Bible in 90 Days

¹² Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it. The three branches are three days. ¹³ Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand in the same way you did before when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ But remember me when it is well with you, and show kindness, I pray you, to me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. ¹⁵ For I was indeed kidnapped out of the land of the Hebrews, and I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon.”

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and I had three white baskets on my head. ¹⁷ In the uppermost basket there was all manner of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸ Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ Within three days Pharaoh will lift your head from off you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

²⁰ It happened on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker among his servants. ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer to his position again, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. ²² However, he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.

²³ Yet, the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Pharaoh’s Dreams

41 After two whole years, Pharaoh had a dream that he was standing by the Nile. ² Seven fine-looking and fattened cows suddenly came up out of the river, and they grazed in the meadow. ³ Then seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the riverbank. ⁴ The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine-looking and fattened cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.

⁵ He slept and dreamed a second time. Seven ears of grain suddenly came up on one stalk, plump and good. ⁶ Then seven thin ears, scorched by the east wind, sprang up after them. ⁷ The seven thin ears devoured the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke and realized it was a dream.

⁸ In the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “Today I remember my offenses. ¹⁰ Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me in confinement in the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the chief baker. ¹¹ And we had a dream in the same night, he and I. We, each of us, dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. ¹² A young Hebrew man was with us there, a servant to the captain of the guard. We told him and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each man he interpreted according to his own dream. ¹³ It happened just as he interpreted. He restored me to my position, and the baker was hanged.”

¹⁴ So Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came to Pharaoh.

¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream to interpret it.”

¹⁶ Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me. God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, I stood on the bank of the Nile. ¹⁸ And suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fattened and fine-looking, and they grazed in the reeds. ¹⁹ Then seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt. I have never seen such ugliness in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰ And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows. ²¹ And when they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as ugly as before. Then I awoke.

²² “I also saw in my dreams seven ears of grain, full and good, suddenly come up on one stalk. ²³ Then seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprang up after them. ²⁴ And the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years. The dreams are one. ²⁷ The seven gaunt and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears scorched by the east wind will be seven years of famine.

²⁸ “It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁹ Seven years of great abundance will come throughout all the land of Egypt. ³⁰ However, there will arise after them seven years of famine. All the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will consume the land. ³¹ The abundance will be unknown in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. ³² The reason the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice is because the matter is established by God, and God will soon bring it to pass.

³³ “Now, therefore, let Pharaoh seek out a man who is discerning and wise and set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officials over the land and collect the fifth part of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven abundant years. ³⁵ Let them gather all the food from those good years that come and lay up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. ³⁶ This food will be for a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will be in the land of Egypt, so that the land does not perish during the famine.”

Joseph Rises to Power

³⁷ The counsel seemed good to Pharaoh and to all of his servants. ³⁸ Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom is the Spirit of God?”

³⁹ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You will be over my house, and according to your word all my people will be ruled. Only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

⁴¹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” ⁴² Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand and arrayed him in clothes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ Then he had him ride in the second chariot which was his, and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁴ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man will lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-Paneah, and he gave him a wife, Asenath the daughter of Potiphera priest of On.^[a] And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went throughout all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ In the seven abundant years the earth brought forth plentifully. ⁴⁸ So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which was in the land of Egypt and laid up the food in the cities. He put in every city the food of the fields which surrounded the city. ⁴⁹ Joseph gathered great quantities of grain as the sand of the sea until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.

⁵⁰ Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him. ⁵¹ Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, “For God,” he said, “has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s house.” ⁵² The name of the second he called Ephraim, saying, “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³ The seven years of abundance that were in the land of Egypt ended. ⁵⁴ The seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but there was food in all the land of Egypt. ⁵⁵ When all the land of Egypt was hungry, the people cried to Pharaoh for food, and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. Do whatever he says to you.”

⁵⁶ The famine was over all the face of the earth, so Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, and the famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ Moreover, all countries came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was so severe in all the lands.

Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt

42 Now when Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” ² And he said, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”

³ Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers for he said, “Perhaps some harm might happen to him.” ⁵ Thus the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Now Joseph was the governor over the land, and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. So Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves down before him with their faces to the ground. ⁷ Joseph saw his brothers, and he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger to them and spoke harshly to them. He said to them, “From where do you come?”

And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

⁸ Joseph knew his brothers, but they did not know him. ⁹ Joseph also remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. He said to them, “You are spies! You came to see the nakedness of the land!”

