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Genesis 47:13-49:27
English Standard Version
Genesis 47:13-49:27
English Standard Version
Joseph and the Famine
13 Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. 14 (A)And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. 15 And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. (B)Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” 16 And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? (C)Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh's. 21 As for the people, he made servants of them[a] from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 (D)Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.
23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And at the harvests you shall give a (E)fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” 25 And they said, “You have saved our lives; (F)may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” 26 So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; (G)the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's.
27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, (H)in the land of Goshen. (I)And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. (J)So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years.
29 And (K)when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now (L)I have found favor in your sight, (M)put your hand under my thigh and (N)promise to deal kindly and truly with me. (O)Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and (P)bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” 31 And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then (Q)Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.[b]
Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh
48 After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, (R)“God Almighty[c] appeared to me at (S)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you (T)for an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now your (U)two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, (V)are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow (W)Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance[d] to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
8 When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, (X)“They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that (Y)I may bless them.” 10 Now (Z)the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, (AA)and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, (AB)“I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” 12 Then Joseph removed them from 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 him. 14 (AC)And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, (AD)crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). 15 And he blessed Joseph and said,
“The God (AE)before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 (AF)the angel who has (AG)redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
and in them let (AH)my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them (AI)grow into a multitude[e] in the midst of the earth.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father (AJ)laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, (AK)“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, (AL)his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude[f] of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,
“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
(AM)‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but (AN)God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover, I have given to (AO)you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope[g] that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”
Jacob Blesses His Sons
49 (AP)Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you (AQ)in days to come.
2 “Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob,
listen to Israel your father.
3 “Reuben, you are (AR)my firstborn,
my might, and the (AS)firstfruits of my strength,
preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
because you (AT)went up to your father's bed;
then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!
5 (AU)“Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons (AV)of violence are their swords.
6 Let my soul come not into their council;
(AW)O my glory, (AX)be not joined to their company.
For in their anger they killed men,
and in their willfulness they (AY)hamstrung oxen.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will (AZ)divide them in Jacob
and scatter them in Israel.
8 “Judah, (BA)your brothers shall praise you;
(BB)your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
(BC)your father's sons shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is (BD)a lion's cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
(BE)He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
10 The (BF)scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff (BG)from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;[h]
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
12 His (BH)eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 (BI)“Zebulun shall dwell at the (BJ)shore of the sea;
he shall become a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.
14 (BK)“Issachar is a strong donkey,
crouching between the sheepfolds.[i]
15 He saw that a resting place was good,
and that the land was pleasant,
so he bowed his shoulder to bear,
and (BL)became a servant at forced labor.
16 (BM)“Dan shall (BN)judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan (BO)shall be a serpent in the way,
a viper by the path,
that bites the horse's heels
so that his rider falls backward.
18 I (BP)wait for your salvation, O Lord.
20 (BS)“Asher's food shall be rich,
and he shall yield royal delicacies.
22 “Joseph is (BU)a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall.[l]
23 The archers (BV)bitterly attacked him,
shot at him, and harassed him severely,
24 yet (BW)his bow remained unmoved;
his arms[m] were made agile
by the hands of the (BX)Mighty One of Jacob
(from there is (BY)the Shepherd,[n] (BZ)the Stone of Israel),
25 (CA)by the God of your father who will help you,
by (CB)the Almighty[o] (CC)who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,
up to the bounties (CD)of the everlasting hills.[p]
May they be (CE)on the head of Joseph,
and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.
27 (CF)“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey
and at evening (CG)dividing the spoil.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 47:21 Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew he removed them to the cities
- Genesis 47:31 Hebrew; Septuagint staff
- Genesis 48:3 Hebrew El Shaddai
- Genesis 48:7 Or about two hours' distance
- Genesis 48:16 Or let them be like fish for multitude
- Genesis 48:19 Hebrew fullness
- Genesis 48:22 Or one portion of the land; Hebrew shekem, which sounds like the town and district called Shechem
- Genesis 49:10 By a slight revocalization; a slight emendation yields (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Targum) until he comes to whom it belongs; Hebrew until Shiloh comes, or until he comes to Shiloh
- Genesis 49:14 Or between its saddlebags
- Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for raiders and raid
- Genesis 49:21 Or he gives beautiful words, or that bears fawns of the fold
- Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild donkey, a wild donkey beside a spring, his wild colts beside the wall
- Genesis 49:24 Hebrew the arms of his hands
- Genesis 49:24 Or by the name of the Shepherd
- Genesis 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai
- Genesis 49:26 A slight emendation yields (compare Septuagint) the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills
Genesis 47:13-49:27
New International Version
Genesis 47:13-49:27
New International Version
Joseph and the Famine
13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.(A) 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying,(B) and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.(C) 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone,(D) all Egypt came to Joseph(E) and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes?(F) Our money is all gone.”
16 “Then bring your livestock,(G)” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.(H)” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses,(I) their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys.(J) And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone(K) and our livestock belongs to you,(L) there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes(M)—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food,(N) and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.(O) Give us seed so that we may live and not die,(P) and that the land may not become desolate.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe(Q) for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude,[a](R) from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests,(S) because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment(T) Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed(U) for you so you can plant the ground.(V) 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth(W) of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”
25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord;(X) we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”(Y)
26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth(Z) of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.(AA)
27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen.(AB) They acquired property there(AC) and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.(AD)
28 Jacob lived in Egypt(AE) seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.(AF) 29 When the time drew near for Israel(AG) to die,(AH) he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes,(AI) put your hand under my thigh(AJ) and promise that you will show me kindness(AK) and faithfulness.(AL) Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers,(AM) carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”(AN)
“I will do as you say,” he said.
