Ebandeli 47
1 Jozefi akendeki mpe alobaki na Faraon: — Tata na ngai elongo na bandeko na ngai bayei wuta na mokili ya Kanana na bameme, bantaba, bangombe mpe biloko na bango nyonso; bazali sik’oyo na Gosheni.
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.”
2 Jozefi aponaki bandeko na ye mitano mpe alakisaki bango epai ya Faraon.
3 Faraon atunaki bandeko ya Jozefi: — Bosalaka mosala nini? Bazongiselaki Faraon: — Basali na yo bazali babateli bibwele ndenge kaka bakoko na biso bazalaki.
The king asked the brothers, “What work do you do?” They replied, “We are shepherds, just as our ancestors were.”
4 Balobaki lisusu na Faraon: — Toyei kovanda awa, pamba te nzala makasi ezali kati na mokili ya Kanana mpe matiti ezali lisusu te mpo na bibwele ya basali na yo; yango wana, tobondeli yo, pesa basali na yo nzela ya kovanda na Gosheni.
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.”
5 Faraon alobaki na Jozefi: — Tata na yo mpe bandeko na yo bayei epai na yo;
The king said to Joseph, “I am happy that your father and your [older] brothers [and younger brother] have come to you.
6 mokili ya Ejipito mpe ezali na maboko na yo. Vandisa tata na yo mpe bandeko na yo na eteni ya mabele oyo eleki kitoko; tika ete bavanda na Gosheni. Mpe soki oyebi kati na bango bato ya mayele, pesa bango mokumba ya kobatela bibwele na ngai.
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.”
7 Jozefi amemaki tata na ye mpo na kolakisa ye epai ya Faraon. Tango Jakobi asilisaki kopambola Faraon,
Then Joseph brought his father Jacob [into the palace] and introduced him to the king. Jacob asked God to bless the king.
8 Faraon atunaki Jakobi: — Ozali na mibu boni?
Then the king asked Jacob, “How old are you?”
9 Jakobi azongiselaki Faraon: — Nazali na mibu nkama moko na tuku misato ya mbotama. Mikolo ya bomoi na ngai ezali moke mpe ya pasi, ekokokana te na mikolo ya bomoi ya bakoko na ngai.
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.”
10 Jakobi apambolaki Faraon mpe alongwaki liboso na ye.
Then Jacob again [asked God to] bless the king, and left him.
11 Jozefi avandisaki tata na ye mpe bandeko na ye na Ejipito mpe apesaki bango eteni ya mabele oyo eleki kitoko kati na mokili, na mabele ya Ramisesi, ndenge kaka Faraon atindaki.
[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.
12 Jozefi apesaki lisusu biloko ya kolia epai ya tata na ye, bandeko na ye mpe epai ya libota ya tata na ye mobimba kolanda motango ya bana na bango.
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.
13 Biloko ya kolia ezalaki lisusu te kati na mokili mobimba mpe nzala makasi eyaki. Mokili ya Ejipito mpe oyo ya Kanana ekawukaki na nzala makasi.
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.
14 Jozefi azwaki mbongo nyonso oyo azalaki kobomba tango bato ya mokili ya Ejipito mpe ya Kanana bazalaki kosomba ble epai na ye, amemaki yango na ndako ya Faraon.
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.
15 Tango mbongo ya bato ya Ejipito mpe ya Kanana esilaki, bato nyonso ya Ejipito bayaki epai ya Jozefi mpe balobaki: — Pesa biso biloko ya kolia! Mpo na nini tokufa na nzala na miso na yo? Mpo ete mbongo na biso esili?
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!”
16 Jozefi azongisaki: — Soki bozali lisusu na mbongo te, bomemela ngai bibwele na bino. Bokopesa ngai bibwele na bino na esika ya mbongo.
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.”
17 Bamemaki epai ya Jozefi bampunda, bantaba mpe bangombe na bango; bongo Jozefi apesaki bango bilei na esika ya bampunda, ba-ane, bameme, bantaba mpe bangombe na bango. Na mibu nyonso wana oyo Jozefi azalaki kopesa bango bilei, bango bazalaki kopesa ye bibwele na bango.
