1 And Joseph came and reported to Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen.2 And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.3 And Pharaoh said to his brothers, What is your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh, Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.4 And they said to Pharaoh, We have come to sojourn in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.5 And 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 brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any men with ability among them, make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.7 And Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, How many are the days of the years of your life?9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.11 And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them property in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.12 And Joseph sustained his father, his brothers, and all his fathers house with food, according to the mouths of the children.13 And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaohs house.15 And when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.16 And Joseph said, Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money has failed.17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our cattle and livestock. Nothing remains before 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 bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land not be desolate.20 And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaohs.21 And as for the people, he moved them into the 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 portions prescribed to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their portions which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.23 Then Joseph said to the people, Behold, I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Behold, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.24 And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh; and four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your houses and as food for your little ones.25 And they said, You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the eyes of my lord, and we will be Pharaohs servants.26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaohs.27 And Israel remained in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they settled on property they owned there and grew and multiplied exceedingly.28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacobs life was one hundred and forty-seven years.29 And the time drew near for Israel to die. And he called his son Joseph and said to him, Now if I have found favor in your eyes, 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. You shall 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. And Israel prostrated himself on the head of the bed.
1 Therfor Joseph entride, and telde to Farao, and seide, My fadir and brethren, the scheep and grete beestis of hem, and alle thingis whiche thei welden, camen fro the lond of Canaan; and lo! thei stonden in the lond of Gessen.2 And he ordeynede fyue, the laste men of hise britheren, bifore the kyng,3 whiche he axide, What werk han ye? Thei answeriden, We thi seruauntis ben kepers of scheep, bothe we and oure faderis;4 we camen in to thi lond to be pilgrymys, for noo gras is to the flockis of thi seruauntis; hungur wexith greuouse in the lond of Canaan, and we axen that thou comaunde vs thi seruauntis to be in the lond of Gessen.5 And so the kyng seide to Joseph, Thi fadir and thi britheren camen to thee;6 the lond of Egipt is in thi siyt, make thou hem to dwelle in the beste place, and yyue thou to hem the lond of Gessen; that if thou woost that witti men ben in hem, ordeyne thou hem maystris of my beestis.7 After these thingis Joseph brouyte in his fader to the king, and settide him bifor the king, which blesside the king;8 and he was axid of the king, Hou many ben the daies of the yeeris of thi lijf?9 And he answeride, The daies of pilgrymage of my lijf, ben feewe and yuele, of an hundrid and thretti yeer, and tho `camen not til to the daies of my fadris, in whiche thei weren pilgryms.10 And whanne he hadde blessid the kyng, he yede out.11 Forsothe Joseph yaf to hise fadir and britheren possessioun in Egipt, in Ramasses, the beste soile of erthe, as Farao comaundide;12 and he fedde hem, and al the hows of his fadir, and yaf metis to alle.13 For breed failide in al the world, and hungur oppresside the lond, moost of Egipt and of Canaan;14 of whiche londis he gaderide al the money for the sillyng of wheete, and brouyte it in to the `tresorie of the kyng.15 And whanne prijs failide to the bieris, al Egipt cam to Joseph, and seide, Yyue thou `looues to vs; whi shulen we die bifore thee, while monei failith?16 To whiche he answeride, Brynge ye youre beestis, and Y schal yyue to you metis for tho, if ye han not prijs.17 And whanne thei hadden brouyt tho, he yaf to hem metis for horsis, and scheep, and oxun, and assis; and he susteynede hem in that yeer for the chaungyng of beestis.18 And thei camen in the secunde yeer, and seiden to hym, We helen not fro oure lord, that the while monei failith, also beestis failiden togidere, nether it is hid fro thee, that with out bodies and lond we han no thing;19 whi therfor schulen we die, while thou seest? bothe we and oure lond schulen be thine, bie thou vs in to the kyngis seruage, and yyue thou seedis, lest the while the tiliere perischith, the lond be turned in to wildirnesse.20 Therfor Joseph bouyte al the lond of Egipt, while all men seelden her possessiouns, for the greetnesse of hungur;21 and he made it and alle puplis therof suget to Farao, fro the laste termes of Egipt til to the laste endis therof,22 outakun the lond of preestis, that was youun of the kyng to hem, to whiche preestis also metis weren youun of the comun bernys, and therfor thei weren not compellid to sille her possessiouns.23 Therfor Joseph seide to the puplis, Lo! as ye seen, Farao weldith bothe you and youre lond; take ye seedis, and `sowe ye feeldis,24 that ye moun haue fruytis; ye schulen yyue the fifthe part to the kyng; Y suffre to you the foure residue partis in to seed and in to meetis, to you, and to youre fre children.25 Whiche answeriden, Oure helthe is in thin hond; oneli oure God biholde vs, and we schulen ioifuli serue the kyng.26 For that tyme til in to present dai, in al the lond of Egipt, the fyuethe part is paied to the kyngis, and it is maad as in to a lawe, with out the lond of preestis, that was fre fro this condicioun.27 Therfor Israel dwellide in Egipt, that is, in the lond of Jessen, and weldide it; and he was encreessid and multiplied ful mych.28 And he lyuede therynne sixtene yeer; and alle the daies of his lijf weren maad of an hundrid and seuene and fourti yeer.29 And whanne he seiy the dai of deeth nyye, he clepide his sone Joseph, and seide to hym, If Y haue founde grace in thi siyt; putte thin hond vndur myn hipe, and thou schal do merci and treuthe to me, that thou birie not me in Egipt;30 but `Y schal slepe with my fadris, and take thou awey me fro this lond, and birie in the sepulcre of my grettere. To whom Joseph answeride, Y schal do that that thou comaundist.31 And Israel seide, Therfor swere thou to me; and whanne Joseph swoor, Israel turnede to the heed of the bed, and worschipide God.