¹⁰ They said to him, “No, my lord, your servants have come only to buy food. ¹¹ We are all one man’s sons. We are honest men. Your servants are not spies.”

¹² But he said to them, “No, you have come to see the nakedness of the land!”

¹³ They said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer living.”

¹⁴ Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, ‘You are spies!’ ¹⁵ Here is how you will be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, you will not leave here unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of you, and let him get your brother, and you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested, whether there be any truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, you are surely spies.” ¹⁷ He put them all together in custody for three days.

¹⁸ Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God. ¹⁹ If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison house. The rest of you go and carry grain for the famine of your households. ²⁰ Nevertheless, bring your youngest brother to me so that your words may be verified and you shall not die.” And they did so.

²¹ Then they said one to another, “We are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. Therefore, this distress has come upon us.”

²² Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore, his blood is now required of us.” ²³ They did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter.

²⁴ He turned himself away from them and wept, but then turned back to them again and spoke with them. Then he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

²⁵ Joseph then gave the command to fill their sacks with grain and to restore every man’s money to his sack and to give them provisions for the way. And it was done for them.

Joseph’s Brothers Return Home

²⁶ They loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there.

²⁷ As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed in the lodging place, he saw his money. It was in the mouth of his sack. ²⁸ And he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned. Here it is in my sack!”

Then their hearts sank, and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”

²⁹ They came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying, ³⁰ “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and took us for spies of the country. ³¹ And we said to him, ‘We are honest men. We are not spies. ³² We are twelve brothers, all sons of our father. One is no longer living, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’

³³ “The man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘Here is how I may know that you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. ³⁴ But bring your youngest brother back to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. Then I will deliver your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ ”

³⁵ As they emptied their sacks, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack. When both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. ³⁶ Then Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children! Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me.”

³⁷ Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I fail to bring him to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”

³⁸ But Jacob said, “My son must not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should happen to him on the journey you are to make, then you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.”

Joseph’s Brothers Return With Benjamin

43 Now the famine was severe in the land. ² When they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little food.”

³ Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ⁴ If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you. ⁵ But if you will 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.’ ”

⁶ Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?”

⁷ And they said, “The man asked us directly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered his questions. How could we even know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

⁸ And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, so that we may live and not die, both we and you, and also our little ones. ⁹ I will be a surety for him. You may hold me personally responsible for him. If I fail to bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. ¹⁰ For if we had not delayed, we could have returned twice.”

¹¹ Their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, do this. Take some of the best fruits in the land in your bags, and carry down a present for the man: a little balm and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. ¹² Take double the money with you, along with the money that was brought back in the mouths of your sacks. Carry it with you again. Perhaps it was a mistake. ¹³ Also, take your brother and arise, return to the man. ¹⁴ And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, so that he may send away your other brother, along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

¹⁵ The men took the gift, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they went on their way down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. ¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the house steward, “Bring these men home, slaughter an animal and prepare it, for these men will dine with me at noon.”

¹⁷ The man did as Joseph ordered, so the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. ¹⁸ The men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house. They said, “We have been brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time, so that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us and take us for slaves with our donkeys.”

The Feast With Joseph

¹⁹ They approached the steward of Joseph’s house, and they spoke with him at the entrance of the house. ²⁰ They said, “My lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food. ²¹ When we came to the lodging place, we opened our sacks and realized every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us. ²² We have also brought additional money with us to buy food. We cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.”

²³ He said, “Be at peace; do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

²⁴ The man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water to wash their feet and gave feed to their donkeys. ²⁵ Then they made ready the gift for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would be eating a meal there.

²⁶ When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed themselves to him to the ground. ²⁷ He asked them about their well-being and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

²⁸ And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health. He is still alive.” And they bowed down their heads and prostrated themselves.

²⁹ He lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” ³⁰ Joseph hurried out, for he was deeply moved over his brother and sought a place to weep. So he entered into his chamber and wept there.

³¹ Then he washed his face and came out. Controlling himself, he said, “Serve the food.”

³² They served him by himself and them by themselves and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat a meal with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. ³³ They sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. ³⁴ He gave them portions from his own table, but Benjamin’s serving was five times more than any of theirs. So they drank and feasted with him.

Joseph Detains Benjamin

44 Then 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 the mouth of his sack. ² Put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, along with his grain money.” And he did according to what Joseph had spoken.

