Genesis 47-48

New International Version

47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan^(A) and are now in Goshen.”^(B) ²He chose five of his brothers and presented them^(C) before Pharaoh.

³Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”^(D)

“Your servants^(E) are shepherds,^(F)” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” ⁴They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while,^(G) because the famine is severe in Canaan^(H) and your servants’ flocks have no pasture.^(I) So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”^(J)

⁵Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, ⁶and the land of Egypt is before you; settle^(K) your father and your brothers in the best part of the land.^(L) Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability,^(M) put them in charge of my own livestock.^(N)”

⁷Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him^(O) before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed^[a] Pharaoh,^(P) ⁸Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

⁹And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty.^(Q) My years have been few and difficult,^(R) and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.^(S)” ¹⁰Then Jacob blessed^[b] Pharaoh^(T) and went out from his presence.

¹¹So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land,^(U) the district of Rameses,^(V) as Pharaoh directed. ¹²Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.^(W)

Joseph and the Famine

¹³There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.^(X) ¹⁴Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying,^(Y) and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.^(Z) ¹⁵When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone,^(AA) all Egypt came to Joseph^(AB) and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes?^(AC) Our money is all gone.”

¹⁶“Then bring your livestock,^(AD)” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.^(AE)” ¹⁷So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses,^(AF) their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys.^(AG) And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

¹⁸When 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^(AH) and our livestock belongs to you,^(AI) there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹Why should we perish before your eyes^(AJ)—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food,^(AK) and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.^(AL) Give us seed so that we may live and not die,^(AM) and that the land may not become desolate.”

²⁰So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe^(AN) for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, ²¹and Joseph reduced the people to servitude,^[c]^(AO) from one end of Egypt to the other. ²²However, he did not buy the land of the priests,^(AP) because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment^(AQ) Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

²³Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed^(AR) for you so you can plant the ground.^(AS) ²⁴But when the crop comes in, give a fifth^(AT) 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;^(AU) we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”^(AV)

²⁶So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth^(AW) of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.^(AX)

²⁷Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen.^(AY) They acquired property there^(AZ) and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.^(BA)

²⁸Jacob lived in Egypt^(BB) seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.^(BC) ²⁹When the time drew near for Israel^(BD) to die,^(BE) he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes,^(BF) put your hand under my thigh^(BG) and promise that you will show me kindness^(BH) and faithfulness.^(BI) Do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰but when I rest with my fathers,^(BJ) carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”^(BK)

“I will do as you say,” he said.

³¹“Swear to me,”^(BL) he said. Then Joseph swore to him,^(BM) and Israel^(BN) worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.^[d]^(BO)

Manasseh and Ephraim

48 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim^(BP) along with him. ²When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel^(BQ) rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

³Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty^[e]^(BR) appeared to me at Luz^(BS) in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me^(BT) ⁴and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers.^(BU) I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land^(BV) as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’^(BW)

⁵“Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt^(BX) before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine,^(BY) just as Reuben^(BZ) and Simeon^(CA) are mine. ⁶Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. ⁷As I was returning from Paddan,^[f]^(CB) to my sorrow^(CC) 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).^(CD)

⁸When Israel^(CE) saw the sons of Joseph,^(CF) he asked, “Who are these?”

⁹“They are the sons God has given me here,”^(CG) Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless^(CH) them.”

¹⁰Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see.^(CI) So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them^(CJ) and embraced them.^(CK)

¹¹Israel^(CL) said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again,^(CM) and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”^(CN)

¹²Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees^(CO) and bowed down with his face to the ground.^(CP) ¹³And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand,^(CQ) and brought them close to him. ¹⁴But Israel^(CR) reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head,^(CS) though he was the younger,^(CT) and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.^(CU)

¹⁵Then he blessed^(CV) Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my fathers
    Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,^(CW)
the God who has been my shepherd^(CX)
    all my life to this day,
¹⁶the Angel^(CY) who has delivered me from all harm^(CZ)
    —may he bless^(DA) these boys.^(DB)
May they be called by my name
    and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,^(DC)
and may they increase greatly
    on the earth.”^(DD)

¹⁷When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand^(DE) on Ephraim’s head^(DF) he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”^(DG)

¹⁹But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great.^(DH) Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he,^(DI) and his descendants will become a group of nations.^(DJ)” ²⁰He blessed^(DK) them that day^(DL) and said,

“In your^[g] name will Israel^(DM) pronounce this blessing:^(DN)
‘May God make you like Ephraim^(DO) and Manasseh.^(DP)’”

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

²¹Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you^[h]^(DQ) and take you^[i] back to the land of your^[j] fathers.^(DR) ²²And to you I give one more ridge of land^[k]^(DS) than to your brothers,^(DT) the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword^(DU) and my bow.”

Footnotes

Genesis 47:7 Or greeted
Genesis 47:10 Or said farewell to
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.

Job 39-40

New International Version

39 “Do you know when the mountain goats^(A) give birth?
    Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?^(B)
²Do you count the months till they bear?
    Do you know the time they give birth?^(C)
³They crouch down and bring forth their young;
    their labor pains are ended.
⁴Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
    they leave and do not return.

