47 ^1-2 Joseph took five of his brothers to the king and told him, “My father and my brothers have come from Canaan. They have brought their sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else they own to the region of Goshen.”

Then he introduced his brothers to the king, ³ who asked them, “What do you do for a living?”

“Sir, we are shepherds,” was their answer. “Our families have always raised sheep. ⁴ But in our country all the pastures are dried up, and our sheep have no grass to eat. So we, your servants, have come here. Please let us live in the region of Goshen.”

⁵ The king said to Joseph, “It's good that your father and brothers have arrived. ⁶ I will let them live anywhere they choose in the land of Egypt, but I suggest that they settle in Goshen, the best part of our land. I would also like for your finest shepherds to watch after my own sheep and goats.”

⁷ Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and introduced him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing, ⁸ and the king asked him, “How old are you?”

⁹ Jacob answered, “I have lived only 130 years, and I have had to move from place to place. My parents and my grandparents also had to move from place to place. But they lived much longer, and their life was not as hard as mine.” ¹⁰ Then Jacob gave the king his blessing once again and left. ¹¹ Joseph obeyed the king's orders and gave his father and brothers some of the best land in Egypt near the city of Rameses. ¹² Joseph also provided food for their families.

A Famine in Egypt

¹³ The famine was bad everywhere in Egypt and Canaan, and the people were suffering terribly. ¹⁴ So Joseph sold them the grain that had been stored up, and he put the money^[a] in the king's treasury. ¹⁵ But when everyone had run out of money, the Egyptians came to Joseph and demanded, “Give us more grain! If you don't, we'll soon be dead, because our money's all gone.”

¹⁶ “If you don't have any money,” Joseph answered, “give me your animals, and I'll let you have some grain.” ¹⁷ From then on, they brought him their horses and donkeys and their sheep and goats in exchange for grain.

Within a year Joseph had collected every animal in Egypt. ¹⁸ Then the people came to him and said:

Sir, there's no way we can hide the truth from you. We are broke, and we don't have any more animals. We have nothing left except ourselves and our land. ¹⁹ Don't let us starve and our land be ruined. If you'll give us grain to eat and seed to plant, we'll sell ourselves and our land to the king.^[b] We'll become his slaves.

²⁰ The famine became so severe that Joseph finally bought every piece of land in Egypt for the king ²¹ and made everyone the king's slaves,^{[c] 22} except the priests. The king gave the priests a regular food allowance, so they did not have to sell their land. ²³ Then Joseph said to the people, “You and your land now belong to the king. I'm giving you seed to plant, ²⁴ but one fifth of your crops must go to the king. You can keep the rest as seed or as food for your families.”

²⁵ “Sir, you have saved our lives!” they answered. “We are glad to be slaves of the king.” ²⁶ Then Joseph made a law that one fifth of the harvest would always belong to the king. Only the priests did not lose their land.

Jacob Becomes an Old Man

²⁷ The people of Israel made their home in the land of Goshen, where they became prosperous and had large families. ²⁸ Jacob himself lived there for 17 years, before dying at the age of 147. ^29 (A) When Jacob knew he did not have long to live, he called in Joseph and said, “If you really love me, you must make a solemn promise not to bury me in Egypt. ³⁰ Instead, bury me in the place where my ancestors are buried.”

“I will do what you have asked,” Joseph answered.

³¹ “Will you give me your word?” Jacob asked.

“Yes, I will,” Joseph promised. After this, Jacob bowed down and prayed at the head of his bed.

Jacob Blesses Joseph's Two Sons

48 Joseph was told that his father Jacob had become very sick. So Joseph went to see him and took along his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ² When Joseph arrived, someone told Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” Jacob sat up in bed, but it took almost all his strength.

^3 (A) Jacob told Joseph:

God All-Powerful appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, where he gave me his blessing ⁴ and promised, “I will give you a large family with many descendants that will grow into a nation. And I am giving you this land that will belong to you and your family forever.”

⁵ Then Jacob went on to say:

Joseph, your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh were born in Egypt, but I accept them as my own, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. ⁶ Any children you have later will be considered yours, but their inheritance will come from Ephraim and Manasseh. ^7 (B) Unfortunately, your mother Rachel died in Canaan after we had left northern Syria^[a] and before we reached Bethlehem.^[b] And I had to bury her along the way.

^8-10 Jacob was very old and almost blind. He did not recognize the two boys, and so he asked Joseph, “Who are these boys?”

Joseph answered, “They are my sons. God has given them to me here in Egypt.”

“Bring them to me,” Jacob said. “I want to give them my blessing.” Joseph brought the boys to him, and he hugged and kissed them.

¹¹ Jacob turned to Joseph and told him, “For many years I thought you were dead and that I would never see you again. But now God has even let me live to see your children.” ¹² Then Joseph made his sons move away from Jacob's knees,^[c] and Joseph bowed down in front of him with his face to the ground.

¹³ After Joseph got up, he brought his two sons over to Jacob again. He led his younger son Ephraim to the left side of Jacob and his older son Manasseh to the right. ¹⁴ But before Jacob gave them his blessing, he crossed his arms, putting his right hand on the head of Ephraim and his left hand on the head of Manasseh. ¹⁵ Then he gave Joseph his blessing and said:

My grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac worshiped the Lord God. He has been with me all my life, ¹⁶ and his angel has kept me safe. Now I pray that he will bless these boys and that my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac will live on because of them. I ask God to give them many children and many descendants as well.

