Joseph’s Brothers Sent to Egypt

42 Now (A)Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?” Then he said, “Look, (B)I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from [a]that place, (C)so that we may live and not die.” So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother (D)Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “(E)I am afraid that harm may happen to him.” So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, (F)because the famine was also in the land of Canaan.

Now (G)Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold grain to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and (H)bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and (I)spoke to them harshly. He said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”

But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although (J)they did not recognize him. And Joseph (K)remembered the dreams which he [b]had about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the [c]undefended parts of our land.” 10 And they said to him, “No, (L)my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man; we are (M)honest men, your servants are not spies.” 12 Yet he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the [d]undefended parts of our land!” 13 But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with (N)our father today, and (O)one is no longer alive.” 14 Yet Joseph said to them, “It is as I said [e]to you, you are spies; 15 by this you will be tested: (P)by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here! 16 Send one of you and have him get your brother, while you remain confined, so that your words may be tested, whether there is (Q)truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, you are certainly spies!” 17 So he put them all together in (R)prison for three days.

18 Now Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for (S)I fear God: 19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in [f]your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine of your households, 20 and (T)bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified, and you will not die.” And they did so. 21 Then they said to one another, “(U)Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; for that reason this distress has happened to us.” 22 Reuben answered them, saying, “(V)Did I not tell [g]you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? [h](W)Now justice for his blood is required.” 23 They did not know, however, that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between them. 24 Then he turned away from them and (X)wept. But when he returned to them and spoke to them, he (Y)took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 (Z)Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, but also to return every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. And that is what was done for them.

26 So they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed from there. 27 But when one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the overnight campsite, he saw his (AA)money; and behold, it was in the opening of his sack! 28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned, and look, it is right in my sack!” Then their hearts [i]sank, and they turned [j]trembling to one another, saying, “(AB)What is this that God has done to us?”

Simeon Is Held Hostage

29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, (AC)spoke harshly with us, and took us for spies of the country. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are (AD)honest men; we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’ 33 But the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘(AE)By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go. 34 But bring your youngest brother to me so that I may know that you are not spies, but [k]honest men. I will give your brother to you, and you may (AF)trade in the land.’”

35 Now it came about, as they were emptying their sacks, that behold, (AG)every man’s bag of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bags of money, they were afraid. 36 And their father Jacob said to them, “You have (AH)deprived me of my sons: Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and now you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me.” 37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my [l]care, and I will return him to you.” 38 But [m]Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his (AI)brother is dead, and he alone is left. (AJ)If harm should happen to him on the journey [n]you are taking, then you will (AK)bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”

The Return to Egypt

43 (AL)Now the famine was severe in the land. So it came about, when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “(AM)The man sternly warned [o]us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly, [p]by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” But they said, “The man specifically asked about us and our relatives, saying, ‘(AN)Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we [q]answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” So Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will arise and go, (AO)so that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. (AP)I myself will take responsibility for him! You may demand him back from [r]me. If I do not bring him back to you and present him to you, then [s]you can let me take the blame forever. 10 For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”

11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your [t]bags, and carry down to the man (AQ)as a gift, a little (AR)balsam and a little honey, labdanum resin and [u]myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 And take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand (AS)the money that was returned in the opening of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man; 14 and may [v](AT)God Almighty (AU)grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you (AV)your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, (AW)if I am bereaved of my sons, I am bereaved!” 15 So the men took (AX)this gift, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; then they set out and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

Joseph Sees Benjamin

16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his (AY)house steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make preparations; for the men are to dine with me at noon.” 17 So the man did as Joseph said, and [w]brought the men to Joseph’s house. 18 Now the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, so that he may [x]attack us and [y]overpower us, and take us as slaves with our donkeys.” 19 So they approached Joseph’s house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house, 20 and said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food, 21 and it happened when we came to the campsite, that we opened our sacks, and behold, (AZ)each man’s money was in the opening of his sack, our money in [z]full. So (BA)we have brought it back in our hand. 22 We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 But he said, “Peace be to you, do not be afraid. (BB)Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; your [aa]money was in my possession.” Then (BC)he brought Simeon out to them. 24 Then the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and (BD)gave them water, and they (BE)washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. 25 So they prepared (BF)the gift [ab]for Joseph’s arrival at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat [ac]a meal there.

26 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the gift which was in their hand, and they (BG)bowed down to the ground before him. 27 Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, “(BH)Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 And they said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” Then (BI)they bowed down again [ad]in homage. 29 And as he raised his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this (BJ)your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” Then he said, “(BK)May God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Joseph then hurried out, for [ae](BL)he was deeply stirred over his brother, and he looked for a place to weep; so he entered his chamber and (BM)wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he (BN)controlled himself and said, “[af]Serve the meal.” 32 Then they served him by himself, and [ag]Joseph’s brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an (BO)abomination to the Egyptians. 33 Now they [ah]were seated before him, from (BP)the firstborn according to his birthright to the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. 34 Then he took portions to them from [ai]his own table, (BQ)but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank freely with him.

The Brothers Are Brought Back

44 (BR)Then he commanded his house steward, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the opening of his sack. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the opening of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.” And he did [aj]as Joseph had told him. [ak]As soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys. They had just left (BS)the city, and were not far away, when Joseph said to his house steward, “Up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? Is this not that from which my lord drinks, and which he indeed uses for (BT)divination? You have done wrong in doing this!’”

So [al]he overtook them and spoke these words to them. And they said to him, “Why does my lord say such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! Behold, (BU)the money which we found in the opening of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? (BV)With whomever of your servants it is found, he shall die, and we also shall be my lord’s (BW)slaves.” 10 So he said, “Now let it indeed be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, but the rest of you shall be considered innocent.” 11 Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. 12 And he searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and (BX)the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 Then they (BY)tore their clothes in grief, and when each man had loaded his donkey, they returned to (BZ)the city.

14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there, and (CA)they fell down to the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “What is this thing that you have done? Do you not know that a man who is like me can indeed practice (CB)divination?” 16 So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What words can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s (CC)slaves, both we and the one in whose [am]possession the cup has been found.” 17 But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose [an]possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

18 Then Judah approached him and said, “Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and [ao](CD)do not be angry with your servant; for (CE)you are equal to Pharaoh. 19 (CF)My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ 20 And we said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and (CG)a little boy born in our father’s old age. Now (CH)his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’ 21 Then you said to your servants, ‘(CI)Bring him down to me so that I may set my eyes on him.’ 22 But we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, [ap]his father would die.’ 23 You said to your servants, however, ‘(CJ)Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 24 So it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25 And (CK)our father said, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’ 26 But we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ 27 Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that (CL)my wife bore me two sons; 28 and the one left me, and (CM)I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since. 29 If you also take this one from [aq]me, and harm happens to him, you will (CN)bring my gray hair down to Sheol in [ar]sorrow.’ 30 So now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us—since [as](CO)our father’s life is so attached to the boy’s life— 31 when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. So your servants will (CP)bring the gray hair of your servant, our father, down to Sheol in sorrow. 32 For your servant (CQ)accepted responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then [at]my father can let me take the blame forever.’ 33 So now, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers. 34 For how shall I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear that I may see the evil that would [au]overtake my father.”

Joseph Deals Kindly with His Brothers

45 Then Joseph could not control himself in front of everyone standing before him, and he shouted, “Have everyone leave me!” So there [av]was no one with him (CR)when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. Then (CS)he [aw]wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard about it. And Joseph said to his brothers, “(CT)I am Joseph! (CU)Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for (CV)they were terrified in his presence.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come [ax]closer to me.” And they came [ay]closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you (CW)sold to Egypt. Now do not be grieved or angry [az]with yourselves because (CX)you sold me here, for (CY)God sent me ahead of you [ba]to save lives. For the famine has been in the land (CZ)these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. So (DA)God sent me ahead of you to ensure for you a remnant on the earth, and to [bb]keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a (DB)father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father, and (DC)say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10 For you shall live in the land of (DD)Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your [bc]grandchildren, and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. 11 There I will also (DE)provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished.”’ 12 Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you. 13 Now you must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and (DF)bring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and (DG)wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.