⁵“Who let the wild donkey^(D) go free?
    Who untied its ropes?
⁶I gave it the wasteland^(E) as its home,
    the salt flats^(F) as its habitat.^(G)
⁷It laughs^(H) at the commotion in the town;
    it does not hear a driver’s shout.^(I)
⁸It ranges the hills^(J) for its pasture
    and searches for any green thing.

⁹“Will the wild ox^(K) consent to serve you?^(L)
    Will it stay by your manger^(M) at night?
¹⁰Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness?^(N)
    Will it till the valleys behind you?
¹¹Will you rely on it for its great strength?^(O)
    Will you leave your heavy work to it?
¹²Can you trust it to haul in your grain
    and bring it to your threshing floor?

¹³“The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
    though they cannot compare
    with the wings and feathers of the stork.^(P)
¹⁴She lays her eggs on the ground
    and lets them warm in the sand,
¹⁵unmindful that a foot may crush them,
    that some wild animal may trample them.^(Q)
¹⁶She treats her young harshly,^(R) as if they were not hers;
    she cares not that her labor was in vain,
¹⁷for God did not endow her with wisdom
    or give her a share of good sense.^(S)
¹⁸Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
    she laughs^(T) at horse and rider.

¹⁹“Do you give the horse its strength^(U)
    or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
²⁰Do you make it leap like a locust,^(V)
    striking terror^(W) with its proud snorting?^(X)
²¹It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,^(Y)
    and charges into the fray.^(Z)
²²It laughs^(AA) at fear, afraid of nothing;
    it does not shy away from the sword.
²³The quiver^(AB) rattles against its side,
    along with the flashing spear^(AC) and lance.
²⁴In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
    it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.^(AD)
²⁵At the blast of the trumpet^(AE) it snorts, ‘Aha!’
    It catches the scent of battle from afar,
    the shout of commanders and the battle cry.^(AF)

²⁶“Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
    and spread its wings toward the south?^(AG)
²⁷Does the eagle soar at your command
    and build its nest on high?^(AH)
²⁸It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
    a rocky crag^(AI) is its stronghold.
²⁹From there it looks for food;^(AJ)
    its eyes detect it from afar.
³⁰Its young ones feast on blood,
    and where the slain are, there it is.”^(AK)

40 The Lord said to Job:^(AL)

²“Will the one who contends with the Almighty^(AM) correct him?^(AN)
Let him who accuses God answer him!”^(AO)

³Then Job answered the Lord:

⁴“I am unworthy^(AP)—how can I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.^(AQ)
⁵I spoke once, but I have no answer^(AR)—
twice, but I will say no more.”^(AS)

⁶Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:^(AT)

⁷“Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.^(AU)

⁸“Would you discredit my justice?^(AV)
    Would you condemn me to justify yourself?^(AW)
⁹Do you have an arm like God’s,^(AX)
    and can your voice^(AY) thunder like his?^(AZ)
¹⁰Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
    and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.^(BA)
¹¹Unleash the fury of your wrath,^(BB)
    look at all who are proud and bring them low,^(BC)
¹²look at all who are proud^(BD) and humble them,^(BE)
    crush^(BF) the wicked where they stand.
¹³Bury them all in the dust together;^(BG)
    shroud their faces in the grave.^(BH)
¹⁴Then I myself will admit to you
    that your own right hand can save you.^(BI)

¹⁵“Look at Behemoth,
    which I made^(BJ) along with you
    and which feeds on grass like an ox.^(BK)
¹⁶What strength^(BL) it has in its loins,
    what power in the muscles of its belly!^(BM)
¹⁷Its tail sways like a cedar;
    the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.^(BN)
¹⁸Its bones are tubes of bronze,
    its limbs^(BO) like rods of iron.^(BP)
¹⁹It ranks first among the works of God,^(BQ)
    yet its Maker^(BR) can approach it with his sword.^(BS)
²⁰The hills bring it their produce,^(BT)
    and all the wild animals play^(BU) nearby.^(BV)
²¹Under the lotus plants it lies,
    hidden among the reeds^(BW) in the marsh.^(BX)
²²The lotuses conceal it in their shadow;
    the poplars by the stream^(BY) surround it.
²³A raging river^(BZ) does not alarm it;
    it is secure, though the Jordan^(CA) should surge against its mouth.
²⁴Can anyone capture it by the eyes,
    or trap it and pierce its nose?^(CB)

Psalm 16

New International Version

Psalm 16

A miktam^[a] of David.

¹Keep me safe,^(A) my God,
for in you I take refuge.^(B)

²I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;^(C)
    apart from you I have no good thing.”^(D)
³I say of the holy people^(E) who are in the land,^(F)
    “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
⁴Those who run after other gods^(G) will suffer^(H) more and more.
    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
    or take up their names^(I) on my lips.

⁵Lord, you alone are my portion^(J) and my cup;^(K)
    you make my lot^(L) secure.
⁶The boundary lines^(M) have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.^(N)
⁷I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;^(O)
    even at night^(P) my heart instructs me.
⁸I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand,^(Q) I will not be shaken.^(R)

⁹Therefore my heart is glad^(S) and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,^(T)
¹⁰because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,^(U)
    nor will you let your faithful^[b] one^(V) see decay.^(W)
¹¹You make known to me the path of life;^(X)
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,^(Y)
    with eternal pleasures^(Z) at your right hand.^(AA)