¹⁷ Joseph did not like it when he saw his father place his right hand on the head of the younger son. So he tried to move his father's right hand from Ephraim's head and place it on Manasseh. ¹⁸ Joseph said, “Father, you have made a mistake. This is the older boy. Put your right hand on him.”

¹⁹ But his father said, “Son, I know what I am doing. It's true that Manasseh's family will someday become a great nation. But Ephraim will be even greater than Manasseh, because his descendants will become many great nations.”

^20 (C) Jacob told him that in the future the people of Israel would ask God's blessings on one another by saying, “I pray for God to bless you as much as he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh.” Jacob put Ephraim's name first to show that he would be greater than Manasseh. ²¹ After that, Jacob said, “Joseph, you can see that I won't live much longer. But God will be with you and will lead you back to the land he promised our family long ago. ²² Meanwhile, I'm giving you the hillside^[d] I captured from the Amorites.”

Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Walk

(Mark 2.1-12; Luke 5.17-26)

9 Jesus got into a boat and crossed back over to the town where he lived.^{[a] 2} Some people soon brought to him a man lying on a mat because he could not walk. When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, “My friend, don't worry! Your sins are forgiven.”

³ Some teachers of the Law of Moses said to themselves, “Jesus must think he is God!”

⁴ But Jesus knew what was in their minds, and he said, “Why are you thinking such evil things? ⁵ Is it easier for me to tell this man his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and walk? ⁶ But I will show you that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.” So Jesus said to the man, “Get up! Pick up your mat and go on home.” ⁷ The man got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowds saw this, they were afraid^[b] and praised God for giving such authority to people.

Jesus Chooses Matthew

(Mark 2.13-17; Luke 5.27-32)

⁹ As Jesus was leaving, he saw a tax collector^[c] named Matthew sitting at the place for paying taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Matthew got up and went with him.

^10 (A) Later, Jesus and his disciples were having dinner at Matthew's house.^[d] Many tax collectors and other sinners were also there. ¹¹ Some Pharisees asked Jesus' disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and other sinners?”

¹² Jesus heard them and answered, “Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. ^13 (B) Go and learn what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others.’ I didn't come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners.”

People Ask about Going without Eating

(Mark 2.18-22; Luke 5.33-39)

¹⁴ Some followers of John the Baptist came and asked Jesus, “Why do we and the Pharisees often go without eating,^[e] while your disciples never do?”

¹⁵ Jesus answered:

The friends of a bridegroom aren't sad while he is still with them. But the time will come when he will be taken from them. Then they will go without eating.

¹⁶ No one uses a new piece of cloth to patch old clothes. The patch would shrink and tear a bigger hole.

¹⁷ No one pours new wine into old wineskins. The wine would swell and burst the old skins.^[f] Then the wine would be lost, and the skins would be ruined. New wine must be put into new wineskins. Both the skins and the wine will then be safe.

A Dying Girl and a Sick Woman

(Mark 5.21-43; Luke 8.40-56)

¹⁸ While Jesus was still speaking, an official came and knelt in front of him. The man said, “My daughter has just now died! Please come and place your hand on her. Then she will live again.”

¹⁹ Jesus and his disciples got up and went with the man.

²⁰ A woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came up behind Jesus and barely touched his clothes. ²¹ She had said to herself, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”

²² Jesus turned. He saw the woman and said, “Don't worry! You are now healed because of your faith.” At that moment she was healed.

²³ When Jesus went into the home of the official and saw the musicians and the crowd of mourners,^{[g] 24} he said, “Get out of here! The little girl isn't dead. She is just asleep.” Everyone started laughing at Jesus. ²⁵ But after the crowd had been sent out of the house, Jesus went to the girl's bedside. He took her by the hand and helped her up.

²⁶ News about this spread all over that part of the country.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

²⁷ As Jesus was leaving that place, two blind men began following him and shouting, “Son of David,^[h] have pity on us!”

²⁸ After Jesus had gone indoors, the two blind men came up to him. He asked them, “Do you believe I can make you well?”

“Yes, Lord,” they answered.

²⁹ Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, you will be healed.” ³⁰ They were able to see, and Jesus strictly warned them not to tell anyone about him. ³¹ But they left and talked about him to everyone in that part of the country.

Jesus Heals a Man Who Could Not Talk

³² As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, some people brought to him a man who could not talk because a demon was in him. ³³ After Jesus had forced the demon out, the man started talking. The crowds were so amazed they began saying, “Nothing like this has ever happened in Israel!”

^34 (C) But the Pharisees said, “The leader of the demons gives him the power to force out demons.”

Jesus Has Pity on People

^35 (D) Jesus went to every town and village. He taught in their synagogues and preached the good news about God's kingdom. Jesus also healed every kind of disease and sickness. ^36 (E) When he saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them. They were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ^37 (F) He said to his disciples, “A large crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers. ³⁸ Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring it in.”