16 Now when (DH)the [bd]news was heard in Pharaoh’s house [be]that Joseph’s brothers had come, it [bf]pleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your livestock and [bg]go to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households and come to me; and (DI)I will give you the [bh]best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’ 19 Now you are ordered, ‘Do this: [bi]take (DJ)wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come. 20 And do not [bj]concern yourselves with your property, for the [bk]best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

21 Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them (DK)wagons according to the [bl]command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To [bm]each of them he gave (DL)changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and (DM)five changes of garments. 23 And to his father he sent [bn]the following: ten male donkeys loaded with the [bo]best things of Egypt, ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and sustenance for his father [bp]on the journey.

24 So he sent his brothers away, and [bq]as they departed, he said to them, “Do not [br]quarrel on the journey.” 25 Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan, to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But [bs]he was stunned, for (DN)he did not believe them. 27 When they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and when he saw the (DO)wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, then the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 Then Israel said, “It is enough; my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Jacob Moves to Egypt

46 So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to (DP)Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the (DQ)God of his father Isaac. And (DR)God spoke to Israel [bt]in visions of the night and said, “(DS)Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “(DT)I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will (DU)make you into a great nation there. (DV)I will go down with you to Egypt, and (DW)I will also assuredly bring you up again; and (DX)Joseph will [bu]close your eyes.”

Then Jacob left Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the (DY)wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They also took their livestock and their possessions, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and (DZ)came to Egypt, Jacob and all his [bv]descendants with him: his sons and his grandsons with him, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his [bw]descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

Those Who Came to Egypt

Now these are the (EA)names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. And the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 And the (EB)sons of Simeon: [bx]Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, [by]Jachin, [bz]Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. 11 And the sons of Levi: [ca]Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 And the sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). And the (EC)sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 And the sons of Issachar: Tola, [cb]Puvvah, [cc]Iob, and Shimron. 14 And the sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, with his daughter Dinah; [cd]all his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three. 16 And the (ED)sons of Gad: [ce]Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, [cf]Ezbon, Eri, [cg]Arodi, and Areli. 17 And the (EE)sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. And the (EF)sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. 18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons. 19 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 20 (EG)Now to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. 21 And the (EH)sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, [ch]Ehi, Rosh, [ci]Muppim, [cj]Huppim, and Ard. 22 These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob; there were fourteen persons in all. 23 And the sons of Dan: [ck]Hushim. 24 And the sons of Naphtali: [cl]Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and [cm]Shillem. 25 These are the (EI)sons of Bilhah, whom (EJ)Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and she bore these to Jacob; there were seven persons in all. 26 (EK)All the people belonging to Jacob, who came to Egypt, [cn]his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob’s sons, were sixty-six persons in all, 27 and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were [co]two; (EL)all the people of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy.

28 Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to [cp]guide him to (EM)Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. 29 And Joseph [cq]prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; as soon as he appeared to him, Joseph threw himself on his neck and (EN)wept on his neck a long time. 30 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.” 31 But Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “(EO)I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me; 32 and the men are shepherds, for they have been [cr]keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls for you and says, ‘(EP)What is your occupation?’ 34 you shall say, ‘Your servants have been [cs](EQ)keepers of livestock since our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of (ER)Goshen; for every shepherd is an (ES)abomination to the Egyptians.”

Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen

47 Then (ET)Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of (EU)Goshen.” And he took five men from among his brothers and (EV)presented them to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “(EW)What is your occupation?” So they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are (EX)shepherds, both we and our fathers.” They also said to Pharaoh, “(EY)We have come to reside in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for (EZ)the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, please let your servants (FA)live in the land of Goshen.” Then Pharaoh said to [ct]Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is [cu]at your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in (FB)the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any (FC)capable men among them, then [cv]put them in charge of my livestock.”

Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and [cw]presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob (FD)blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many [cx]years have you lived?” So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The [cy](FE)years of my living abroad are [cz]130; few and [da]unpleasant have been the [db]years of my life, nor have they [dc]attained (FF)the [dd]years [de]that my fathers lived during the days of their living abroad.” 10 So Jacob (FG)blessed Pharaoh, and went out from [df]his presence. 11 Now Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them property in the land of Egypt, in (FH)the best of the land, in the land of (FI)Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered. 12 Joseph also (FJ)provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with [dg]food, according to the [dh]number of their little ones.

13 Now there was no [di]food in all the land, because the famine was very severe, so that (FK)the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. 14 And (FL)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 [dj]food, for (FM)why should we die in your presence? For our money is [dk]gone.” 16 Then Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food for your livestock, since your money is [dl]gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them [dm]food in exchange for the horses and the [dn]flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he [do]fed them with [dp]food in exchange for all their livestock [dq]that year. 18 But when that year ended, they came to him the [dr]next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord the fact that our money is all spent, and the [ds]livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left [dt]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 [du]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 [dv]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 [dw]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 [dx]At the harvest you shall give a (FN)fifth to Pharaoh, and [dy]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; (FO)only the land of the priests [dz]did not become Pharaoh’s.

27 Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in [ea]Goshen, and they (FP)acquired property in it and (FQ)were fruitful and became very numerous. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for (FR)seventeen years; so the [eb]length of Jacob’s life was 147 years.

29 When [ec](FS)the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Please, if I have found favor in your sight, (FT)place your hand under my thigh now and (FU)deal with me in kindness and [ed]faithfulness: please do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I (FV)[ee]lie down with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in (FW)their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” 31 And he said, “(FX)Swear to me.” So he swore to him. Then (FY)Israel bowed in worship at the head of the bed.

Israel’s Last Days

48 Now it came about after these things that [ef]Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons (FZ)Manasseh and Ephraim with him. When [eg]it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel [eh]collected his strength and sat [ei]up in the bed. Then Jacob said to Joseph, “[ej](GA)God Almighty appeared to me at (GB)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your [ek]descendants after you as (GC)an everlasting possession.’ Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; (GD)Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as (GE)Reuben and Simeon are. But your children that you have fathered after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the [el]names of their brothers in their inheritance. Now as for me, when I came from (GF)Paddan, (GG)Rachel died, [em]to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

When Israel (GH)saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” And Joseph said to his father, “(GI)They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, so that (GJ)I may bless them.” 10 Now (GK)the eyes of Israel were so [en]dim from age that he could not see. And [eo]Joseph brought them close to him, and he (GL)kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I never [ep]expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your [eq]children as well!” 12 Then Joseph [er]took them from his knees, and (GM)bowed with his face to the ground. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel reached out his right hand and placed it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although (GN)Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said,

(GO)The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
(GP)The God who has been my shepherd [es]all my life to this day,
16 (GQ)The angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
(GR)Bless the boys;
And may my name [et]live on in them,
And the [eu]names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And (GS)may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

17 When Joseph saw that his father (GT)placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and (GU)his [ev]descendants shall become [ew]a multitude of nations.” 20 So (GV)he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’”

And so he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but (GW)God will be with you, and (GX)bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 And I give you one [ex]portion more than your brothers, (GY)which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

Jacob’s Prophecy concerning His Sons

49 Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves, so that I may tell you what will happen to you (GZ)in the [ey]days to come.

Gather together and listen, sons of Jacob;
Yes, (HA)listen to Israel your father.

“Reuben, you are my firstborn,
My might and (HB)the beginning of my strength,
Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
[ez]Uncontrollable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
(HC)Because you went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.