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.
18 Tango mibu wana esilaki, bayaki lisusu epai na ye na mibu oyo elandaki. Balobaki: — Tokoki kobombela nkolo na biso te ete mbongo na biso esili mpe bibwele na biso ekomi ya yo. Totikali lisusu na eloko moko te longola kaka banzoto na biso mpe mabele na biso.
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.
19 Mpo na nini, biso elongo na mabele na biso, tokufa na miso na yo? Somba biso kaka elongo na mabele na biso na motuya ya biloko ya kolia; mpe biso elongo na mabele na biso, tokokoma bawumbu ya Faraon. Toboyi na biso kokufa na nzala, pesa biso milona ya kolona mpo ete tobika mpe mabele na biso ekoma esobe te.
(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.”
20 Jozefi asombaki mabele nyonso ya Ejipito mpo na Faraon, pamba te bato nyonso ya Ejipito batekaki bilanga na bango mpo ete nzala elekaki makasi. Boye mabele ekomaki ya Faraon.
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.
21 Jozefi akomisaki bavandi ya bingumba nyonso ya Ejipito bawumbu ya Faraon.
As a result, Joseph caused all the people from one border of the country to the other to become the king’s slaves.
22 Kasi asombaki mabele ya banganga-nzambe te, pamba te bazalaki kozwa tango nyonso biloko ebele kolanda mobeko ya Faraon ete bazwaka biloko ya kolia. Yango wana, banganga-nzambe batekaki mabele na bango te.
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.
23 Jozefi alobaki na bato: — Nasombi bino lelo mpo na Faraon, bino mpe mabele na bino. Tala milona mpo na bino mpo ete bokoka kolona mabele.
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.
24 Kasi tango bokobuka mbuma, bokopesa eteni ya mitano epai ya Faraon. Biteni minei oyo mosusu, bokobomba yango lokola milona mpo na bilanga mpe lokola biloko ya kolia mpo na bino moko, mpo na mabota na bino mpe mpo na bana na bino.
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.”
25 Bazongisaki: — Obikisi bomoi na biso! Lokola tozwi ngolu na miso na yo nkolo na biso, tokozala bawumbu ya Faraon.
They replied, “You have saved our lives! We want you to be pleased with us. And we will be the king’s slaves.”
26 Bongo Jozefi akomisaki yango mobeko kino lelo kati na mabele ya Ejipito: eteni ya mitano ya bambuma nyonso oyo ekowuta na mabele ezali mpo na Faraon. Kasi mabele ya Banganga-Nzambe ekomaki ya Faraon te.
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.
27 Boye bana ya Isalaele bavandaki na Ejipito, na Gosheni. Kuna bakomaki na bozwi ebele, babotaki bana mpe bakomaki ebele.
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.
28 Jakobi awumelaki mibu zomi na sambo na Ejipito. Mpe mibu ya bomoi na ye ezalaki nkama moko na tuku minei na sambo.
Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years. Altogether he lived 147 years.
29 Tango mokolo ya kufa ya Isalaele ekomaki pene, abengaki Jozefi, mwana na ye ya mobali, mpe alobaki na ye: — Soki nazwi ngolu na miso na yo, tia loboko na yo na se ya mopende na ngai; laka ngai ete okotalisa ngai bolamu mpe boyengebene, mpe okokunda ngai na Ejipito te.
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.
30 Kasi tango nakolala elongo na bakoko na ngai, okobimisa ngai na Ejipito mpe okokunda ngai na esika oyo bakunda bango. Jozefi azongisaki: — Nakosala ndenge olobi.
Instead, take my body out of Egypt, and bury it in Canaan where my ancestors are buried.” Joseph replied, “I will do that.”
31 Bongo Jakobi alobaki lisusu: — Lapa ndayi mpo na kolakisa ete okosala ndenge olobi. Boye, Jozefi alapaki ndayi na miso na ye; mpe Isalaele agumbamaki na koyekama na moto ya mbeto na ye.
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.