31 “Swear to me,”(AO) he said. Then Joseph swore to him,(AP) and Israel(AQ) worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.[b](AR)
Manasseh and Ephraim
48 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim(AS) along with him. 2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel(AT) rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.
3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty[c](AU) appeared to me at Luz(AV) in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me(AW) 4 and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers.(AX) I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land(AY) as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’(AZ)
5 “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt(BA) before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine,(BB) just as Reuben(BC) and Simeon(BD) are mine. 6 Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. 7 As I was returning from Paddan,[d](BE) to my sorrow(BF) Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).(BG)
8 When Israel(BH) saw the sons of Joseph,(BI) he asked, “Who are these?”
9 “They are the sons God has given me here,”(BJ) Joseph said to his father.
Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless(BK) them.”
10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see.(BL) So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them(BM) and embraced them.(BN)
11 Israel(BO) said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again,(BP) and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”(BQ)
12 Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees(BR) and bowed down with his face to the ground.(BS) 13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand,(BT) and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel(BU) reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head,(BV) though he was the younger,(BW) and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.(BX)
15 Then he blessed(BY) Joseph and said,
“May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,(BZ)
the God who has been my shepherd(CA)
all my life to this day,
16 the Angel(CB) who has delivered me from all harm(CC)
—may he bless(CD) these boys.(CE)
May they be called by my name
and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,(CF)
and may they increase greatly
on the earth.”(CG)
17 When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand(CH) on Ephraim’s head(CI) he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”(CJ)
19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great.(CK) Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he,(CL) and his descendants will become a group of nations.(CM)” 20 He blessed(CN) them that day(CO) and said,
“In your[e] name will Israel(CP) pronounce this blessing:(CQ)
‘May God make you like Ephraim(CR) and Manasseh.(CS)’”
So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you[f](CT) and take you[g] back to the land of your[h] fathers.(CU) 22 And to you I give one more ridge of land[i](CV) than to your brothers,(CW) the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword(CX) and my bow.”
Jacob Blesses His Sons(CY)
49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.(CZ)
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,(DC)
my might, the first sign of my strength,(DD)
excelling in honor,(DE) excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as the waters,(DF) you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.(DG)
5 “Simeon(DH) and Levi(DI) are brothers—
their swords[j] are weapons of violence.(DJ)
6 Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,(DK)
for they have killed men in their anger(DL)
and hamstrung(DM) oxen as they pleased.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
and their fury,(DN) so cruel!(DO)
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.(DP)
8 “Judah,[k](DQ) your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck(DR) of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.(DS)
9 You are a lion’s(DT) cub,(DU) Judah;(DV)
you return from the prey,(DW) my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,(DX)
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[l]
until he to whom it belongs[m] shall come(DY)
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.(DZ)
11 He will tether his donkey(EA) to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;(EB)
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.(EC)
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.[n](ED)
13 “Zebulun(EE) will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.(EF)
14 “Issachar(EG) is a rawboned[o] donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.[p](EH)
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,(EI)
he will bend his shoulder to the burden(EJ)
and submit to forced labor.(EK)
16 “Dan[q](EL) will provide justice for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.(EM)
17 Dan(EN) will be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,(EO)
that bites the horse’s heels(EP)
so that its rider tumbles backward.
22 “Joseph(EZ) is a fruitful vine,(FA)
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches(FB) climb over a wall.[t]
23 With bitterness archers attacked him;(FC)
they shot at him with hostility.(FD)
24 But his bow remained steady,(FE)
his strong arms(FF) stayed[u] limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,(FG)
because of the Shepherd,(FH) the Rock of Israel,(FI)
25 because of your father’s God,(FJ) who helps(FK) you,
because of the Almighty,[v](FL) who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
blessings of the deep springs below,(FM)
blessings of the breast(FN) and womb.(FO)
26 Your father’s blessings are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
than[w] the bounty of the age-old hills.(FP)
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,(FQ)
on the brow of the prince among[x] his brothers.(FR)
Footnotes
- Genesis 47:21 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also Vulgate); Masoretic Text and he moved the people into the cities
- Genesis 47:31 Or Israel bowed down at the head of his bed
- Genesis 48:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
- Genesis 48:7 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
- Genesis 48:20 The Hebrew is singular.
- Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
- Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
- Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
- Genesis 48:22 The Hebrew for ridge of land is identical with the place name Shechem.
- Genesis 49:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.
- Genesis 49:10 Or from his descendants
- Genesis 49:10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Genesis 49:12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
- Genesis 49:14 Or strong
- Genesis 49:14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
- Genesis 49:16 Dan here means he provides justice.
- Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
- Genesis 49:21 Or free; / he utters beautiful words
- Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill
- Genesis 49:24 Or archers will attack … will shoot … will remain … will stay
- Genesis 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai
- Genesis 49:26 Or of my progenitors, / as great as
- Genesis 49:26 Or of the one separated from
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.