(HD)Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Their [fa]swords are implements of violence.
(HE)May my soul not enter into their council;
May my glory not be united with their assembly;
For in their anger they killed [fb]men,
And in their self-will they lamed [fc]oxen.
Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel.
(HF)I will scatter them in Jacob,
And disperse them among Israel.

“As for you, Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
(HG)Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
Judah is a (HH)lion’s cub;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
(HI)He [fd]crouches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a [fe]lion, who [ff]dares to stir him up?
10 (HJ)The scepter will not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
[fg]Until Shiloh comes,
And (HK)to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 (HL)He ties his foal to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine;
(HM)He washes his garments in wine,
And his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are [fh]dull from wine,
And his teeth [fi]white from milk.

13 (HN)Zebulun will reside at the seashore;
And he shall be [fj]a harbor for ships,
And his flank shall be toward Sidon.

14 “Issachar is a [fk]strong donkey,
(HO)Lying down between the sheepfolds.
15 When he saw that a resting place was good
And that the land was pleasant,
He bowed his shoulder to carry burdens,
And became a slave at forced labor.

16 (HP)Dan shall (HQ)judge his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
A horned viper in the path,
That bites the horse’s heels,
So that its rider falls backward.
18 (HR)For Your salvation I wait, Lord.

19 (HS)As for Gad, a band of raiders shall attack him,
But he will attack at their [fl]heels.

20 [fm](HT)As for (HU)Asher, his [fn]food shall be [fo]rich,
And he will yield royal delicacies.

21 (HV)Naphtali is a doe let loose;
He utters beautiful words.

22 (HW)Joseph is a fruitful [fp]branch,
A fruitful [fq]branch by a spring;
Its [fr]branches hang over a wall.
23 The archers provoked him,
And shot at him and were hostile toward him;
24 But his (HX)bow remained [fs]firm,
And [ft](HY)his arms were agile,
From the hands of the (HZ)Mighty One of Jacob
(From there is (IA)the Shepherd, (IB)the Stone of Israel),
25 From (IC)the God of your father who helps you,
And [fu](ID)by the [fv]Almighty who blesses you
With (IE)blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors
Up to the [fw]furthest boundary of (IF)the everlasting hills;
May they be on the head of Joseph,
And on the top of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a [fx]ravenous wolf;
In the morning he devours the prey,
And in the evening he divides the spoils.”

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them [fy]when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one [fz]with the blessing appropriate to him.

Jacob Dies

29 Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am about to be (IG)gathered to my people; (IH)bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in (II)the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the (IJ)cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a [ga]burial site. 31 There they buried (IK)Abraham and his wife (IL)Sarah, there they buried (IM)Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and (IN)breathed his last, and was (IO)gathered to his people.

Jacob Is Buried

50 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him and kissed him. Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians (IP)embalmed Israel. Now forty days were [gb]required for [gc]it, for [gd]such is the period required for embalming. And the Egyptians (IQ)wept for him seventy days.

When the days of [ge]mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak [gf]to Pharaoh, saying, (IR)My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am about to die; in my grave (IS)which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now then, please let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’” Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”

So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father’s household; they left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen. Chariots with teams of horses also went up with him; and it was a very great company. 10 When they came to the [gg]threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they (IT)mourned there with a very great and [gh]sorrowful lamentation; and he [gi]observed seven days of mourning for his father. 11 Now when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at [gj]the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a [gk]grievous [gl]mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore it was named [gm]Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

Burial at Machpelah

12 And so his sons did for him as he had commanded them; 13 for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in (IU)the cave of the field of Machpelah opposite Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a [gn]burial site from Ephron the Hittite. 14 And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

15 When Joseph’s brothers had seen that their father was dead, they said, “(IV)What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!” 16 So they sent instructions to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded us before he died, saying, 17 ‘This is what you shall say to Joseph: “Please forgive, I beg you, the offense of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”’ And now, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also came and (IW)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? 20 As for you, (IX)you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about [go]this present result, to keep many people alive. 21 So therefore, do not be afraid; (IY)I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke [gp]kindly to them.

