1   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 Goshen." 2   And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh. 3   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   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 Goshen." 5   Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6   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 Goshen. If you know any able men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock." 7   Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob, and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8   And Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many are the days of the years of your life?" 9   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   Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from Pharaoh’s presence. 11   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 Raamses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12   And Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all of his father’s household, according to the number of their dependents. 13   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   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 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   Then Joseph said, "Give me your livestock and I will give you food for your livestock, if your silver is gone." 17   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   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   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   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 as for the people, he subjugated them as slaves from one end of the border of Egypt to the other end of it. 22   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   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   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   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   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   So Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they aquired property in it and were fertile and became numerous. 28   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 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 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   Then he said, "Take an oath to me," and he took an oath to him. Then Israel bowed over the top of his staff.

This website is public domain.