Genesis 47
1 Ingressus ergo Joseph nuntiavit Pharaoni, dicens: Pater meus et fratres, oves eorum et armenta, et cuncta quæ possident, venerunt de terra Chanaan: et ecce consistunt in terra Gessen.
And so Joseph entered and reported to Pharaoh, saying: “My father and brothers, their sheep and herds, and everything that they possess, have arrived from the land of Canaan. And behold, they stand together in the land of Goshen.”
2 Extremos quoque fratrum suorum quinque viros constituit coram rege:
Likewise, he stood in the sight of the king five men, the last of his brothers.
3 quos ille interrogavit: Quid habetis operis? Responderunt: Pastores ovium sumus servi tui, et nos et patres nostri.
And he questioned them, “What do you have for work?” They responded: “Your servants are pastors of sheep, both we and our fathers.
4 Ad peregrinandum in terra tua venimus: quoniam non est herba gregibus servorum tuorum, ingravescente fame in terra Chanaan: petimusque ut esse nos jubeas servos tuos in terra Gessen.
We came to sojourn in your land, because there is no grass for the flocks of your servants, the famine being very grievous in the land of Canaan. And we petition you that you may order us, your servants, to be in the land of Goshen.”
5 Dixit itaque rex ad Joseph: Pater tuus et fratres tui venerunt ad te.
And so the king said to Joseph: “Your father and brothers have come to 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.
The land of Egypt is in your sight. Cause them to live in the best place, and deliver to them the land of Goshen. And if you know there to be industrious men among them, appoint these as foremen over my cattle.”
7 Post hæc introduxit Joseph patrem suum ad regem, et statuit eum coram eo: qui benedicens illi,
After this, Joseph brought in his father to the king, and he stood him in his sight. He blessed him,
8 et interrogatus ab eo: Quot sunt dies annorum vitæ tuæ?
and he questioned him: “How many are the days of the years of your life?”
9 respondit: Dies peregrinationis meæ centum triginta annorum sunt, parvi et mali, et non pervenerunt usque ad dies patrum meorum quibus peregrinati sunt.
He responded, “The days of my sojourn are one hundred and thirty years, few and unworthy, and they do not reach even to the days of the sojourning of my fathers.”
10 Et benedicto rege, egressus est foras.
And blessing the king, he went outside.
11 Joseph vero patri et fratribus suis dedit possessionem in Ægypto in optimo terræ loco, Ramesses, ut præceperat Pharao.
Truly, Joseph gave his father and brothers a possession in Egypt, in the best place of the land, in Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed.
12 Et alebat eos, omnemque domum patris sui, præbens cibaria singulis.
And he fed them, along with all his father’s house, providing portions of food to each one.
13 In toto enim orbe panis deerat, et oppresserat fames terram, maxime Ægypti et Chanaan.
For in the whole world there was a lack of bread, and a famine had oppressed the land, most of all Egypt and Canaan,
14 E quibus omnem pecuniam congregavit pro venditione frumenti, et intulit eam in ærarium regis.
from which he gathered together all the money for the grain that they bought, and he took it into the treasury of the king.
15 Cumque defecisset emptoribus pretium, venit cuncta Ægyptus ad Joseph, dicens: Da nobis panes: quare morimur coram te, deficiente pecunia?
And when the buyers had run out of money, all Egypt came to Joseph, saying: “Give us bread. Why should we die in your sight, lacking money?”
16 Quibus ille respondit: Adducite pecora vestra, et dabo vobis pro eis cibos, si pretium non habetis.
And he responded to them: “Bring me your cattle, and I will give food to you in exchange for them, if you do not have money.”
17 Quæ cum adduxissent, dedit eis alimenta pro equis, et ovibus, et bobus, et asinis: sustentavitque eos illo anno pro commutatione pecorum.
And when they had brought them, he gave them food for their horses, and sheep, and oxen, and donkeys. And he sustained them in that year in exchange for their cattle.
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.
Likewise, they came the second year, and they said to him: “We will not conceal from our lord that our money is gone; likewise our cattle are gone. Neither are you unaware that we have nothing left but 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.
Therefore, why should you watch us die? Both we and our land will be yours. Buy us into royal servitude, but provide seed, lest by the dying off of cultivators the land be reduced to a wilderness.”
20 Emit igitur Joseph omnem terram Ægypti, vendentibus singulis possessiones suas præ magnitudine famis. Subjecitque eam Pharaoni,
Therefore, Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, each one selling his possessions because of the magnitude of the famine. And he subjected it to Pharaoh,
21 et cunctos populos ejus a novissimis terminis Ægypti usque ad extremos fines ejus,
along with all of its people, from the newest borders of Egypt, even to its furthest limits,
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.
except the land of the priests, which had been delivered to them by the king. To these also a portion of food was supplied out of the public storehouses, and, for this reason, they were not compelled to sell their possessions.
23 Dixit ergo Joseph ad populos: En ut cernitis, et vos et terram vestram Pharao possidet: accipite semina, et serite agros,
Therefore, Joseph said to the people: “So, as you discern, both you and your lands are possessed by Pharaoh; take seed and 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.
so that you may be able to have grain. One fifth part you will give to the king; the remaining four I permit to you, as seed and as food for your families and children.
25 Qui responderunt: Salus nostra in manu tua est: respiciat nos tantum dominus noster, et læti serviemus regi.
And they responded: “Our health is in your hand; only let our lord look kindly upon us, and we will serve the king with gladness.”
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.
From that time, even to the present day, in the entire land of Egypt, the fifth part is turned over to the kings, and it has become like a law, except in the land of the priests, which was free from this condition.
27 Habitavit ergo Israël in Ægypto, id est, in terra Gessen, et possedit eam: auctusque est, et multiplicatus nimis.
And so, Israel lived in Egypt, that is, in the land of Goshen, and he possessed it. And he increased and was multiplied exceedingly.
28 Et vixit in ea decem et septem annis: factique sunt omnes dies vitæ illius, centum quadraginta septem annorum.
And he lived in it seventeen years. And all the days of his life that passed were one hundred and forty-seven years.
29 Cumque appropinquare cerneret diem mortis suæ, vocavit filium suum Joseph, 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:
And when he discerned that the day of his death was approaching, he called his son Joseph, and he said to him: “If I have found favor in your sight, place your hand under my thigh. And you shall show me mercy and truth, not to bury me in Egypt.
30 sed dormiam cum patribus meis, et auferas me de terra hac, condasque in sepulchro majorum meorum. Cui respondit Joseph: Ego faciam quod jussisti.
But I shall sleep with my fathers, and you will carry me from this land and bury me in the sepulcher of my ancestors.” And Joseph answered him, “I will do what you have ordered.”
31 Et ille: Jura ergo, inquit, mihi. Quo jurante, adoravit Israël Deum, conversus ad lectuli caput.
And he said, “Then swear it to me.” And as he was swearing, Israel adored God, turning to the head of his resting place.
