Genesis 47:13-26
Expanded Bible
Joseph Buys Land for the King
13 The ·hunger became worse [L famine was severe/intense/heavy], and since there was no food anywhere in the land, Egypt and Canaan ·became very poor [L wilted; languished]. 14 Joseph ·collected [gathered] all the ·money [silver] that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan. People paid for the grain they were buying, and Joseph brought that ·money [silver] to ·the king’s [L Pharaoh’s] palace. 15 After some time, when the people in Egypt and Canaan had no ·money [silver] left, ·they [L all Egypt] went to Joseph and said, “Please give us food. Our money is gone, ·and if we don’t eat, we will [L why should we…?] die here in front of you.”
16 Joseph answered, “Since you have no ·money [silver], give me your ·farm animals [livestock], and I will give you food in return [L for your livestock].” 17 So people brought their ·farm animals [livestock] to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. And he ·kept them alive by trading [supplied them with] food for their ·farm animals [livestock] that year.
18 ·The next year [L When that year ended] the people came to Joseph [L in the second year] and said, “·You know [L We cannot hide from my master/lord that] we have no money left, and all our ·animals [L herds of cattle] belong to you. ·We have [L Before our master/lord there is] nothing left except our bodies and our land. 19 ·Surely both we and our land will [L Why should we and our land…?] die here in front of you. Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we will be ·slaves [servants] to ·the king [L Pharaoh], together with our land. Give us seed to plant so that we will live and not die, and the land will not become ·a desert [desolate].”
20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for ·the king [L Pharaoh; C Joseph’s plan led to the tremendous power of the Pharaoh in Egypt and the world]. Every Egyptian sold Joseph his field, because the ·hunger [famine] was very ·great [strong; intense]. So the land ·became the king’s [belonged to the Pharaoh], 21 and Joseph made the people ·slaves[a] from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 The only land he did not buy was the land the priests owned. They did not need to sell their land because ·the king [L Pharaoh] ·paid them [gave them an allowance] for their work. So they had money to buy food.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Now I have bought you and your land for ·the king [L Pharaoh], so I will give you seed and you can plant ·your fields [L the land]. 24 At harvest time you must give one-fifth to ·the king [L Pharaoh]. You may keep four-fifths for yourselves to use as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your families, and your ·children [little ones].”
25 The people said, “You have ·saved our lives [allowed us to live]. If ·you like [L we have found favor in the eyes of my master/lord], we will become slaves of ·the king [L Pharaoh].”
26 So Joseph made a law in Egypt, which continues today: One-fifth of everything from the land belongs to ·the king [L Pharaoh]. The only land ·the king [L Pharaoh] did not get was the priests’ land.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 47:21 slaves Some Greek copies read “slaves.” The Hebrew text reads “move to cities.”
Genesis 47:13-26
Amplified Bible
13 Now [in the course of time] there was no food in all the land, for the famine was distressingly severe, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan languished [in destitution and starvation] because of the famine. 14 Joseph gathered 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 And when the money was exhausted in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes? For our money is gone.” 16 Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, since the money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses and the flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord [the fact] that our money is spent; my lord also has our herds of livestock; there is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed [to plant], 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 every Egyptian sold his field because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. 21 And as for the people, he relocated them [temporarily] to cities from one end of Egypt’s border to the other. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived on the amount which Pharaoh gave them, so they did not sell their land. 23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Look, today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you shall plant the land. 24 At harvest time [when you reap the increase] you shall give one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be your own to use for seed for the field and as food for you and those of your households and for your little ones.” 25 And they said, “You have saved our lives! Let us find favor 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—valid to this [a]day—that Pharaoh should have the fifth part [of the crops]; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 47:26 I.e. the time of Moses.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
