Old/New Testament

Joseph's whole family in Egypt

46 So Jacob left Canaan. He took everything that belonged to him. When he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to God, the God of his father Isaac. ² During the night, God spoke to Israel in a dream. He said, ‘Jacob! Jacob!’ Jacob replied, ‘Yes, I am here.’ ³ God said, ‘I am God. I am the God that your father worshipped. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt. Your descendants will be very many so that you become a great nation there. ⁴ I will go with you to Egypt. I will also bring you back again. Joseph will be with you when you die.’

⁵ Then Jacob left Beersheba and he continued to travel. Jacob's sons took their father as well as their wives and children. They rode in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to take them to Egypt. ⁶ They also took all their animals and everything that they had got in Canaan. In that way, Jacob and all his family went to Egypt. ⁷ He took his sons and his grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters. He took all his family with him to Egypt.

⁸ These are the names of the descendants of Israel^[a] who went to Egypt, (that is, the sons of Jacob):

¹⁵ These were the sons that Leah gave birth to in Paddan Aram. Jacob was their father. Leah also gave birth to a daughter, Dinah. These sons and daughters of Jacob were 33 in all.

¹⁸ These were the children that Zilpah gave birth to. Jacob was their father. Leah gave Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. There were 16 children in all.

²² These were the sons of Rachel, born to Jacob. There were 14 in all.

²⁵ These were the sons that Bilhah gave birth to. She was Rachel's servant that Laban gave to her. Bilhah gave birth to these sons for Jacob. There were seven in all.

²⁶ Jacob's descendants who went with him to Egypt were 66. That does not include his son's wives. ²⁷ Joseph had two sons that were born in Egypt. So there were 70 people of Jacob's family who were there in Egypt.

²⁸ Then Jacob sent Judah to go to Joseph before he got there himself. He learned how to get to Goshen and they arrived there. ²⁹ Joseph prepared his chariot and he went to Goshen to meet Jacob, his father. When they met, Joseph hugged his father and he wept for a long time.

³⁰ Jacob said to Joseph, ‘Now I am ready to die. I have seen for myself that you are still alive.’ ³¹ Then Joseph spoke to his brothers and to his father's people. He said, ‘I will go and say to Pharaoh, “My brothers and all my father's people have arrived here from Canaan. ³² The men are shepherds. They take care of their animals. They have brought with them their sheep, goats and cows, and everything that they have.” ³³ Pharaoh will call you to meet him. He will ask you, “What is your job?” ³⁴ Then you should answer, “We have always taken care of cows and sheep since we were young men. Our ancestors have always done this work.” Egyptians do not want to live near people who take care of sheep. So Pharaoh will let you stay in the region called Goshen.’^[b]

Joseph works well for his master Pharaoh

47 Joseph went to Pharaoh. He told him, ‘My father and brothers have arrived from Canaan. They have come with their animals and everything that belongs to them. They are now in Goshen.’ ² Joseph took five of his brothers to go with him to meet Pharaoh. ³ Pharaoh asked the brothers, ‘What is your job?’ The brothers replied, ‘We are shepherds, sir. We take care of animals, just like our ancestors did.’ ⁴ They also said to Pharaoh, ‘We have come to stay here for a short time because there is a bad famine in Canaan. Our animals do not have any grass to eat there. Please sir, let us stay in Goshen.’

⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Your father and your brothers have now come to you. ⁶ The whole land of Egypt is here for them. Your father and your brothers should stay in the best part of the land. They may live in Goshen. Choose the best shepherds from among them to take care of my own animals.’

⁷ Then Joseph brought his father Jacob to meet Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸ Then Pharaoh asked Jacob, ‘How old are you?’ ⁹ Jacob replied, ‘I have been alive for 130 years. My years have been few, and they have been difficult. I have not lived for as long as my ancestors lived.’^{[c] 10} Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again and he left.

¹¹ So Joseph helped his father and his brothers to make their home in Egypt. He gave them a good place to live in the best region of Egypt. This was in the region that is now called Rameses. Joseph did for his family what Pharaoh had told him to do.^[d]

¹² Joseph also sent food to his father, his brothers and all his father's people. He gave them enough food for themselves and all their children.

¹³ But because the famine was bad, no food grew in all of Egypt. As a result, the people of Egypt and Canaan became hungry and weak. ¹⁴ Joseph received money from the people when he sold food to them. He took all the money to Pharaoh's palace. ¹⁵ Soon the people of Egypt and Canaan did not have any more money. All the Egyptians went to Joseph and they said, ‘Give us food to eat. If not, we will die! We do not have any more money.’

¹⁶ Joseph said to the people, ‘If you have no money, bring me your animals. I will give you food if you pay me with your animals instead of money.’ ¹⁷ So the people brought their animals to Joseph. They brought horses, sheep, goats, cows and donkeys. Joseph sold food to them in return for their animals. In that way, he sold enough food for them to eat that year.

