Old/New Testament

Jacob Goes Down to Egypt

46 So Israel started out with everything that belonged to him. When he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

² God spoke to Israel in a vision at night. “Jacob! Jacob!” he said.

“Here I am,” Jacob replied.

³ “I am God. I am the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt. There I will make you into a great nation. ⁴ I will go down to Egypt with you. I will surely bring you back again. And when you die, Joseph will close your eyes with his own hand.”

⁵ Then Jacob left Beersheba. Israel’s sons put their father Jacob and their families in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ⁶ So Jacob and his whole family went to Egypt. They took their livestock with them. And they took everything they had acquired in Canaan. ⁷ Jacob brought his sons and grandsons with him to Egypt. He also brought his daughters and granddaughters. He brought his whole family with him.

⁸ Here are the names of Israel’s children and grandchildren who went to Egypt. Jacob and his whole family are included.

¹⁵ These were the sons and grandsons born to Jacob and Leah in Paddan Aram. Leah also had a daughter by Jacob. Her name was Dinah. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Leah was 33.

¹⁸ These were the children and grandchildren born to Jacob and Zilpah. Laban had given Zilpah to his daughter Leah. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Zilpah was 16.

²² These were the sons and grandsons born to Jacob and Rachel. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Rachel was 14.

²⁵ These were the sons and grandsons born to Jacob and Bilhah. Laban had given Bilhah to his daughter Rachel. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Bilhah was seven.

²⁶ The total number of people who went to Egypt with Jacob was 66. That number includes only his own children and grandchildren. It doesn’t include his sons’ wives or his grandsons’ wives. ²⁷ The total number of the members of Jacob’s family who went to Egypt was 70. That includes the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt.

²⁸ Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph. He sent him to get directions to Goshen. And so they arrived in the area of Goshen. ²⁹ Then Joseph had his servants get his chariot ready. He went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as he came to his father, Joseph threw his arms around him. Then Joseph wept for a long time.

³⁰ Israel said to Joseph, “I have seen for myself that you are still alive. Now I’m ready to die.”

³¹ Then Joseph spoke to his brothers and to the rest of his father’s family. He said, “I will go up and speak to Pharaoh. I’ll say to him, ‘My brothers and the rest of my father’s family have come to me. They were living in the land of Canaan. ³² The men are shepherds. They take care of livestock. They’ve brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ ³³ Pharaoh will send for you. He’ll ask, ‘What do you do for a living?’ ³⁴ You should answer, ‘We’ve taken care of livestock from the time we were boys. We’ve done just as our fathers did.’ It’s the practice of the people of Egypt not to mix with shepherds. So Pharaoh will let you settle in the area of Goshen.”

47 Joseph went to Pharaoh. He told him, “My father and brothers have come from the land of Canaan. They’ve brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own. They are now in Goshen.” ² Joseph had chosen five of his brothers to meet with Pharaoh.

³ Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What do you do for a living?”

“We’re shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh. “And that’s what our fathers were.” ⁴ They also said to him, “We’ve come to live in Egypt for a while. There isn’t enough food anywhere in Canaan. There isn’t any grass for our flocks. So please let us live in Goshen.”

⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. ⁶ The land of Egypt is open to you. Let your father and brothers live in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. Do any of them have special skills? If they do, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

⁷ Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in to meet Pharaoh. Jacob gave Pharaoh his blessing. ⁸ Then Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

⁹ Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my journey through life are 130. My years have been few and hard. They aren’t as many as the years of my father and grandfather before me.” ¹⁰ Jacob gave Pharaoh his blessing. Then he left him.

¹¹ So Joseph helped his father and his brothers make their homes in Egypt. He gave them property in the best part of the land, just as Pharaoh had directed him to do. That part was known as the territory of Rameses. ¹² Joseph also provided food for his father and brothers. He provided for them and the rest of his father’s family. He gave them enough for all their children.

Joseph Saves Many Lives

¹³ But there wasn’t any food in the whole area. In fact, there wasn’t enough food anywhere. The people of Egypt and Canaan lost their strength because there wasn’t enough food to go around. ¹⁴ Joseph collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan. People paid it to him for the grain they were buying. And Joseph brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. ¹⁵ When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph. They said, “Give us food. What good would it do you to watch us all die? Our money is all gone.”

¹⁶ “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “You say your money is gone. So I’ll trade you food for your livestock.” ¹⁷ They brought their livestock to Joseph. He traded them food for their animals. They gave him their horses, sheep, goats, cattle and donkeys. He helped the people live through that year by trading them food for all their livestock.

¹⁸ When that year was over, they came to him the next year. They said, “We can’t hide the truth from you. Our money is gone. Our livestock belongs to you. We don’t have anything left to give you except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹ What good would it do you to watch us die? Why should our land be destroyed? Trade us food for ourselves and our land. Then we and our land will belong to Pharaoh. Give us some seeds so we can live and not die. We don’t want the land to become a desert.”

²⁰ So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. All the people of Egypt sold their fields. They did that because there wasn’t enough food anywhere. So the land became Pharaoh’s. ²¹ Joseph made the people slaves from one end of Egypt to the other. ²² But Joseph didn’t buy the land that belonged to the priests. They received a regular share of food from Pharaoh. They had enough food from what Pharaoh gave them. That’s why they didn’t have to sell their land.

²³ Joseph said to the people, “I’ve bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. So here are some seeds for you to plant in the ground. ²⁴ But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. Keep the other four-fifths for yourselves. They will be seeds for the fields. And they will be food for yourselves, your children, and the other people who live with you.”

²⁵ “You have saved our lives,” they said. “If you are pleased with us, we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.”

²⁶ So Joseph made a law about land in Egypt. It’s still the law today. A fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land belonging to the priests didn’t become Pharaoh’s.