Death of Joseph

22 Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived 110 years. 23 Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s sons; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were (IZ)born on Joseph’s knees. 24 Joseph said to his brothers, “(JA)I am about to die, but God will assuredly [gq]take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He [gr]promised on oath to (JB)Abraham, to (JC)Isaac, and to (JD)Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will assuredly [gs]take care of you, and (JE)you shall carry my bones up from here.” 26 So Joseph died at the age of 110 years; and they (JF)embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 42:2 Lit there
  2. Genesis 42:9 Lit had dreamed
  3. Genesis 42:9 Lit nakedness of the land
  4. Genesis 42:12 Lit nakedness of the land
  5. Genesis 42:14 Lit to you, saying
  6. Genesis 42:19 Lit the house of your prison
  7. Genesis 42:22 Lit you, saying,
  8. Genesis 42:22 Lit And behold, his blood also is required
  9. Genesis 42:28 Lit went out
  10. Genesis 42:28 Lit trembled
  11. Genesis 42:34 Lit you are honest
  12. Genesis 42:37 Lit hand
  13. Genesis 42:38 Lit he
  14. Genesis 42:38 Lit on which you are going
  15. Genesis 43:3 Lit us, saying
  16. Genesis 43:6 Lit to tell
  17. Genesis 43:7 Lit told him according to these words
  18. Genesis 43:9 Lit my hand
  19. Genesis 43:9 Lit I will be culpable before you all the days
  20. Genesis 43:11 Or vessels
  21. Genesis 43:11 Or resinous bark
  22. Genesis 43:14 Heb El Shaddai
  23. Genesis 43:17 Lit the man brought
  24. Genesis 43:18 Lit roll himself upon us
  25. Genesis 43:18 Lit fall upon
  26. Genesis 43:21 Lit its weight
  27. Genesis 43:23 Lit your money had come to me
  28. Genesis 43:25 Lit until
  29. Genesis 43:25 Lit bread
  30. Genesis 43:28 I.e., great respect and honor to a superior
  31. Genesis 43:30 Lit his compassion grew warm
  32. Genesis 43:31 Lit Set on bread
  33. Genesis 43:32 Lit them
  34. Genesis 43:33 Lit sat
  35. Genesis 43:34 Lit his face
  36. Genesis 44:2 Or according to the word
  37. Genesis 44:3 Lit The morning was light
  38. Genesis 44:6 I.e., the steward
  39. Genesis 44:16 Lit hand
  40. Genesis 44:17 Lit hand
  41. Genesis 44:18 Lit let not your anger burn against
  42. Genesis 44:22 Lit he would
  43. Genesis 44:29 Lit my face
  44. Genesis 44:29 Lit evil
  45. Genesis 44:30 Lit his soul is bound with his soul
  46. Genesis 44:32 Lit I will be culpable for all the days before my father
  47. Genesis 44:34 Lit find
  48. Genesis 45:1 Lit stood
  49. Genesis 45:2 Lit gave forth his voice in weeping
  50. Genesis 45:4 Lit near
  51. Genesis 45:4 Lit near
  52. Genesis 45:5 Lit in your eyes
  53. Genesis 45:5 Lit for preservation of life
  54. Genesis 45:7 As in MT; another reading (cf. LXX) keep alive for you a great remnant
  55. Genesis 45:10 Lit children’s children
  56. Genesis 45:16 Lit voice
  57. Genesis 45:16 Lit saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come”
  58. Genesis 45:16 Lit was good in the eyes of
  59. Genesis 45:17 Lit come, go
  60. Genesis 45:18 Lit good
  61. Genesis 45:19 Lit take for yourselves
  62. Genesis 45:20 Lit let your eye look with regret upon your vessels
  63. Genesis 45:20 Lit good
  64. Genesis 45:21 Lit mouth
  65. Genesis 45:22 Lit all of them he gave each man
  66. Genesis 45:23 Lit like this
  67. Genesis 45:23 Lit good
  68. Genesis 45:23 Lit for
  69. Genesis 45:24 Lit they departed; and he said
  70. Genesis 45:24 Lit be agitated
  71. Genesis 45:26 Lit his heart grew numb
  72. Genesis 46:2 Lit in the visions
  73. Genesis 46:4 Lit put his hand on
  74. Genesis 46:6 Lit seed
  75. Genesis 46:7 Lit seed
  76. Genesis 46:10 In Num 26:12 and 1 Chr 4:24, Nemuel
  77. Genesis 46:10 In 1 Chr 4:24, Jarib
  78. Genesis 46:10 In Num 26:13 and 1 Chr 4:24, Zerah
  79. Genesis 46:11 In 1 Chr 6:16, Gershom
  80. Genesis 46:13 In Num 26:23, Puvah; in 1 Chr 7:1, Puah
  81. Genesis 46:13 In Num 26:24 and 1 Chr 7:1, Jashub
  82. Genesis 46:15 Lit all the souls of
  83. Genesis 46:16 In Num 26:15, Zephon
  84. Genesis 46:16 In Num 26:16, Ozni
  85. Genesis 46:16 In Num 26:17, Arod
  86. Genesis 46:21 In Num 26:38, Ahiram
  87. Genesis 46:21 In Num 26:39, Shephupham; in 1 Chr 7:12, Shuppim
  88. Genesis 46:21 In Num 26:39, Hupham
  89. Genesis 46:23 In Num 26:42, Shuham
  90. Genesis 46:24 In 1 Chr 7:13, Jahziel
  91. Genesis 46:24 In 1 Chr 7:13, Shallum
  92. Genesis 46:26 Lit who came out of his loins
  93. Genesis 46:27 Lit two souls
  94. Genesis 46:28 Lit instruct before him
  95. Genesis 46:29 Lit harnessed
  96. Genesis 46:32 Lit men
  97. Genesis 46:34 Lit men
  98. Genesis 47:5 Lit Joseph, saying
  99. Genesis 47:6 Lit before you
  100. Genesis 47:6 Lit appoint them rulers
  101. Genesis 47:7 Lit set him before
  102. Genesis 47:8 Lit are the days of the years of your life
  103. Genesis 47:9 Lit days of the years
  104. Genesis 47:9 Lit 130 years
  105. Genesis 47:9 Lit evil
  106. Genesis 47:9 Lit days of the years
  107. Genesis 47:9 Lit reached
  108. Genesis 47:9 Lit days of the years
  109. Genesis 47:9 Lit of the life of my fathers
  110. Genesis 47:10 Lit Pharaoh’s
  111. Genesis 47:12 Or bread
  112. Genesis 47:12 Lit mouth
  113. Genesis 47:13 Or bread
  114. Genesis 47:15 Or bread
  115. Genesis 47:15 Lit at an end
  116. Genesis 47:16 Lit at an end
  117. Genesis 47:17 Or bread
  118. Genesis 47:17 Lit livestock of the flocks and livestock of the herds
  119. Genesis 47:17 Lit led them as a shepherd
  120. Genesis 47:17 Or bread
  121. Genesis 47:17 Lit in that year
  122. Genesis 47:18 Lit second
  123. Genesis 47:18 Lit livestock of the cattle
  124. Genesis 47:18 Lit in the presence of
  125. Genesis 47:19 Or bread
  126. Genesis 47:20 Lit Egypt, every man
  127. Genesis 47:22 Lit ate their allotment
  128. Genesis 47:24 Lit It shall come about...that you shall
  129. Genesis 47:24 Lit four parts
  130. Genesis 47:26 Lit alone did
  131. Genesis 47:27 Lit the land of Goshen
  132. Genesis 47:28 Lit days of Jacob, the years of his life
  133. Genesis 47:29 Lit the days of Israel
  134. Genesis 47:29 Lit truth
  135. Genesis 47:30 I.e., die
  136. Genesis 48:1 Lit one said to Joseph
  137. Genesis 48:2 Lit one told Jacob and said
  138. Genesis 48:2 Lit strengthened himself
  139. Genesis 48:2 Lit upon the bed
  140. Genesis 48:3 Heb El Shaddai
  141. Genesis 48:4 Lit seed
  142. Genesis 48:6 Lit name
  143. Genesis 48:7 Lit upon me
  144. Genesis 48:10 Lit dull
  145. Genesis 48:10 Lit he
  146. Genesis 48:11 Lit assumed
  147. Genesis 48:11 Lit seed
  148. Genesis 48:12 Lit made them come out
  149. Genesis 48:15 Lit from the continuance of me
  150. Genesis 48:16 Lit be called
  151. Genesis 48:16 Lit name
  152. Genesis 48:19 Lit seed
  153. Genesis 48:19 Lit the fullness
  154. Genesis 48:22 Or ridge; lit shoulder; Heb Shechem
  155. Genesis 49:1 Lit end of the days
  156. Genesis 49:4 Or Gushing over
  157. Genesis 49:5 Or plans; meaning uncertain
  158. Genesis 49:6 Lit a man
  159. Genesis 49:6 Lit an ox
  160. Genesis 49:9 Lit bows down
  161. Genesis 49:9 Lit lioness
  162. Genesis 49:9 Lit shall
  163. Genesis 49:10 Or Until he comes to Shiloh; or Until he comes to whom it belongs
  164. Genesis 49:12 Or darker than
  165. Genesis 49:12 Or whiter than
  166. Genesis 49:13 Lit a shore of ships
  167. Genesis 49:14 Lit donkey of bone
  168. Genesis 49:19 Lit heel
  169. Genesis 49:20 Lit From
  170. Genesis 49:20 Or bread
  171. Genesis 49:20 Lit fat
  172. Genesis 49:22 Lit son
  173. Genesis 49:22 Lit son
  174. Genesis 49:22 Lit daughters
  175. Genesis 49:24 I.e., in an unyielding position
  176. Genesis 49:24 Lit the arms of his hands
  177. Genesis 49:25 Or with
  178. Genesis 49:25 Heb Shaddai
  179. Genesis 49:26 Lit limit; or desire
  180. Genesis 49:27 Lit a wolf that tears
  181. Genesis 49:28 Lit and
  182. Genesis 49:28 Lit according to his blessing
  183. Genesis 49:30 Lit possession of a burial place
  184. Genesis 50:3 Lit fulfilled
  185. Genesis 50:3 Or him
  186. Genesis 50:3 Lit so are fulfilled the days of embalming
  187. Genesis 50:4 Lit weeping
  188. Genesis 50:4 Lit In the ears of
  189. Genesis 50:10 Heb Goren ha-Atad
  190. Genesis 50:10 Lit heavy
  191. Genesis 50:10 Lit made a mourning for seven days
  192. Genesis 50:11 Heb Goren ha-Atad
  193. Genesis 50:11 Lit heavy
  194. Genesis 50:11 Heb ebel
  195. Genesis 50:11 I.e., the meadow (or mourning) of Egypt
  196. Genesis 50:13 Lit possession of a burial place
  197. Genesis 50:20 Lit as this day
  198. Genesis 50:21 Lit to their heart
  199. Genesis 50:24 Or visit
  200. Genesis 50:24 Lit swore
  201. Genesis 50:25 Or visit

42 1-2 When Jacob learned that there was food in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you sit around here and look at one another? I’ve heard that there is food in Egypt. Go down there and buy some so that we can survive and not starve to death.”

3-5 Ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to Egypt to get food. Jacob didn’t send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with them; he was afraid that something bad might happen to him. So Israel’s sons joined everyone else that was going to Egypt to buy food, for Canaan, too, was hit hard by the famine.

