Genesis 47 (ENGLEE)

1Then came Joseph and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brothers, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.So Joseph went and told Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.”

2And he took some of his brothers, five men, and presented them before Pharaoh.And he chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

3And Pharaoh said unto his brothers, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, as also our fathers.“What is your occupation?” Pharaoh asked Joseph’s brothers. “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “both we and our fathers.”

4They said moreover unto Pharaoh, To sojourn in the land are we come; because there is no pasture for the flocks of thy servants, for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan; and now let thy servants dwell, we pray thee, in the land of Goshen.Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live in the land for a time, because there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please allow your servants to settle in the land of Goshen.”

5And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, thus, Thy father and thy brothers are come unto thee:Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you,

6The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land let thy father and brothers dwell; let them dwell in the land of Goshen; and if thou knowest that there are among them men of activity, then appoint them rulers over my cattle.the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

7And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and placed him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

8And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?“How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked.

9And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years: few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.“My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”

10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from his presence.

11And Joseph assigned places of residence for his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Ra'meses, as Pharaoh had commanded.So Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

12And Joseph supplied his father, and his brothers, and all his father's household, with bread, in proportion to their families.Joseph also provided his father and brothers and all his father’s household with food for their families.

13And there was no bread in all the land: for the famine was very sore; and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.There was no food, however, in all that region, because the famine was so severe; the lands of Egypt and Canaan had been exhausted by the famine.

14And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain they were buying, and he brought it into Pharaoh’s palace.

15And when the money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread, for why should we die in thy presence, since the money is all gone?When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our funds have run out!”

16And Joseph said, Give up your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if the money be all gone.“Then bring me your livestock,” said Joseph. “Since the money is gone, I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock.”

17And they brought their cattle unto Joseph; and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks of sheep, and for the herds of cattle, and for the asses; and he supplied them with bread for all their cattle for that year.So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. Throughout that year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.

18And when that year was ended, they came unto him in the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money with our herds of cattle hath entirely passed into the possession of my lord; there is naught left in sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our land.When that year was over, they came to him the second year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord that our money is gone and all our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.

19Wherefore shall we die before thy eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread; and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh; and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land be not rendered desolate.Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Purchase us and our land in exchange for food. Then we, along with our land, will be slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”

20And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.So Joseph acquired for Pharaoh all the land in Egypt; the Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields because the famine was so severe upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s,

21And as for the people, he removed them to the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end thereof.and Joseph reduced the people to servitude from one end of Egypt to the other.

22Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them by Pharaoh, and they ate their portion which Pharaoh gave them: therefore they did not sell their land.However, he did not acquire the priests’ portion of the land, for it had been given to them by Pharaoh. They ate the rations that Pharaoh supplied; so they did not sell their land.

23Then said Joseph unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and sow ye the land.Then Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh this day, here is seed for you to sow in the land.

24And it shall come to pass in the harvest times, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh; and four parts shall be your own, for the seed of the field, and for your food, and for those belonging to your households, and for food for your little ones.At harvest time, you are to give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be yours as seed for the field and food for yourselves and your households and children.”

25And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us but find grace in the eyes of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.“You have saved our lives,” they said. “We have found favor in our lord’s eyes, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”

26And Joseph made it a statute unto this day over the land of Egypt, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests alone became not Pharaoh's.So Joseph established a law that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh, and it is in effect in the land of Egypt to this day. Only the priests’ land does not belong to Pharaoh.

27And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly.Now the Israelites settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and became fruitful and increased greatly in number.

28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: and the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred forty and seven years.And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the length of his life was 147 years.

29And when the time of Israel drew near that he was to die, he sent to call his son Joseph, and said unto him, if now I have found grace in thy eyes, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh; and deal with me in kindness and truth; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt.When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt,

30But when I shall lie with my fathers, thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.but when I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me with them.” Joseph answered, “I will do as you have requested.”

31And he said, Swear unto me; and he swore unto him; and Israel bowed himself upon the head of the bed.“Swear to me,” Jacob said. So Joseph swore to him, and Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.

Genesis 47

Jacob Settles in Goshen

The Famine Continues

The Israelites Prosper in Goshen

You’ve read Genesis 47

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Genesis 47

Jacob Settles in Goshen

The Famine Continues

The Israelites Prosper in Goshen

You’ve read Genesis 47

Go deeper