³ As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. ⁴ When they were gone out of the city, but not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up, follow after the men. When you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you rewarded evil for good? ⁵ Is this not the one from which my lord drinks and uses as he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.’ ”

⁶ So he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words. ⁷ They said to him, “Why does my lord say these words? Far be it from your servants that they should do such a thing. ⁸ Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money that we found in the top of our sacks. Why then would we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? ⁹ Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”

¹⁰ He said, “Now let it also be according to your words. He with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you will be blameless.”

¹¹ Then every man hurriedly took down his sack to the ground, and every man opened his sack. ¹² He searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³ Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.

¹⁴ When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there; and they fell to the ground before him. ¹⁵ Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?”

¹⁶ And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Here we are, my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose possession the cup was found.”

¹⁷ But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so. The man in whose possession the cup was found shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

Judah’s Plea for Benjamin

¹⁸ Then Judah approached him and said, “O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and do not be angry with your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’

²¹ “You said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, so that I may set my eyes on him.’ ²² We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ ²³ You said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ ²⁴ When we went back to your servant, my father, we told him the words of my lord.

²⁵ “Our father said, ‘Go again and buy us a little food.’ ²⁶ We said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down, for we may not see the man’s face, unless our youngest brother is with us.’

²⁷ “Your servant, my father, said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. ²⁸ And the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he was torn in pieces,” and I have not seen him since. ²⁹ And if you take this one also from me and he is harmed, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.’

³⁰ “Now therefore when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us, as his life is bound up in the boy’s life, ³¹ when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant, our father, with sorrow to the grave. ³² For your servant became surety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I fail to bring him to you, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever.’

³³ “Now therefore, please let your servant stay as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers. ³⁴ For how can I go up to my father if the boy is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would find my father?”

Joseph Reveals His Identity

45 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make every man go out from me.” So no man stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. ² He wept so loudly that the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard about it.

³ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence.

⁴ Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me,” and they came near. Then he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ Now do not be upset or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. ⁷ God sent me ahead of you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

⁸ “So now it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of his entire household and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. ⁹ Hurry and go up to my father and 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 And you will dwell in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, along with your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. ¹¹ I will provide for you there, for there are still five years of famine to come, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty.” ’

¹² “Your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that is speaking to you. ¹³ You must tell my father of all my glory in Egypt and of all that you have seen, and you must hurry and bring my father down here.”

¹⁴ Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. ¹⁵ Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept on them. After that his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶ When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had come, it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. ¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this. Load your animals and go to the land of Canaan. ¹⁸ Get your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’

¹⁹ “You are also commanded to say, ‘Do this: Take your wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and get your father and come. ²⁰ Also do not concern yourself with your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ ”

²¹ So the sons of Israel did so, and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. ²² To each of them he gave a change of clothes, but he gave to Benjamin three hundred shekels of silver^[b] and five changes of clothes. ²³ To his father he sent the following: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and provisions for his father on the journey. ²⁴ So he sent his brothers away, and they departed. He said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.”

²⁵ They went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. ²⁶ They told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart stood still because he could not believe them. ²⁷ They told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. ²⁸ Then Israel said, “Enough! Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Jacob’s Journey to Egypt

46 So Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

² God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.”

And he said, “Here I am.”

³ Then He said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. ⁴ I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand shall close your eyes.”

⁵ Jacob arose from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father and their little ones and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ⁶ They took their livestock and their possessions that they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. ⁷ He brought with him to Egypt his sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants.

⁸ These were the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who came to Egypt:

¹⁵ These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.

¹⁸ These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob, sixteen in all.

²² These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob, fourteen in all.

²⁵ These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob, seven in all.

²⁶ All those who came with Jacob to Egypt, who were direct descendants, besides the wives of Jacob’s sons, were sixty-six in all. ²⁷ And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. All those of the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy.

Jacob Settles in Goshen

²⁸ Now he sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. And they came into the land of Goshen. ²⁹ Joseph readied his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet Israel his father. As soon as he appeared to him, he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time.

³⁰ Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.”

³¹ Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh and say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. ³² The men are shepherds; their work has been to feed livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ ³³ When Pharaoh calls you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ ³⁴ you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, because every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

47 Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they possess have come from the land of Canaan and are now in the land of Goshen.” ² He took five men from among his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

³ Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?”

And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” ⁴ They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for your servants have no pasture for their flocks, because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please allow your servants to dwell in the land of Goshen.”