6-7 Joseph was running the country; he was the one who gave out rations to all the people. When Joseph’s brothers arrived, they treated him with honor, bowing to him. Joseph recognized them immediately, but treated them as strangers and spoke roughly to them.

He said, “Where do you come from?”

“From Canaan,” they said. “We’ve come to buy food.”

Joseph knew who they were, but they didn’t know who he was.

Joseph, remembering the dreams he had dreamed of them, said, “You’re spies. You’ve come to look for our weak spots.”

10-11 “No, master,” they said. “We’ve only come to buy food. We’re all the sons of the same man; we’re honest men; we’d never think of spying.”

12 He said, “No. You’re spies. You’ve come to look for our weak spots.”

13 They said, “There were twelve of us brothers—sons of the same father in the country of Canaan. The youngest is with our father, and one is no more.”

14-16 But Joseph said, “It’s just as I said, you’re spies. This is how I’ll test you. As Pharaoh lives, you’re not going to leave this place until your younger brother comes here. Send one of you to get your brother while the rest of you stay here in jail. We’ll see if you’re telling the truth or not. As Pharaoh lives, I say you’re spies.”

17 Then he threw them into jail for three days.

18-20 On the third day, Joseph spoke to them. “Do this and you’ll live. I’m a God-fearing man. If you’re as honest as you say you are, one of your brothers will stay here in jail while the rest of you take the food back to your hungry families. But you have to bring your youngest brother back to me, confirming the truth of your speech—and not one of you will die.” They agreed.

21 Then they started talking among themselves. “Now we’re paying for what we did to our brother—we saw how terrified he was when he was begging us for mercy. We wouldn’t listen to him and now we’re the ones in trouble.”

22 Reuben broke in. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t hurt the boy’? But no, you wouldn’t listen. And now we’re paying for his murder.”

23-24 Joseph had been using an interpreter, so they didn’t know that Joseph was understanding every word. Joseph turned away from them and cried. When he was able to speak again, he took Simeon and had him tied up, making a prisoner of him while they all watched.

25 Then Joseph ordered that their sacks be filled with grain, that their money be put back in each sack, and that they be given rations for the road. That was all done for them.

26 They loaded their food supplies on their donkeys and set off.

27-28 When they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get food for his donkey; there at the mouth of his bag was his money. He called out to his brothers, “My money has been returned; it’s right here in my bag!” They were puzzled—and frightened. “What’s God doing to us?”

29-32 When they got back to their father Jacob, back in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened, saying, “The man who runs the country spoke to us roughly and accused us of being spies. We told him, ‘We are honest men and in no way spies. There were twelve of us brothers, sons of one father; one is gone and the youngest is with our father in Canaan.’

33-34 “But the master of the country said, ‘Leave one of your brothers with me, take food for your starving families, and go. Bring your youngest brother back to me, proving that you’re honest men and not spies. And then I’ll give your brother back to you and you’ll be free to come and go in this country.’”

35 As they were emptying their food sacks, each man came on his purse of money. On seeing their money, they and their father were upset.

36 Their father said to them, “You’re taking everything I’ve got! Joseph’s gone, Simeon’s gone, and now you want to take Benjamin. If you have your way, I’ll be left with nothing.”

37 Reuben spoke up: “I’ll put my two sons in your hands as hostages. If I don’t bring Benjamin back, you can kill them. Trust me with Benjamin; I’ll bring him back.”

38 But Jacob refused. “My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead and he is all I have left. If something bad happens to him on the road, you’ll put my gray, sorrowing head in the grave.”

43 1-2 The famine got worse. When they had eaten all the food they had brought back from Egypt, their father said, “Go back and get some more food.”

3-5 But Judah said, “The man warned us most emphatically, ‘You won’t so much as see my face if you don’t have your brother with you.’ If you’re ready to release our brother to go with us, we’ll go down and get you food. But if you’re not ready, we aren’t going. What would be the use? The man told us, ‘You won’t so much as see my face if you don’t have your brother with you.’”

Israel said, “Why are you making my life so difficult! Why did you ever tell the man you had another brother?”

They said, “The man pressed us hard, asking pointed questions about our family: ‘Is your father alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered his questions. How did we know that he’d say, ‘Bring your brother here’?”

8-10 Judah pushed his father Israel. “Let the boy go; I’ll take charge of him. Let us go and be on our way—if we don’t get going, we’re all going to starve to death—we and you and our children, too! I’ll take full responsibility for his safety; it’s my life on the line for his. If I don’t bring him back safe and sound, I’m the guilty one; I’ll take all the blame. If we had gone ahead in the first place instead of procrastinating like this, we could have been there and back twice over.”

11-14 Their father Israel gave in. “If it has to be, it has to be. But do this: stuff your packs with the finest products from the land you can find and take them to the man as gifts—some balm and honey, some spices and perfumes, some pistachios and almonds. And take plenty of money—pay back double what was returned to your sacks; that might have been a mistake. Take your brother and get going. Go back to the man. And may The Strong God give you grace in that man’s eyes so that he’ll send back your other brother along with Benjamin. For me, nothing’s left; I’ve lost everything.”

15-16 The men took the gifts, double the money, and Benjamin. They lost no time in getting to Egypt and meeting Joseph. When Joseph saw that they had Benjamin with them, he told his house steward, “Take these men into the house and make them at home. Butcher an animal and prepare a meal; these men are going to eat with me at noon.”

17-18 The steward did what Joseph had said and took them inside. But they became anxious when they were brought into Joseph’s home, thinking, “It’s the money; he thinks we ran off with the money on our first trip down here. And now he’s got us where he wants us—he’s going to turn us into slaves and confiscate our donkeys.”

19-22 So they went up to Joseph’s house steward and talked to him in the doorway. They said, “Listen, master. We came down here one other time to buy food. On our way home, the first night out we opened our bags and found our money at the mouth of the bag—the exact amount we’d paid. We’ve brought it all back and have plenty more to buy more food with. We have no idea who put the money in our bags.”

23 The steward said, “Everything’s in order. Don’t worry. Your God and the God of your father must have given you a bonus. I was paid in full.” And with that, he presented Simeon to them.

24-25 He then took them inside Joseph’s house and made them comfortable—gave them water to wash their feet and saw to the feeding of their donkeys. The brothers spread out their gifts as they waited for Joseph to show up at noon—they had been told that they were to have dinner with him.

26 When Joseph got home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought and bowed respectfully before him.

27 Joseph welcomed them and said, “And your old father whom you mentioned to me, how is he? Is he still alive?”

28 They said, “Yes—your servant our father is quite well, very much alive.” And they again bowed respectfully before him.

29 Then Joseph picked out his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son. He asked, “And is this your youngest brother that you told me about?” Then he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.”

30-31 Deeply moved on seeing his brother and about to burst into tears, Joseph hurried out into another room and had a good cry. Then he washed his face, got a grip on himself, and said, “Let’s eat.”

32-34 Joseph was served at his private table, the brothers off by themselves and the Egyptians off by themselves (Egyptians won’t eat at the same table with Hebrews; it’s repulsive to them). The brothers were seated facing Joseph, arranged in order of their age, from the oldest to the youngest. They looked at one another wide-eyed, wondering what would happen next. When the brothers’ plates were served from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s plate came piled high, far more so than his brothers. And so the brothers feasted with Joseph, drinking freely.

44 1-2 Joseph ordered his house steward: “Fill the men’s bags with food—all they can carry—and replace each one’s money at the top of the bag. Then put my chalice, my silver chalice, in the top of the bag of the youngest, along with the money for his food.” He did as Joseph ordered.

