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Genesis 47:13-26
New International Version
Genesis 47:13-26
New International Version
Joseph and the Famine
13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.(A) 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying,(B) and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.(C) 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone,(D) all Egypt came to Joseph(E) and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes?(F) Our money is all gone.”
16 “Then bring your livestock,(G)” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.(H)” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses,(I) their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys.(J) And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone(K) and our livestock belongs to you,(L) there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes(M)—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food,(N) and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.(O) Give us seed so that we may live and not die,(P) and that the land may not become desolate.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe(Q) for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude,[a](R) from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests,(S) because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment(T) Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed(U) for you so you can plant the ground.(V) 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth(W) of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”
25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord;(X) we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”(Y)
26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth(Z) of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.(AA)
Footnotes
- Genesis 47:21 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also Vulgate); Masoretic Text and he moved the people into the cities
Genesis 47:13-26
English Standard Version
Genesis 47:13-26
English Standard Version
Joseph and the Famine
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 languished by reason of the famine. 14 (A)And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 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. (B)Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” 16 And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? (C)Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh's. 21 As for the people, he made servants of them[a] from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 (D)Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.
23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And at the harvests you shall give a (E)fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” 25 And they said, “You have saved our lives; (F)may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” 26 So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; (G)the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 47:21 Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew he removed them to the cities
Genesis 47:13-26
New American Standard Bible
Genesis 47:13-26
New American Standard Bible
13 Now there was no [a]food in all the land, because the famine was very severe, so that (A)the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14 And (B)Joseph collected all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan in payment for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 15 When the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph saying, “Give us [b]food, for (C)why should we die in your presence? For our money is [c]gone.” 16 Then Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food for your livestock, since your money is [d]gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them [e]food in exchange for the horses and the [f]flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he [g]fed them with [h]food in exchange for all their livestock [i]that year. 18 But when that year ended, they came to him the [j]next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord the fact that our money is all spent, and the [k]livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left [l]for my lord except our bodies and our lands. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for [m]food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. So give us seed, so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”
Result of the Famine
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for [n]every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 As for the people, he relocated them to the cities from one end of Egypt’s border to the other. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy, because the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they [o]lived off the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore, they did not sell their land. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, today I have purchased you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land. 24 [p]At the harvest you shall give a (D)fifth to Pharaoh, and [q]four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food, and for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” 25 So 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 Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, valid to this day, that Pharaoh was to have the fifth; (E)only the land of the priests [r]did not become Pharaoh’s.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 47:13 Or bread
- Genesis 47:15 Or bread
- Genesis 47:15 Lit at an end
- Genesis 47:16 Lit at an end
- Genesis 47:17 Or bread
- Genesis 47:17 Lit livestock of the flocks and livestock of the herds
- Genesis 47:17 Lit led them as a shepherd
- Genesis 47:17 Or bread
- Genesis 47:17 Lit in that year
- Genesis 47:18 Lit second
- Genesis 47:18 Lit livestock of the cattle
- Genesis 47:18 Lit in the presence of
- Genesis 47:19 Or bread
- Genesis 47:20 Lit Egypt, every man
- Genesis 47:22 Lit ate their allotment
- Genesis 47:24 Lit It shall come about...that you shall
- Genesis 47:24 Lit four parts
- Genesis 47:26 Lit alone did
Genesis 47:13-26
Common English Bible
Genesis 47:13-26
Common English Bible
Joseph centralizes power in Egypt
13 There was no food in the land because the famine was so severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan dried up from the famine. 14 Joseph collected all of the silver to be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the grain, which people came to buy, and he deposited it in Pharaoh’s treasury. 15 The silver from the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan had been spent, and all of the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes, just because the silver is gone?”
16 Joseph said, “Give me your livestock, and I will give you food for your livestock if the silver is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food for the horses, flocks, cattle, and donkeys. He got them through that year with food in exchange for all of their livestock.
18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We can’t hide from my master that the silver is spent and that we’ve given the livestock to my master. All that’s left for my master is our corpses and our farmland. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, we and our farmland too? Buy us and our farms for food, and we and our farms will be under Pharaoh’s control. Give us seed so that we can stay alive and not die, and so that our farmland won’t become unproductive.” 20 So Joseph bought all of Egypt’s farmland for Pharaoh because every Egyptian sold his field when the famine worsened. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 He moved the people to the cities[a] from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he didn’t buy the farmland of the priests because Pharaoh allowed the priests a subsidy, and they were able to eat from the subsidy Pharaoh gave them. Therefore, they didn’t have to sell their farmland.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Since I’ve now purchased you and your farmland for Pharaoh, here’s seed for you. Plant the seed on the land. 24 When the crop comes in, you must give one-fifth to Pharaoh. You may keep four-fifths for yourselves, for planting fields, and for feeding yourselves, those in your households, and your children.”
25 The people said, “You’ve saved our lives. If you wish, we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” 26 So Joseph made a law that still exists today: Pharaoh receives one-fifth from Egypt’s farmland. Only the priests’ farmland didn’t become Pharaoh’s.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 47:21 Sam, LXX he made the people slaves
Genesis 47:13-26
Contemporary English Version
Genesis 47:13-26
Contemporary English Version
A Famine in Egypt
13 The famine was bad everywhere in Egypt and Canaan, and the people were suffering terribly. 14 So Joseph sold them the grain that had been stored up, and he put the money[a] in the king's treasury. 15 But when everyone had run out of money, the Egyptians came to Joseph and demanded, “Give us more grain! If you don't, we'll soon be dead, because our money's all gone.”
16 “If you don't have any money,” Joseph answered, “give me your animals, and I'll let you have some grain.” 17 From then on, they brought him their horses and donkeys and their sheep and goats in exchange for grain.
Within a year Joseph had collected every animal in Egypt. 18 Then the people came to him and said:
Sir, there's no way we can hide the truth from you. We are broke, and we don't have any more animals. We have nothing left except ourselves and our land. 19 Don't let us starve and our land be ruined. If you'll give us grain to eat and seed to plant, we'll sell ourselves and our land to the king.[b] We'll become his slaves.
20 The famine became so severe that Joseph finally bought every piece of land in Egypt for the king 21 and made everyone the king's slaves,[c] 22 except the priests. The king gave the priests a regular food allowance, so they did not have to sell their land. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “You and your land now belong to the king. I'm giving you seed to plant, 24 but one fifth of your crops must go to the king. You can keep the rest as seed or as food for your families.”
25 “Sir, you have saved our lives!” they answered. “We are glad to be slaves of the king.” 26 Then Joseph made a law that one fifth of the harvest would always belong to the king. Only the priests did not lose their land.
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New International Version (NIV) 
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English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.