⁵ Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. ⁶ The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and your brothers dwell in the best of the land. Have them dwell in the land of Goshen, and if you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge over my livestock.”

⁷ Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸ Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”

⁹ And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years. My days of the years of my life have been few and evil, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the lives of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” ¹⁰ And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.

¹¹ So Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. ¹² Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and his father’s entire household, according to the number of their children.

Joseph and the Famine

¹³ There was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. ¹⁴ Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the grain that 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 and said, “Give us food, for why should we die in your presence? For our money is gone.”

¹⁶ Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food for your livestock, if your money is gone.” ¹⁷ They brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys; and he fed them with food in exchange for all their livestock for that year.

¹⁸ When that year was ended, they came to him the second year and said to him, “We will not hide it from our lord, that our money is all spent. Our 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 for food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. Also give us seed, so that we may live and not die, so that the land will not be desolate.”

²⁰ So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian man sold his field because the famine was severe on them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. ²¹ As for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end. ²² Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived off their allotment that Pharaoh gave them. Therefore they did not sell their lands.

²³ Then Joseph said to the people, “I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh; here is seed for you so you may sow the land. ²⁴ At the harvest, you must give a fifth part to Pharaoh and four parts will be your own, as seed for the field and for your food and for those of your households and for food for your little ones.”

²⁵ They said, “You have saved our lives. Let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.”

²⁶ So Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except from the land of the priests, which did not become Pharaoh’s.

Jacob’s Request of Joseph

²⁷ Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they had possessions there and grew and became very numerous.

²⁸ And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, so the years of Jacob’s life were one hundred and forty-seven years. ²⁹ When the time drew near when Israel would die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found grace in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”

And he said, “I will do as you have said.”

³¹ And he said, “Swear to me,” and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself at the head of his bed.

Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons

48 After these things, Joseph was told, “Your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. ² When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph is coming to you,” Israel strengthened himself and sat up in the bed.

³ Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me. ⁴ And He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make you into a multitude of people and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.’

⁵ “Now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. ⁶ Any children you have after them will be yours and will be called by the names of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁷ As for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to get to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

⁸ Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons and said, “Whose are these?”

⁹ And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.”

And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”

¹⁰ Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

¹¹ Israel said to Joseph, “I never thought I would see your face, but here God has also shown me your children.”

¹² So Joseph took them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the ground. ¹³ 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 Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

¹⁵ He blessed Joseph and said,

¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

¹⁹ His father refused and said, “I know it, my son, I know it. He will also become a people, and he will also be great, but truly his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a multitude of nations.” ²⁰ He blessed them that day, saying,

So he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

²¹ Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you and return you again to the land of your fathers. ²² Moreover, I have given to you one portion more than your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

Jacob Blesses His Sons^(A)

49 Jacob called to his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, so that I may tell you what will befall you in the last days.

²⁸ These are all the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, each with the blessing appropriate to him.

The Death of Jacob

²⁹ Then he charged them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to 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 along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place. ³¹ They buried Abraham and Sarah his wife there. They buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife there, and I buried Leah there. ³² The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the children of Heth.”

³³ When Jacob finished instructing his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

The Burial of Jacob

50 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. ² Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. ³ Forty days were required for him, for such is the time required for those who are embalmed. Then the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

⁴ When the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh, saying, ⁵ ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die. Bury me in my tomb which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now therefore please let me go up and bury my father, and then I will return.’ ”

⁶ Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

⁷ Joseph went up to bury his father, and all the servants of Pharaoh went up with him too, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt, ⁸ all the house 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. ⁹ Both the chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very great company.

¹⁰ When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they mourned with a great and very sorrowful lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father. ¹¹ When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

¹² So his sons did with him just as he had commanded them. ¹³ For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field as a burial site from Ephron the Hittite. ¹⁴ After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us and will certainly pay us back for all the wrong we did to him.” ¹⁶ So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ¹⁷ ‘Say to Joseph, “I beg you, forgive the transgressions of your brothers and their sin. For they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please forgive the transgressions of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

¹⁸ Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face and said, “We are your servants.”

¹⁹ Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? ²⁰ But as for you, you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many lives. ²¹ So now, do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

The Death of Joseph

²² Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. ²³ Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. Also, the children of Makir, the son of Manasseh, were brought up on Joseph’s knees.

²⁴ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. God will surely come to you and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” ²⁵ Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”

²⁶ So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.