Genesis 49

Jacob Blesses His Sons

1 t1 Jacob called his sons together and said: My sons, I am Jacob,
your father Israel.

2 Come, gather around, as I tell your future.

3 Reuben, you are my oldest, born at the peak of my powers;
you were an honored leader.

4 Uncontrollable as a flood, you slept with my wife
and disgraced my bed.
And so you no longer deserve
the place of honor.

5 Simeon and Levi, you are brothers,
each a gruesome sword.

6 I never want to take part in your plans or deeds.
You slaughtered people
in your anger,
and you crippled cattle
for no reason.

7 Now I place a curse on you because of
your fierce anger.
Your descendants
will be scattered
among the tribes of Israel.

8 Judah, you will be praised by your brothers;
they will bow down to you,
as you defeat your enemies.

9 t9My son, you are a lion ready to eat your victim!
You are terribly fierce;
no one will bother you.

10 You will have power and rule until nations obey you t and come bringing gifts.

11 You will tie your donkey to a choice grapevine
and wash your clothes
in wine from those grapes.

12 Your eyes are darker than wine, your teeth whiter than milk.

13 Zebulun, you will settle along the seashore
and provide safe harbors
as far north as Sidon.

14 Issachar, you are a strong donkey resting in the meadows. t

15 You found them so pleasant that you worked too hard
and became a slave.

16 Dan,t you are the tribe that will bring justice
to Israel.

17 You are a snake that bites the heel of a horse,
making its rider fall.

18 Our Lord, I am waiting for you to save us.

19 Gad,t you will be attacked, then attack your attackers.

20 Asher, you will eat food fancy enough for a king.

21 Naphtali, you are a wild deer with lovely fawns. t

22 Joseph, you are a fruitful vine growing near a stream
and climbing a wall. t

23 Enemies attacked with arrows, refusing to show mercy.

24 But you stood your ground, swiftly shooting back
with the help of Jacob’s God,
the All-Powerful One—
his name is the Shepherd,
Israel’s mighty rock. t

25 Your help came from the God your father worshiped,
from God All-Powerful.
God will bless you with rain
and streams from the earth;
he will bless you
with many descendants.

26 My son, the blessings I give are better than the promise
of ancient mountains
or eternal hills. t Joseph, I pray these blessings
will come to you,
because you are the leader
of your brothers.

27 Benjamin, you are a fierce wolf, destroying your enemies
morning and evening.

28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is how Jacob gave each of them their proper blessings.

Jacob’s Death

29-31 tt29-31 Jacob told his sons: Soon I will die, and I want you to bury me in Machpelah Cave. Abraham bought this cave as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, and it is near the town of Mamre in Canaan. Abraham and Sarah are buried there, and so are Isaac and Rebekah. I buried Leah there too.

32 Both the cave and the land that goes with it were bought from the Hittites.

33 t When Jacob had finished giving these instructions to his sons, he lay down on his bed and died.

Genesis 50

1 Joseph started crying, then leaned over to hug and kiss his father.
2 Joseph gave orders for Jacob’s body to be embalmed,3 and it took the usual forty days. The Egyptians mourned seventy days for Jacob.4 When the time of mourning was over, Joseph said to the Egyptian leaders, “If you consider me your friend, please speak to the kingt for me.

5 t5 Just before my father died, he made me promise to bury him in his burial cave in Canaan. If the king will give me permission to go, I will come back here.”

6 The king answered, “Go to Canaan and keep your promise to your father.”

7-9 When Joseph left Goshen with his brothers, his relatives, and his father’s relatives to bury Jacob, many of the king’s highest officials and even his military chariots and cavalry went along. The Israelites left behind only their children, their cattle, and their sheep and goats.
10 After crossing the Jordan River and reaching Atad’s threshing place, Joseph had everyone mourn and weep seven days for his father.

11 The Canaanites saw this and said, “The Egyptians are in great sorrow.” Then they named the place “Egypt in Sorrow.” t
12 So Jacob’s sons did just as their father had instructed.

13 t13 They took him to Canaan and buried him in Machpelah Cave, the burial place Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite.
14 After the funeral, Joseph, his brothers, and everyone else returned to Egypt.

Joseph’s Promise to His Brothers

15 After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers said to each other, “What if Joseph still hates us and wants to get even with us for all the cruel things we did to him?”

16 So they sent this message to Joseph: Before our father died,

17 he told us, “You did some cruel and terrible things to Joseph, but you must ask him to forgive you.” Now we ask you to please forgive the terrible things we did. After all, we serve the same God that your father worshiped.
When Joseph heard this, he started crying.

18 Right then, Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to the ground in front of him and said, “We are your slaves.”
19 But Joseph told them, “Don’t be afraid! I have no right to change what God has decided.20 You tried to harm me, but God made it turn out for the best, so that he could save all these people, as he is now doing.21 Don’t be afraid! I will take care of you and your children.” After Joseph said this, his brothers felt much better.

Joseph’s Death

22 Joseph lived in Egypt with his brothers until he died at the age of one hundred ten.23 Joseph lived long enough to see Ephraim’s children and grandchildren. He also lived to see the children of Manasseh’s son Machir, and he welcomed them into his family.24 Before Joseph died, he told his brothers, “I won’t live much longer. But God will take care of you and lead you out of Egypt to the land he promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

25 t25 Now promise me that you will take my body with you when God leads you to that land.”
26 So Joseph died in Egypt at the age of one hundred ten; his body was embalmed and put in a coffin.

Exodus 1

The People of Israel Suffer

1-5 t 1-5 When Jacob went to Egypt, his son Joseph was already there. So Jacob took his eleven other sons and their families. They were: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. Altogether, Jacob had seventy children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildrent who went with him.
6 After Joseph, his brothers, and everyone else in that generation had died,

7 t7 the people of Israel became so numerous that the whole region of Goshen was full of them.
8 t Many years later a new king came to power. He did not know what Joseph had done for Egypt,9 and he told the Egyptians: There are too many of those Israelites in our country, and they are becoming more powerful than we are.

10 t10 If we don’t outsmart them, their families will keep growing larger. And if our country goes to war, they could easily fight on the side of our enemies and escape from Egypt.
11 The Egyptians put slave bosses in charge of the people of Israel and tried to wear them down with hard work. Those bosses forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses,t where the kingt could store his supplies.12 But even though the Israelites were mistreated, their families grew larger, and they took over more land. Because of this, the Egyptians hated them worse than before13 and made them work so hard

14 that their lives were miserable. The Egyptians were cruel to the people of Israel and forced them to make bricks and to mix mortar and to work in the fields.
15 Finally, the king called in Shiphrah and Puah, the two women who helped the Hebrewt mothers when they gave birth.

16 He told them, “If a Hebrew woman gives birth to a girl, let the child live. If the baby is a boy, kill him!”
17 But the two women were faithful to God and did not kill the boys, even though the king had told them to.

18 The king called them in again and asked, “Why are you letting those baby boys live?”
19 They answered, “Hebrew women have their babies much quicker than Egyptian women. By the time we arrive, their babies are already born.”20-21 God was good to the two women because they truly respected him, and he blessed them with children of their own. The Hebrews kept increasing

22 t22 until finally, the king gave a command to everyone in the nation, “As soon as a Hebrew boy is born, throw him into the Nile River! But you can let the girls live.”