²⁷ The people of Israel lived in Egypt in the area of Goshen. They received property there. They had children and so became many.

²⁸ Jacob lived 17 years in Egypt. He lived a total of 147 years. ²⁹ The time came near for Israel to die. So he sent for his son Joseph. He said to him, “If you are pleased with me, put your hand under my thigh. Promise me that you will be kind and faithful to me. Don’t bury me in Egypt. ³⁰ When I join the members of my family who have already died, carry me out of Egypt. Bury me where they are buried.”

“I’ll do exactly as you say,” Joseph said.

³¹ “Give me your word that you will do it,” Jacob said. So Joseph gave him his word. And Israel worshiped God as he leaned on the top of his walking stick.

Ephraim and Manasseh

48 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. ² Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” So Israel became stronger and sat up in bed.

³ Jacob said to Joseph, “The Mighty God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan. He blessed me there. ⁴ He said to me, ‘I am going to give you children. I will make your family very large. I will make you a community of nations. And I will give this land to your children after you. It will belong to them forever.’

⁵ “Now then, two sons were born to you in Egypt. It happened before I came to you here. They will be counted as my own sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will belong to me, in the same way that Reuben and Simeon belong to me. ⁶ Any children born to you after them will belong to you. Any territory they receive will come from the land that will be given to Ephraim and Manasseh. ⁷ As I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died. It made me very sad. She died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way. We weren’t very far away from Ephrath. So I buried her body there beside the road to Ephrath.” Ephrath was also called Bethlehem.

⁸ Israel saw Joseph’s sons. He asked, “Who are they?”

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

Then Israel said, “Bring them to me. I want to give them my blessing.”

¹⁰ Israel’s eyes were weak because he was old. He couldn’t see very well. So Joseph brought his sons close to him. His father kissed them and hugged them.

¹¹ Israel said to Joseph, “I never thought I’d see your face again. But now God has let me see your children too.”

¹² Then Joseph lifted his sons off Israel’s knees. Joseph bowed down with his face to the ground. ¹³ He placed Ephraim on his right, toward Israel’s left hand. He placed Manasseh on his left, toward Israel’s right hand. Then he brought them close to Israel. ¹⁴ But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head. He did it even though Ephraim was the younger son. He crossed his arms and put his left hand on Manasseh’s head. He did it even though Manasseh was the older son.

¹⁵ Then Israel gave Joseph his blessing. He said,

¹⁷ Joseph saw his father putting his right hand on Ephraim’s head. And Joseph didn’t like it. So he took hold of his father’s hand to move it over to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to him, “No, my father. Here’s my older son. Put your right hand on his head.”

¹⁹ But his father wouldn’t do it. He said, “I know, my son. I know. He too will become a nation. He too will become great. But his younger brother will be greater than he is. His children after him will become a group of nations.” ²⁰ On that day, Jacob gave them his blessing. He said,

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “I’m about to die. But God will be with all of you. He’ll take you back to the land of your fathers. ²² But to you, Joseph, I am giving more land than your brothers. I’m giving you the land I took from the Amorites. I took it with my sword and bow.”

The Story of the Farmer

13 That same day Jesus left the house and sat by the Sea of Galilee. ² Large crowds gathered around him. So he got into a boat and sat down. All the people stood on the shore. ³ Then he told them many things using stories. He said, “A farmer went out to plant his seed. ⁴ He scattered the seed on the ground. Some fell on a path. Birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some seed fell on rocky places, where there wasn’t much soil. The plants came up quickly, because the soil wasn’t deep. ⁶ When the sun came up, it burned the plants. They dried up because they had no roots. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and crowded out the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It produced a crop 100, 60 or 30 times more than what was planted. ⁹ Whoever has ears should listen.”

¹⁰ The disciples came to him. They asked, “Why do you use stories when you speak to the people?”

¹¹ He replied, “Because you have been given the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. It has not been given to outsiders. ¹² Everyone who has this kind of knowledge will be given more knowledge. In fact, they will have very much. If anyone doesn’t have this kind of knowledge, even what little they have will be taken away from them. ¹³ Here is why I use stories when I speak to the people. I say,

¹⁴ In them the words of the prophet Isaiah come true. He said,

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see. And blessed are your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ What I’m about to tell you is true. Many prophets and godly people wanted to see what you see. But they didn’t see it. They wanted to hear what you hear. But they didn’t hear it.

¹⁸ “Listen! Here is the meaning of the story of the farmer. ¹⁹ People hear the message about the kingdom but do not understand it. Then the evil one comes. He steals what was planted in their hearts. Those people are like the seed planted on a path. ²⁰ The seed that fell on rocky places is like other people. They hear the message and at once receive it with joy. ²¹ But they have no roots. So they last only a short time. They quickly fall away from the faith when trouble or suffering comes because of the message. ²² The seed that fell among the thorns is like others who hear the message. But then the worries of this life and the false promises of wealth crowd it out. They keep the message from producing fruit. ²³ But the seed that fell on good soil is like those who hear the message and understand it. They produce a crop 100, 60 or 30 times more than the farmer planted.”

The Story of the Weeds

²⁴ Jesus told the crowd another story. “Here is what the kingdom of heaven is like,” he said. “A man planted good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came. The enemy planted weeds among the wheat and then went away. ²⁶ The wheat began to grow and form grain. At the same time, weeds appeared.

²⁷ “The owner’s slaves came to him. They said, ‘Sir, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’

²⁸ “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The slaves asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’

²⁹ “ ‘No,’ the owner answered. ‘While you are pulling up the weeds, you might pull up the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the workers what to do. Here is what I will say to them. First collect the weeds. Tie them in bundles to be burned. Then gather the wheat. Bring it into my storeroom.’ ”