Genesis 47

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers have come from the land of Canaan, with their flocks and herds and everything else they own; and they are now in the region of Goshen."	1 Then Joseph went in and told Pharao, saying: My father and brethren, their sheep and their herds, and all that they possess, are come out of the land of Chanaan: and behold they stay in the land of Gessen.
2 He then presented to Pharaoh five of his brothers whom he had selected from their full number.	2 Five men also the last of his brethren, he presented before the king:
3 When Pharaoh asked them what their occupation was, they answered, "We, your servants, like our ancestors, are shepherds.	3 And he asked them: What is your occupation? They answered: Re thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.
4 We have come," they continued, "in order to stay in this country, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks in the land of Canaan, so severe has the famine been there. Please, therefore, let your servants settle in the region of Goshen."	4 We are come to sojourn in thy land, because there is no grass for the flocks of thy servants, the famine being very grievous in the land of Chanaan: and we pray thee to give orders that we thy servants may be in the land of Gessen.
5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "They may settle in the region of Goshen; and if you know any of them to be qualified, you may put them in charge of my own livestock." Thus, when Jacob and his sons came to Joseph in Egypt, and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, heard about it, Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Now that your father and brothers have come to you,	5 The king therefore said to Joseph: Thy father and thy brethren are come to thee.
6 the land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and brothers in the pick of the land."	6 The land of Egypt is before thee: make them dwell in the best place, and give them the land of Gessen. And if thou knowest that there are industrious men among them, make them rulers over my cattle.
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh. After Jacob had paid his respects to Pharaoh,	7 After this Joseph brought in his to the king, and presented him before him: and he blessed him.
8 Pharaoh asked him, "How many years have you lived?"	8 And being asked by him: How many are the days of the years of thy life?
9 Jacob replied: "The years I have lived as a wayfarer amount to a hundred and thirty. Few and hard have been these years of my life, and they do not compare with the years that my ancestors lived as wayfarers."	9 He answered: The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few, and evil, and they are not come up to the days of the pilgrimage of my fathers.
10 Then Jacob bade Pharaoh farewell and withdrew from his presence.	10 And blessing the king, he went out.
11 As Pharaoh had ordered, Joseph settled his father and brothers and gave them holdings in Egypt on the pick of the land, in the region of Rameses.	11 But Joseph gave a possession to his father and his brethren in Egypt, in the best place of the land, in Ramesses, as Pharao had commanded.
12 And Joseph sustained his father and brothers and his father's whole household, down to the youngest, with food.	12 And he nourished them, and all his father's house, allowing food to every one.
13 Since there was no food in any country because of the extreme severity of the famine, and the lands of Egypt and Canaan were languishing from hunger,	13 For in the whole world there was want of bread, and a famine had oppressed the land: more especially of Egypt and Chanaan.
14 Joseph gathered in, as payment for the rations that were being dispensed, all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan, and he put it in Pharaoh's palace.	14 Out of which he gathered up all the money for the corn which they bought, and brought it into the king's treasure.
15 When all the money in Egypt and Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, pleading, "Give us food or we shall perish under your eyes; for our money is gone."	15 And when the buyers wanted money, all Egypt came to Joseph, saying: Give us bread: why should we die in thy presence, having now net money.
16 "Since your money is gone," replied Joseph, "give me your livestock, and I will sell you bread in return for your livestock."	16 And he answered them: Bring your cattle, and for them I will give you food, if you have no money.
17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he sold them food in return for their horses, their flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, and their donkeys. Thus he got them through that year with bread in exchange for all their livestock.	17 And when they had brought them, he gave them food in exchange for their horses, and sheep, and oxen, end asses and he maintained them that year for the exchange of their cattle.
18 When that year ended, they came to him in the following one and said: "We cannot hide from my lord that, with our money spent and our livestock made over to my lord, there is nothing left to put at my lord's disposal except our bodies and our farm land.	18 And they came the second year, and said to him: We will not hide from our lord, how that our money is spent, and our cattle also are gone: neither art thou ignorant that we have nothing now left but our bodies and our lands.
19 Why should we and our land perish before your very eyes? Take us and our land in exchange for food, and we will become Pharaoh's slaves and our land his property; only give us seed, that we may survive and not perish, and that our land may not turn into a waste."	19 Why therefore shall we die before thy eyes? we will be thins, both we and our lands: buy us to be the king's servants, and give us seed, lest for want of tillers the land be turned into a wilderness.
20 Thus Joseph acquired all the farm land of Egypt for Pharaoh, since with the famine too much for them to bear, every Egyptian sold his field; so the land passed over to Pharaoh,	20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, every man selling his possessions, because of the greatness of the famine. And he brought it into Pharao's hands:
21 and the people were reduced to slavery, from one end of Egypt's territory to the other.	21 And all its people from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to the other end thereof,
22 Only the priests' lands Joseph did not take over. Since the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived off the allowance Pharaoh had granted them, they did not have to sell their land.	22 Except the land of the priests, which had been given them by the king: to whom also a certain allowance of food was given out of the public stores, and therefore they were not forced to sell their possessions.
23 Joseph told the people: "Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh, here is your seed for sowing the land.	23 Then Joseph said to the people : Behold as you see, both you and your lands belong to Pharao: take seed and sow the fields,
24 But when the harvest is in, you must give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, while you keep four-fifths as seed for your fields and as food for yourselves and your families (and as food for your children)."	24 That you may have corn. The fifth part you shall give to the king: the other four you shall have for seed, and for food for your families and children.
25 "You have saved our lives!" they answered. "We are grateful to my lord that we can be Pharaoh's slaves."	25 And they answered: Our life is in thy hand: only let my lord look favourably upon us, and we will gladly serve the king.
26 Thus Joseph made it a law for the land in Egypt, which is still in force, that a fifth of its produce should go to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not pass over to Pharaoh.	26 From that time unto this day, in the whole land of Egypt, the fifth part is paid to the king, and it is become as a law, except the land of the priests, which was free from this covenant.
27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. There they acquired property, were fertile, and increased greatly.	27 So Israel dwelt in Egypt, that is, in the land of Gessen, and possessed it: and grew, and was multiplied exceedingly.
28 Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for seventeen years; the span of his life came to a hundred and forty-seven years.	28 And he lived in it seventeen years: and all the days of his life came to a hundred and forty-seven years.
29 When the time approached for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him: "If you really wish to please me, put your hand under my thigh as a sign of your constant loyalty to me; do not let me be buried in Egypt.	29 And when he saw that the day of his death drew nigh, he called his son Joseph, and said to him: If I have found favour in thy sight, put thy hand under my thigh; and thou shalt shew me this kindness and truth, not to bury me in Egypt:
30 When I lie down with my ancestors, have me taken out of Egypt and buried in their burial place."	30 But I will sleep with my fathers, end thou shalt take me away out of this land, and bury me in the burying place of my ancestors. And Joseph answered him: I will do what thou hast commanded.
31 "I will do as you say," he replied. But his father demanded, "Swear it to me!" So Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed at the head of the bed.	31 And he said: Swear then to me. And as he was swearing, Israel adored God, turning to the bed's head.