3-5 At break of day the men were sent off with their donkeys. They were barely out of the city when Joseph said to his house steward, “Run after them. When you catch up with them, say, ‘Why did you pay me back evil for good? This is the chalice my master drinks from; he also uses it for divination. This is outrageous!’”

He caught up with them and repeated all this word for word.

7-9 They said, “What is my master talking about? We would never do anything like that! Why, the money we found in our bags earlier, we brought back all the way from Canaan—do you think we’d turn right around and steal it back from your master? If that chalice is found on any of us, he’ll die; and the rest of us will be your master’s slaves.”

10 The steward said, “Very well then, but we won’t go that far. Whoever is found with the chalice will be my slave; the rest of you can go free.”

11-12 They outdid each other in putting their bags on the ground and opening them up for inspection. The steward searched their bags, going from oldest to youngest. The chalice showed up in Benjamin’s bag.

13 They ripped their clothes in despair, loaded up their donkeys, and went back to the city.

14 Joseph was still at home when Judah and his brothers got back. They threw themselves down on the ground in front of him.

15 Joseph accused them: “How can you have done this? You have to know that a man in my position would have discovered this.”

16 Judah as spokesman for the brothers said, “What can we say, master? What is there to say? How can we prove our innocence? God is behind this, exposing how bad we are. We stand guilty before you and ready to be your slaves—we’re all in this together, the rest of us as guilty as the one with the chalice.”

17 “I’d never do that to you,” said Joseph. “Only the one involved with the chalice will be my slave. The rest of you are free to go back to your father.”

18-20 Judah came forward. He said, “Please, master; can I say just one thing to you? Don’t get angry. Don’t think I’m presumptuous—you’re the same as Pharaoh as far as I’m concerned. You, master, asked us, ‘Do you have a father and a brother?’ And we answered honestly, ‘We have a father who is old and a younger brother who was born to him in his old age. His brother is dead and he is the only son left from that mother. And his father loves him more than anything.’

21-22 “Then you told us, ‘Bring him down here so I can see him.’ We told you, master, that it was impossible: ‘The boy can’t leave his father; if he leaves, his father will die.’

23 “And then you said, ‘If your youngest brother doesn’t come with you, you won’t be allowed to see me.’

24-26 “When we returned to our father, we told him everything you said to us. So when our father said, ‘Go back and buy some more food,’ we told him flatly, ‘We can’t. The only way we can go back is if our youngest brother is with us. We aren’t allowed to even see the man if our youngest brother doesn’t come with us.’

27-29 “Your servant, my father, told us, ‘You know very well that my wife gave me two sons. One turned up missing. I concluded that he’d been ripped to pieces. I’ve never seen him since. If you now go and take this one and something bad happens to him, you’ll put my old gray, grieving head in the grave for sure.’

30-32 “And now, can’t you see that if I show up before your servant, my father, without the boy, this son with whom his life is so bound up, the moment he realizes the boy is gone, he’ll die on the spot. He’ll die of grief and we, your servants who are standing here before you, will have killed him. And that’s not all. I got my father to release the boy to show him to you by promising, ‘If I don’t bring him back, I’ll stand condemned before you, Father, all my life.’

33-34 “So let me stay here as your slave, not this boy. Let the boy go back with his brothers. How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? Oh, don’t make me go back and watch my father die in grief!”

45 1-2 Joseph couldn’t hold himself in any longer, keeping up a front before all his attendants. He cried out, “Leave! Clear out—everyone leave!” So there was no one with Joseph when he identified himself to his brothers. But his sobbing was so violent that the Egyptians couldn’t help but hear him. The news was soon reported to Pharaoh’s palace.

Joseph spoke to his brothers: “I am Joseph. Is my father really still alive?” But his brothers couldn’t say a word. They were speechless—they couldn’t believe what they were hearing and seeing.

4-8 “Come closer to me,” Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. “I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don’t feel badly, don’t blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn’t you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt.

9-11 “Hurry back to my father. Tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says: I’m master of all of Egypt. Come as fast as you can and join me here. I’ll give you a place to live in Goshen where you’ll be close to me—you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and anything else you can think of. I’ll take care of you there completely. There are still five more years of famine ahead; I’ll make sure all your needs are taken care of, you and everyone connected with you—you won’t want for a thing.’

12-13 “Look at me. You can see for yourselves, and my brother Benjamin can see for himself, that it’s me, my own mouth, telling you all this. Tell my father all about the high position I hold in Egypt, tell him everything you’ve seen here, but don’t take all day—hurry up and get my father down here.”

14-15 Then Joseph threw himself on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. He then kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Only then were his brothers able to talk with him.

16 The story was reported in Pharaoh’s palace: “Joseph’s brothers have come.” It was good news to Pharaoh and all who worked with him.

17-18 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘This is the plan: Load up your pack animals; go to Canaan, get your father and your families and bring them back here. I’ll settle you on the best land in Egypt—you’ll live off the fat of the land.’

19-20 “Also tell them this: ‘Here’s what I want you to do: Take wagons from Egypt to carry your little ones and your wives and load up your father and come back. Don’t worry about having to leave things behind; the best in all of Egypt will be yours.’”

21-23 And they did just that, the sons of Israel. Joseph gave them the wagons that Pharaoh had promised and food for the trip. He outfitted all the brothers in brand-new clothes, but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and several suits of clothes. He sent his father these gifts: ten donkeys loaded with Egypt’s best products and another ten donkeys loaded with grain and bread, provisions for his father’s journey back.

24 Then he sent his brothers off. As they left he told them, “Take it easy on the journey; try to get along with each other.”

25-28 They left Egypt and went back to their father Jacob in Canaan. When they told him, “Joseph is still alive—and he’s the ruler over the whole land of Egypt!” he went numb; he couldn’t believe his ears. But the more they talked, telling him everything that Joseph had told them and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back, the blood started to flow again—their father Jacob’s spirit revived. Israel said, “I’ve heard enough—my son Joseph is still alive. I’ve got to go and see him before I die.”

* * *

46 So Israel set out on the journey with everything he owned. He arrived at Beersheba and worshiped, offering sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

God spoke to Israel in a vision that night: “Jacob! Jacob!”

“Yes?” he said. “I’m listening.”

3-4 God said, “I am the God of your father. Don’t be afraid of going down to Egypt. I’m going to make you a great nation there. I’ll go with you down to Egypt; I’ll also bring you back here. And when you die, Joseph will be with you; with his own hand he’ll close your eyes.”

5-7 Then Jacob left Beersheba. Israel’s sons loaded their father and their little ones and their wives on the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They arrived in Egypt with the livestock and the wealth they had accumulated in Canaan. Jacob brought everyone in his family with him—sons and grandsons, daughters and granddaughters. Everyone.

These are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his descendants, who went to Egypt:

Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.

Reuben’s sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

10 Simeon’s sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.

11 Levi’s sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

12 Judah’s sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (Er and Onan had already died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

13 Issachar’s sons: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.

14 Zebulun’s sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

15 These are the sons that Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram. There was also his daughter Dinah. Altogether, sons and daughters, they numbered thirty-three.

16 Gad’s sons: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

17 Asher’s sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Also their sister Serah, and Beriah’s sons, Heber and Malkiel.

18 These are the children that Zilpah, the maid that Laban gave to his daughter Leah, bore to Jacob—sixteen of them.

19-21 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph was the father of two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, from his marriage to Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. They were born to him in Egypt. Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

22 These are the children born to Jacob through Rachel—fourteen.

23 Dan’s son: Hushim.

24 Naphtali’s sons: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

25 These are the children born to Jacob through Bilhah, the maid Laban had given to his daughter Rachel—seven.

26-27 Summing up, all those who went down to Egypt with Jacob—his own children, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six. Counting in the two sons born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family who ended up in Egypt numbered seventy.