¹⁸ When that year finished, the people came to Joseph again. They said to him, ‘Sir, you know that we do not have any money. Our animals now belong to you. We have nothing left to give to you. We only have our land and our own bodies. ¹⁹ Do not let us die here and now! Do not destroy our land! If you give food to us, we will pay you with ourselves and with our land. We will become Pharaoh's slaves. Our land will become Pharaoh's land. Give us grain to eat and seed to plant. Then we will not die. Our fields will not be empty.’

²⁰ Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Because the famine was very bad, all the Egyptians sold their fields to buy food. So all the land now belonged to Pharaoh. ²¹ Joseph made all the people become slaves, wherever they lived in Egypt. ²² But Joseph did not buy the land which belonged to the priests. Pharaoh himself gave the priests enough food. So the priests did not have to sell their land.

²³ Joseph said to the people, ‘Now I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. So I will give you some seed to plant in your fields. ²⁴ But when the plants are ready to eat, you must give one fifth part to Pharaoh. You may keep the other four parts. You may keep it for seed to plant again and you may eat it. It will be food for you, for your people and for your children.’ ²⁵ The people said, ‘You have saved our lives! Because you have been kind to us, we agree to become Pharaoh's slaves.’

²⁶ So Joseph made a law which everybody in Egypt has to obey. The law says that one fifth of all food that people grow belongs to Pharaoh. Only the priests' land did not become Pharaoh's land. This law still has authority today.^[e]

²⁷ The Israelites stayed in Egypt, in the region called Goshen. They had their own land there. They gave birth to many children so that they became very many people.

²⁸ Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years. His whole life was 147 years. ²⁹ The time came for him to die. So he called his son Joseph to come to him. Jacob said to him, ‘If you agree, make a serious promise to me. Put your hand between my legs to show that I can trust you. Promise that you will be kind to me and that you will do as I ask. When I die, do not bury me here in Egypt.^{[f] 30} Carry my body out of Egypt. Bury me in the grave of my ancestors.’ Joseph said, ‘I will do as you say.’ ³¹ Jacob said, ‘Promise me that you will do this.’ Then Joseph made a promise to him. After that, Jacob rested on his bed and he thanked God.

Jacob blesses Joseph's sons

48 After some time, someone told Joseph, ‘Your father is ill.’ So Joseph went to see Jacob and he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him. ² Someone told Jacob, ‘Your son Joseph has come to see you.’ Jacob's body became stronger and he sat up on the bed. ³ Jacob said to Joseph, ‘God Almighty appeared to me at Luz, in Canaan. God blessed me there. ⁴ He said to me, “I will give you many children, so that your descendants are many. In that way, you will become the ancestor of many nations. I will give this land to you so that it belongs to your descendants for ever.” ’

⁵ Jacob continued to say to Joseph, ‘You have two sons that were born to you in Egypt before I came here. They will become my own sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will be my sons, just as Reuben and Simeon are my sons.^{[g] 6} Any children born to you after them will be your own children. They will receive part of the land that belongs to their brothers, Ephraim and Manasseh.

⁷ As for me, I was very sad when your mother Rachel died on our journey from Paddan. She died near to Ephrath. So I buried her there, next to the road to Ephrath (that is now called Bethlehem).’

⁸ Joseph brought Ephraim and Manasseh to his father, Jacob. Jacob asked him, ‘Who are these boys?’ ⁹ Joseph replied, ‘They are the sons that God has given to me here in Egypt.’ Then Israel said, ‘Bring them near to me so that I can bless them.’

¹⁰ Jacob's eyes had become weak because he was very old. He was almost blind. So Joseph brought his sons near to his father. His father kissed them and he hugged them. ¹¹ Jacob said to Joseph, ‘I never thought that I would see you again. But now God has let me see your children too.’

¹² Then Joseph removed his sons from Jacob's knees. He bent down low, with his face towards the ground. ¹³ He took his two sons near to Jacob. With his right hand, he put Ephraim beside Jacob's left hand. With his left hand, he put Manasseh beside Jacob's right hand.^[h]

¹⁴ Jacob then put out his right hand. But he put it on Ephraim's head, even though Ephraim was the younger son. Jacob crossed his arms so that he put his left hand on Manasseh's head. Manasseh was Joseph's firstborn son.

¹⁵ Then Jacob blessed Joseph. He said,

¹⁷ Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim's head. This made Joseph upset. So he took hold of his father's right hand. He moved it from Ephraim's head on to Manasseh's head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to Jacob, ‘No, my father. This boy is the firstborn son. Put your right hand on his head.’

