and our land in return for food. Then our land will belong to Pharaoh, and we'll be his slaves. Just give us grain so we can live and won't die, and so the land won't be abandoned.”
20 Emit igitur Ioseph omnem Terram Ægypti, vendentibus singulis possessiones suas præ magnitudine famis. Subiecitque eam Pharaoni,
So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Each and every Egyptian sold their fields, because the famine was hurting them so badly. The land ended up being owned by Pharaoh,
21 et cunctos populos eius a novissimis terminis Ægypti usque ad extremos fines eius,
and all the people became his slaves, from one end of Egypt to the other.
22 præter terram sacerdotum, quæ a rege tradita fuerat eis: quibus et statuta cibaria ex horreis publicis præbebantur, et idcirco non sunt compulsi vendere possessiones suas.
The only land he didn't buy belonged to the priests because they had a food allowance provided to them by Pharaoh, so they didn't have to sell their land.
23 Dixit ergo Ioseph ad populos: En ut cernitis, et vos et terram vestram Pharao possidet: accipite semina, et serite agros,
Then Joseph told the people, “Listen to me! Now that I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh, I'm giving you some seed for you to sow the fields.
24 ut fruges habere possitis. Quintam partem regi dabitis: quatuor reliquas permitto vobis in sementem, et in cibum familiis et liberis vestris.
However, when it's harvested, you have to give one fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you can keep as seed for the fields and as food for you, your households, and your children.”
25 Qui responderunt: Salus nostra in manu tua est: respiciat nos tantum dominus noster, et læti serviemus regi.
“You've saved our lives,” they declared. “May you continue to treat us well, my lord, and we'll be Pharaoh's slaves.”
26 Ex eo tempore usque in præsentem diem in universa terra Ægypti regibus quinta pars solvitur, et factum est quasi in legem, absque terra sacerdotali, quæ libera ab hac conditione fuit.
So Joseph made it a law for Egypt which is still is in effect today that one fifth of all produce from the land belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests' land was exempt since it did not belong to Pharaoh.
27 Habitavit ergo Israel in Ægypto, idest, in Terra Gessen, et possedit eam: auctusque est, et multiplicatus nimis.
The Israelites settled in Goshen in Egypt where they became prosperous landowners and rapidly increased in number.
28 Et vixit in ea decem et septem annis: factique sunt omnes dies vitæ illius centum quadraginta septem annorum.
Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years, so he lived in total 137 years.
29 Cumque appropinquare cerneret diem mortis suæ, vocavit filium suum Ioseph, et dixit ad eum: Si inveni gratiam in conspectu tuo, pone manum tuam sub femore meo: et facies mihi misericordiam et veritatem, ut non sepelias me in Ægypto:
When the time came for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If you think well of me, place your hand under my thigh and promise to treat me with trustworthy love and faithfulness. Don't bury me here in Egypt.
30 sed dormiam cum patribus meis, et auferas me de terra hac, condasque in sepulchro maiorum meorum. Cui respondit Ioseph: Ego faciam quod iussisti.
When I die, bury me with my forefathers. You must take my body from Egypt to the family tomb and bury me with them.” “I will do as you say,” Joseph promised.
31 Et ille: Iura ergo, inquit, mihi. Quo iurante, adoravit Israel Deum, conversus ad lectuli caput.
“Swear to me that you will,” he said. Joseph swore that he would. Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.