* * *

28-29 Jacob sent Judah on ahead to get directions to Goshen from Joseph. When they got to Goshen, Joseph gave orders for his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. The moment Joseph saw him, he threw himself on his neck and wept. He wept a long time.

30 Israel said to Joseph, “I’m ready to die. I’ve looked into your face—you are indeed alive.”

31-34 Joseph then spoke to his brothers and his father’s family. “I’ll go and tell Pharaoh, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, all of whom lived in Canaan, have come to me. The men are shepherds; they’ve always made their living by raising livestock. And they’ve brought their flocks and herds with them, along with everything else they own.’ When Pharaoh calls you in and asks what kind of work you do, tell him, ‘Your servants have always kept livestock for as long as we can remember—we and our parents also.’ That way he’ll let you stay apart in the area of Goshen—for Egyptians look down on anyone who is a shepherd.”

47 Joseph went to Pharaoh and told him, “My father and brothers with their flocks and herds and everything they own have come from Canaan. Right now they are in Goshen.”

2-3 He had taken five of his brothers with him and introduced them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked them, “What kind of work do you do?”

3-4 “Your servants are shepherds, the same as our fathers were. We have come to this country to find a new place to live. There is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine has been very bad there. Please, would you let your servants settle in the region of Goshen?”

5-6 Pharaoh looked at Joseph. “So, your father and brothers have arrived—a reunion! Egypt welcomes them. Settle your father and brothers on the choicest land—yes, give them Goshen. And if you know any among them that are especially good at their work, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

7-8 Next Joseph brought his father Jacob in and introduced him to Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked Jacob, “How old are you?”

9-10 Jacob answered Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are 130—a short and hard life and not nearly as long as my ancestors were given.” Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left.

11-12 Joseph settled his father and brothers in Egypt, made them proud owners of choice land—it was the region of Rameses (that is, Goshen)—just as Pharaoh had ordered. Joseph took good care of them—his father and brothers and all his father’s family, right down to the smallest baby. He made sure they had plenty of everything.

* * *

13-15 The time eventually came when there was no food anywhere. The famine was very bad. Egypt and Canaan alike were devastated by the famine. Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan to pay for the distribution of food. He banked the money in Pharaoh’s palace. When the money from Egypt and Canaan had run out, the Egyptians came to Joseph. “Food! Give us food! Are you going to watch us die right in front of you? The money is all gone.”

16-17 Joseph said, “Bring your livestock. I’ll trade you food for livestock since your money’s run out.” So they brought Joseph their livestock. He traded them food for their horses, sheep, cattle, and donkeys. He got them through that year in exchange for all their livestock.

18-19 When that year was over, the next year rolled around and they were back, saying, “Master, it’s no secret to you that we’re broke: our money’s gone and we’ve traded you all our livestock. We’ve nothing left to barter with but our bodies and our farms. What use are our bodies and our land if we stand here and starve to death right in front of you? Trade us food for our bodies and our land. We’ll be slaves to Pharaoh and give up our land—all we ask is seed for survival, just enough to live on and keep the farms alive.”

20-21 So Joseph bought up all the farms in Egypt for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his land—the famine was that bad. That’s how Pharaoh ended up owning all the land and the people ended up slaves; Joseph reduced the people to slavery from one end of Egypt to the other.

22 Joseph made an exception for the priests. He didn’t buy their land because they received a fixed salary from Pharaoh and were able to live off of that salary. So they didn’t need to sell their land.

23-24 Joseph then announced to the people: “Here’s how things stand: I’ve bought you and your land for Pharaoh. In exchange I’m giving you seed so you can plant the ground. When the crops are harvested, you must give a fifth to Pharaoh and keep four-fifths for yourselves, for seed for yourselves and your families—you’re going to be able to feed your children!”

25 They said, “You’ve saved our lives! Master, we’re grateful and glad to be slaves to Pharaoh.”

26 Joseph decreed a land law in Egypt that is still in effect, A Fifth Goes to Pharaoh. Only the priests’ lands were not owned by Pharaoh.

* * *

27-28 And so Israel settled down in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property and flourished. They became a large company of people. Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years. In all, he lived 147 years.

29-30 When the time came for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said, “Do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh, a sign that you’re loyal and true to me to the end. Don’t bury me in Egypt. When I lie down with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me alongside them.”

“I will,” he said. “I’ll do what you’ve asked.”

31 Israel said, “Promise me.” Joseph promised.

Israel bowed his head in submission and gratitude from his bed.

48 1-2 Some time after this conversation, Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” He took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and went to Jacob. When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come,” he roused himself and sat up in bed.

3-7 Jacob said to Joseph, “The Strong God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. He said, ‘I’m going to make you prosperous and numerous, turn you into a congregation of tribes; and I’ll turn this land over to your children coming after you as a permanent inheritance.’ I’m adopting your two sons who were born to you here in Egypt before I joined you; they have equal status with Reuben and Simeon. But any children born after them are yours; they will come after their brothers in matters of inheritance. I want it this way because, as I was returning from Paddan, your mother Rachel, to my deep sorrow, died as we were on our way through Canaan when we were only a short distance from Ephrath, now called Bethlehem.”

Just then Jacob noticed Joseph’s sons and said, “Who are these?”

9-11 Joseph told his father, “They are my sons whom God gave to me in this place.”

“Bring them to me,” he said, “so I can bless them.” Israel’s eyesight was poor from old age; he was nearly blind. So Joseph brought them up close. Old Israel kissed and embraced them and then said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has let me see your children as well!”

12-16 Joseph took them from Israel’s knees and bowed respectfully, his face to the ground. Then Joseph took the two boys, Ephraim with his right hand setting him to Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand setting him to Israel’s right, and stood them before him. But Israel crossed his arms and put his right hand on the head of Ephraim who was the younger and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, the firstborn. Then he blessed them:

The God before whom walked
    my fathers Abraham and Isaac,
The God who has been my shepherd
    all my life long to this very day,
The Angel who delivered me from every evil,
    Bless the boys.
May my name be echoed in their lives,
    and the names of Abraham and Isaac, my fathers,
And may they grow
    covering the Earth with their children.

17-18 When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he thought he had made a mistake, so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s, saying, “That’s the wrong head, Father; the other one is the firstborn; place your right hand on his head.”

19-20 But his father wouldn’t do it. He said, “I know, my son; but I know what I’m doing. He also will develop into a people, and he also will be great. But his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will enrich nations.” Then he blessed them both:

Israel will use your names to give blessings:
    May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.

In that he made it explicit: he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21-22 Israel then said to Joseph, “I’m about to die. God be with you and give you safe passage back to the land of your fathers. As for me, I’m presenting you, as the first among your brothers, the ridge of land I took from Amorites with my sword and bow.”

* * *

49 Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather around. I want to tell you what you can expect in the days to come.”

Come together, listen sons of Jacob,
    listen to Israel your father.

3-4 Reuben, you’re my firstborn,
    my strength, first proof of my manhood,
    at the top in honor and at the top in power,
But like a bucket of water spilled,
    you’ll be at the top no more,
Because you climbed into your father’s marriage bed,
    mounting that couch, and you defiled it.

5-6 Simeon and Levi are two of a kind,
    ready to fight at the drop of a hat.
I don’t want anything to do with their vendettas,
    want no part in their bitter feuds;
They kill men in fits of temper,
    slash oxen on a whim.
A curse on their uncontrolled anger,
    on their indiscriminate wrath.
I’ll throw them out with the trash;
    I’ll shred and scatter them like confetti throughout Israel.