¹⁹ But Jacob refused to change. He said, ‘I know, my son. I know what I am doing. Manasseh will also have many descendants who become a great nation. But his younger brother, Ephraim, will become even greater. Ephraim's descendants will become many great nations.’

²⁰ So Jacob blessed both of Joseph's sons that day. He said, ‘In your name Israel's people will give this blessing:

In this way, Jacob put Ephraim before Manasseh when he blessed them.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Joseph, ‘I will die soon. But God will be with you. He will take you back to the land where your ancestors lived. ²² I give to you more than I give to your brothers. I give to you the good part of the land that I took from the Amorites.^[k] I fought against them with my weapons to take that land.’

Jesus tells a story about a farmer who planted seeds

13 On that same day, Jesus left the house and he went to Lake Galilee. He sat down near the edge of the lake to teach people. ² The crowd that came to listen to him was very large. So he went and sat in a boat that was on the water. The big crowd of people stood on the shore. ³ Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He said to them: ‘Listen to me! A farmer went out to plant seeds in his field. ⁴ While he was throwing the seeds, some of them fell on the path. The birds came and they ate those seeds. ⁵ Other seeds fell on ground which had rocks. There was not much soil in that place. The seeds quickly began to grow, because the soil was not deep. ⁶ But when the sun rose, it burned the young plants. They soon died because they had not grown down well into the soil. ⁷ Some other seeds fell among thorn bushes. Those bushes grew up with the young plants. They stopped the seeds from growing into strong plants. ⁸ But some seeds fell on good soil and strong plants grew from those seeds. Some plants made 100 new seeds. Some plants made 60 new seeds and some plants made 30 new seeds.’ ⁹ Then Jesus said to the crowd, ‘You have ears, so listen well to what I say!’

Jesus explains to his disciples why he teaches with stories

¹⁰ Then Jesus' disciples came to him. They asked him, ‘Why do you use stories to speak to the crowd?’

¹¹ Jesus replied, ‘God has let you know what these stories mean. You understand how God rules in the lives of his people. But these other people do not understand what the stories mean. ¹² A person who has received some things will receive even more. He will have lots of good things. Some other people have nothing. Those people will lose even the little bit that they do have. ¹³ The reason I use stories to talk to other people is this:

¹⁴ Long ago, the prophet Isaiah spoke a message from God about those people.^[b] Now it has become true. God said:

¹⁵ These people do not really want to understand.

¹⁶ Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘But as for you, be happy because God has helped you to see. He has helped you to hear and understand his message. ¹⁷ I tell you this: Many prophets and good people from a long time ago wanted to see these things. But they did not see the things that you are seeing. They wanted to hear the message that you are hearing. But they did not hear it.’

Jesus explains the story about the farmer who planted his seeds

¹⁸ Jesus then said, ‘Listen to me now. I will tell you what this story about the farmer means. ¹⁹ Some people hear the message about God's kingdom but they do not understand it. Satan comes and he quickly takes the message away from their minds. The seeds that fell on the path show what those people are like. ²⁰ Other seeds fell on soil with rocks in it. This is like some people who hear God's message. These people are happy to believe it for a time. ²¹ But they are like plants that have not grown down well into the soil. So they only believe for a short time. They may have problems. Or other people may do bad things to them, because they obey God's message. When that happens, these people soon stop believing. ²² Some seeds fell among thorn bushes. This is like people who hear the message from God. But they have many troubles in their minds. They want to get more money and more things. They think that this will make them happy. So they do not let God's message change them. They are like plants that do not grow well and make new seeds. ²³ But some seeds fell on good soil. This is like other people who hear the message from God and they understand it. These people are like good plants that grow well. From one seed, some good plants make 100 new seeds. Other good plants make 60 new seeds, and some good plants make 30 new seeds.’^[c]

Jesus tells a story about some weeds

²⁴ Then Jesus told the people another story. He said, ‘This is what the kingdom of heaven is like: A farmer planted some good wheat seeds into his field. ²⁵ But one night, when everyone was sleeping, a bad person came to the farmer's field. He did not like the farmer. This bad person planted seeds from weeds among the good wheat seeds. Then the bad person went away again. ²⁶ The good seeds grew and the plants began to make new seeds. But when this happened, the weeds also grew.

²⁷ So the farmer's servants came to speak to him. “Master, you planted only good seeds in your field but now many weeds are also growing there. How did this happen?” they asked him.

²⁸ The farmer said to his servants, “A bad person who does not like me has done this.”

So the servants then asked the farmer, “Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?”

²⁹ The farmer replied, “No, I do not want you to do that. If you pull up the weeds, you may also pull up some of the good wheat plants. ³⁰ Let the good plants and the weeds grow up together. At harvest time, I will tell the workers to cut down the weeds first. Then they will tie them together and burn them. Then they will cut the wheat and bring it into my building. I will store it there.” ’