Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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1 So Joseph took five of his
brothers and went to the
king. He told him, “My father and
my brothers have come from Canaan
with their flocks, their herds,
and all that they own. They are now
in the region of Goshen.”
2 He then
presented his brothers to the king.
3 The king asked them, “What is
your occupation?”
3 “We are shepherds, sir, just as our
ancestors were,” they answered.
4 “We have come to live in this country,
because in the land of Canaan
the famine is so severe that there is
no pasture for our flocks. Please give
us permission to live in the region of
Goshen.”
5 The king said to Joseph,
“Now that your father and your
brothers have arrived,
6 the land of
Egypt is theirs. Let them settle in the
region of Goshen, the best part of
the land. And if there are any capable
men among them, put them in
charge of my own livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought his father
Jacob and presented him to the king.
Jacob gave the king his blessing,
8 and the king asked him, “How old
are you?”
9 Jacob answered, “My life of
wandering has lasted a hundred and
thirty years. Those years have been
few and difficult, unlike the long
years of my ancestors in their wanderings.”
10 Jacob gave the king a
farewell blessing and left.
11 Then
Joseph settled his father and his
brothers in Egypt, giving them property
in the best of the land near the
city of Rameses, as the king had
commanded.
12 Joseph provided food
for his father, his brothers, and all
the rest of his father's family, including
the very youngest.
The Famine
13 The famine was so severe that
there was no food anywhere, and the
people of Egypt and Canaan became
weak with hunger.
14 As they bought
grain, Joseph collected all the money
and took it to the palace.
15 When
all the money in Egypt and Canaan
was spent, the Egyptians came to
Joseph and said, “Give us food!
Don't let us die. Do something! Our
money is all gone.”
16 Joseph answered, “Bring your
livestock; I will give you food in exchange
for it if your money is all
gone.”
17 So they brought their livestock
to Joseph, and he gave them
food in exchange for their horses,
sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys.
That year he supplied them with
food in exchange for all their livestock.
18 The following year they came to
him and said, “We will not hide the
fact from you, sir, that our money is
all gone and our livestock belongs to
you. There is nothing left to give you
except our bodies and our lands.
19 Don't let us die. Do something!
Don't let our fields be deserted. Buy
us and our land in exchange for
food. We will be the king's slaves,
and he will own our land. Give us
grain to keep us alive and seed so
that we can plant our fields.”
20 Joseph bought all the land in
Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian
was forced to sell his land, because
the famine was so severe; and all the
land became the king's property.
21 Joseph made slaves of the people
from one end of Egypt to the other.
22 The only land he did not buy was
the land that belonged to the priests.
They did not have to sell their lands,
because the king gave them an allowance
to live on.
23 Joseph said to
the people, “You see, I have now
bought you and your lands for the
king. Here is seed for you to sow in
your fields.
24 At the time of harvest
you must give one-fifth to the king.
You can use the rest for seed and for
food for yourselves and your families.”
25 They answered, “You have
saved our lives; you have been good
-- --
to us, sir, and we will be the king's
slaves.”
26 So Joseph made it a law
for the land of Egypt that one-fifth of
the harvest should belong to the
king. This law still remains in force
today. Only the lands of the priests
did not become the king's property.
Jacob's Last Request
27 The Israelites lived in Egypt in
the region of Goshen, where they became
rich and had many children.
28 Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen
years, until he was a hundred and
forty-seven years old.
29 When the
time drew near for him to die, he
called for his son Joseph and said to
him, “Place your hand between my
thighs note and make a solemn vow that
you will not bury me in Egypt.
30 I
want to be buried where my fathers
are; carry me out of Egypt and bury
me where they are buried.”
30 Joseph answered, “I will do as you
say.” note
31 Jacob said, “Make a vow that
you will.” Joseph made the vow, and
Jacob gave thanks there on his bed.
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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