8-12 You, Judah, your brothers will praise you:
    Your fingers on your enemies’ throat,
    while your brothers honor you.
You’re a lion’s cub, Judah,
    home fresh from the kill, my son.
Look at him, crouched like a lion, king of beasts;
    who dares mess with him?
The scepter shall not leave Judah;
    he’ll keep a firm grip on the command staff
Until the ultimate ruler comes
    and the nations obey him.
He’ll tie up his donkey to the grapevine,
    his purebred prize to a sturdy branch.
He will wash his shirt in wine
    and his cloak in the blood of grapes,
His eyes will be darker than wine,
    his teeth whiter than milk.

13 Zebulun settles down on the seashore;
    he’s a safe harbor for ships,
    right alongside Sidon.

14-15 Issachar is one tough donkey
    crouching between the corrals;
When he saw how good the place was,
    how pleasant the country,
He gave up his freedom
    and went to work as a slave.

16-17 Dan will handle matters of justice for his people;
    he will hold his own just fine among the tribes of Israel.
Dan is only a small snake in the grass,
    a lethal serpent in ambush by the road
When he strikes a horse in the heel,
    and brings its huge rider crashing down.

18 I wait in hope
    for your salvation, God.

19 Gad will be attacked by bandits,
    but he will trip them up.

20 Asher will become famous for rich foods,
    candies and sweets fit for kings.

21-26 Naphtali is a deer running free
    that gives birth to lovely fawns.

Joseph is a wild donkey,
    a wild donkey by a spring,
    spirited donkeys on a hill.
The archers with malice attacked,
    shooting their hate-tipped arrows;
But he held steady under fire,
    his bow firm, his arms limber,
With the backing of the Champion of Jacob,
    the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
The God of your father—may he help you!
    And may The Strong God—may he give you his blessings,
Blessings tumbling out of the skies,
    blessings bursting up from the Earth—
    blessings of breasts and womb.
May the blessings of your father
    exceed the blessings of the ancient mountains,
    surpass the delights of the eternal hills;
May they rest on the head of Joseph,
    on the brow of the one consecrated among his brothers.

27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
    all morning he gorges on his kill,
    at evening divides up what’s left over.

28 All these are the tribes of Israel, the twelve tribes. And this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each one with his own special farewell blessing.

* * *

29-32 Then he instructed them: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah facing Mamre in the land of Canaan, the field Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial plot. Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there; Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried there; I also buried Leah there. The field and the cave were bought from the Hittites.”

33 Jacob finished instructing his sons, pulled his feet into bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

50 Joseph threw himself on his father, wept over him, and kissed him.

* * *

2-3 Joseph then instructed the physicians in his employ to embalm his father. The physicians embalmed Israel. The embalming took forty days, the period required for embalming. There was public mourning by the Egyptians for seventy days.

4-5 When the period of mourning was completed, Joseph petitioned Pharaoh’s court: “If you have reason to think kindly of me, present Pharaoh with my request: My father made me swear, saying, ‘I am ready to die. Bury me in the grave plot that I prepared for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Please give me leave to go up and bury my father. Then I’ll come back.”

Pharaoh said, “Certainly. Go and bury your father as he made you promise under oath.”

7-9 So Joseph left to bury his father. And all the high-ranking officials from Pharaoh’s court went with him, all the dignitaries of Egypt, joining Joseph’s family—his brothers and his father’s family. Their children and flocks and herds were left in Goshen. Chariots and horsemen accompanied them. It was a huge funeral procession.

10 Arriving at the Atad Threshing Floor just across the Jordan River, they stopped for a period of mourning, letting their grief out in loud and lengthy lament. For seven days, Joseph engaged in these funeral rites for his father.

11 When the Canaanites who lived in that area saw the grief being poured out at the Atad Threshing Floor, they said, “Look how deeply the Egyptians are mourning.” That is how the site at the Jordan got the name Abel Mizraim (Egyptian Lament).

12-13 Jacob’s sons continued to carry out his instructions to the letter. They took him on into Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah facing Mamre, the field that Abraham had bought as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite.

* * *

14-15 After burying his father, Joseph went back to Egypt. All his brothers who had come with him to bury his father returned with him. After the funeral, Joseph’s brothers talked among themselves: “What if Joseph is carrying a grudge and decides to pay us back for all the wrong we did him?”

16-17 So they sent Joseph a message, “Before his death, your father gave this command: Tell Joseph, ‘Forgive your brothers’ sin—all that wrongdoing. They did treat you very badly.’ Will you do it? Will you forgive the sins of the servants of your father’s God?”

When Joseph received their message, he wept.

18 Then the brothers went in person to him, threw themselves on the ground before him and said, “We’ll be your slaves.”

19-21 Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid. Do I act for God? Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now—life for many people. Easy now, you have nothing to fear; I’ll take care of you and your children.” He reassured them, speaking with them heart-to-heart.

22-23 Joseph continued to live in Egypt with his father’s family. Joseph lived 110 years. He lived to see Ephraim’s sons into the third generation. The sons of Makir, Manasseh’s son, were also recognized as Joseph’s.

24 At the end, Joseph said to his brothers, “I am ready to die. God will most certainly pay you a visit and take you out of this land and back to the land he so solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel promise under oath, “When God makes his visitation, make sure you take my bones with you as you leave here.”

26 Joseph died at the age of 110 years. They embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.

42 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?

And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.

And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.

But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.

And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.

And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.

And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.

And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.

11 We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.

12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.

14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:

15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.

16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.

17 And he put them all together into ward three days.

18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:

19 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:

20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.

21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.

22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.

23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.

24 And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.

25 Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.

26 And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.

27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth.

28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?

29 And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,

30 The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

31 And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:

32 We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone:

34 And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.

35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.

37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.

38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

43 And the famine was sore in the land.

And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.

And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:

But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?

And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?

And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.

I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:

10 For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.

11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:

12 And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:

13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:

14 And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.

15 And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.

17 And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.

18 And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.

19 And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,

20 And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

21 And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.

22 And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.

23 And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.

24 And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.

25 And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.

26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.

27 And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?

28 And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.

29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.

30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

31 And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.

32 And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.

34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of their's. And they drank, and were merry with him.

44 And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.

And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.

As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.

And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?

Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.

And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.

And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:

Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold?

With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.

10 And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.

11 Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.

12 And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

13 Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.

14 And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.

15 And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?

16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.

17 And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.

18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.

19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?

20 And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.

21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.

22 And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.

23 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.

24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.

25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.

26 And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.

27 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:

28 And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:

29 And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

30 Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;

31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.

32 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.

33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.

34 For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.

45 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.

And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.

And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.

And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:

10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:

11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.

12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.

13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.

14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.

15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.

16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.

17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;

18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.

19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.

20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is your's.

21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.

22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.

23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.

24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.

25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,

26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.

27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:

28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

46 And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.

And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.

And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him:

His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.

And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn.

And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.

10 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.

11 And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

12 And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.

13 And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.

14 And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.

15 These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.

16 And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.

17 And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.

18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.

19 The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife; Joseph, and Benjamin.

20 And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.

21 And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.

22 These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.

23 And the sons of Dan; Hushim.

24 And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.

25 These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.

26 All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six;

27 And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.

28 And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.

29 And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.

30 And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.

31 And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father's house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me;

32 And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.

33 And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?

34 That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

47 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, 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.

And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.

They said morever unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.

And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:

The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.

And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?

And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

11 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

12 And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families.

13 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.

14 And 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.

15 And when 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? for the money faileth.

16 And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.

17 And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.

18 When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:

19 Wherefore shall we die before thine 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, that the land be not desolate.

20 And 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.

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

22 Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.

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

24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.

25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.

26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.

27 And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.

28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.

29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:

30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.

48 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.

And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?

And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.

10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.

12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.

14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.

18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

49 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

18 I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.

19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.

31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

50 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.

And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.

And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.

And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,

My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.

And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.

And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,

And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.

And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.

10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.

11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.

12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:

13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

14 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,

17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?

20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.

23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.

24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.

26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.