Genesis

Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.

1Joseph went to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He said, "My father and my brothers have come from the land of Canaan. They brought their sheep, their cows, and everything they own. They are in the land of Goshen now."

2And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.

2Joseph picked five of his brothers. He brought them in to meet Pharaoh.

3And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.

3Pharaoh asked the brothers, "What kind of work do you do?" They said, "We take care of sheep, sir. Our fathers did the same work."

4They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.

4They also said, "We came to live here for a while. The hunger in Canaan is very bad. There is no grass left for our animals to eat. Please let us stay in the land of Goshen."

5And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:

5Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you."

6The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.

6"All of Egypt is open to you. Give your father and brothers the best land. Let them live in Goshen. If some of them are good with animals, put them in charge of mine."

7And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

7Joseph brought his father Jacob in to meet Pharaoh. Jacob asked God to bless Pharaoh.

8And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?

8Pharaoh asked Jacob, "How old are you?"

9And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

9Jacob said, "I have traveled from place to place for 130 years. My years have been few and hard. I have not lived as long as my father and grandfather did."

10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

10Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again and left the room.

11And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

11Joseph gave his father and brothers land of their own in Egypt. It was the best land, near a city called Rameses. Pharaoh had told him to do this.

12And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to their families.

12Joseph gave food to his father, his brothers, and everyone in the family. Each family got what it needed.

13And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.

13There was no food anywhere. The hunger was so bad that the people of Egypt and Canaan grew weak.

14And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.

14People paid money to buy grain from Joseph. Joseph gathered up all the money in Egypt and Canaan. He brought it to Pharaoh's house.

NoteThe KJV says "corn." In 1611 that word meant grain of any kind, like wheat, not corn on the cob.

15And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.

15At last the money ran out in Egypt and Canaan. All the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, "Give us food! Our money is gone. Must we die right in front of you?"

16And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.

16Joseph said, "Then bring me your animals. If your money is gone, I will trade food for them."

17And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.

17So they brought their animals to Joseph. He gave them food and took their horses, sheep, cows, and donkeys. All that year he fed them in trade for their animals.

18When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:

18When that year ended, they came back the next year. They said, "Sir, we will not hide anything from you. Our money is spent. You already have our animals. All we have left is our own bodies and our land."

19Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.

19"Must we die while you watch, and our land go bare? Buy us and our land in trade for food. Then we and our land will belong to Pharaoh. Give us seed so we can live and the fields will not be empty."

20And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s.

20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his field, because the hunger was so bad. The land became Pharaoh's land.

21And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.

21Joseph moved the people into the cities. He did this everywhere, from one end of Egypt to the other.

NoteThe old English here is hard to read. It may mean Joseph moved people into the cities, or that he made them Pharaoh's servants.

22Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.

22He did not buy the land of the priests, the men who served Egypt's gods. Pharaoh already gave them food to eat. So they did not have to sell their land.

23Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.

23Then Joseph said to the people, "Today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed. Go plant it in the ground."

24And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.

24"When the crops grow, give one part out of five to Pharaoh. Keep the other four parts. Use them for seed and for food, for you, your families, and your little children."

25And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.

25The people said, "You have saved our lives. Please be kind to us, sir. We will be Pharaoh's servants."

26And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh’s.

26Joseph made this a law for all of Egypt: Pharaoh gets one part out of five. That law is still kept today. Only the priests' land did not become Pharaoh's.

27And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.

27Jacob's family, also called Israel, lived in Egypt, in the land of Goshen. They got land of their own there. They had many children and grew into a big people.

28And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.

28Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years. He was 147 years old in all.

29And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:

29The time was coming when Jacob would die. He called his son Joseph and said, "If you care for me, put your hand under my leg and promise. Be kind and keep your word to me. Please do not bury me in Egypt."

NotePutting a hand under someone's leg was an old way of making a very serious promise.

30But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

30"When I die, carry my body out of Egypt. Bury me where my family is buried." Joseph said, "I will do just what you asked."

31And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.

31Jacob said, "Give me your word." So Joseph gave his word. Then Israel bowed his head at the top of his bed.