Genesis 47

Joseph’s Wise Administration

1 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father, my brothers, their flocks and herds, and all that they own have arrived from the land of
Canaan. They are nowt in the land of Goshen.”

2 He took five of his brothers and introduced them to Pharaoh.t
3 Pharaoh said to Joseph’st brothers, “What is your occupation?” They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants take care of flocks, just as our ancestors did.”t

4 Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live as temporary residentst in the land. Theret is no pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.”
5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.

6 The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best region of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any highly capable ment among them, put them in chargets of my livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented himt before Pharaoh. Jacob blesseds Pharaoh.8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How long have you lived?”t9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “Allt the years of my travelst are 130. Allt the years of my life have been few and painful;t the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors.”t

10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.t
11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers. He gave them territoryt in the land of Egypt, in the best region of the land, the land of Rameses,s just as Pharaoh had commanded.

12 Joseph also provided food for his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household, according to the number of their little children.
13 But there was no food in all the land because the famine was very severe; the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted awayt because of the famine.14 Joseph collected all the money that could be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan as paymentt for the grain they were buying. Then Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s palace.t

15 When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was used up, all the Egyptianst came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Why should we diet before your very eyes because our money has run out?”
16 Then Joseph said, “If your money is gone, bring your livestock, and I will give you foodt in exchange fort your livestock.”

17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for their horses, the livestock of their flocks and herds, and their donkeys.t He got them through that year by giving them food in exchange for livestock.
18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from ourt lord that the money is used up and the livestock and the animals belong to our lord. Nothing remains before our lord except our bodies and our land.

19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will becomet Pharaoh’s slaves.s Give us seed that we may livet and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.”t
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Eacht of the Egyptians sold his field, for the famine was severe.t So the land became Pharaoh’s.21 Josepht made all the people slavess from one end of Egypt’s border to the other end of it.

22 But he did not purchase the land of the priests because the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh and they ate from their allotment that Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Since I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Cultivatet the land.24 When you gather in the crop,t givet one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and the restt will be yours for seed for the fields and for you to eat, including those in your households and your little children.”

25 They replied, “You have saved our lives! You are showing us favor,t and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.”s

26 So Joseph made it a statute,t which is in effectt to this day throughout the land of Egypt: One-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

27 Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they owned land there. They were fruitful and increased rapidly in number.
28 Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; the yearst of Jacob’s life were 147 in all.29 The timet for Israel to die approached, so he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thighs and show me kindness and faithfulness.t Do not bury me in Egypt,

30 but when I restt with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” Josepht said, “I will do as you say.”

31 Jacobt said, “Swear to me that you will do so.”t So Josepht gave him his word.t Then Israel bowed downs at the head of his bed.s

Genesis 48

Manasseh and Ephraim

1 After these things Joseph was told,t “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.2 When Jacob was told,t “Your son Joseph has justt come to you,” Israel regained strength and sat up on his bed.3 Jacob said to Joseph, “The sovereign Godt appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.

4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitfult and will multiply you.t I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendantst as an everlasting possession.’t
5 “Now, as for your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they will be mine.s Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are.6 Any children that you fathert after them will be yours; they will be listedt under the names of their brothers in their inheritance.s

7 But as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died – to my sorrowt – in the land of Canaan. It happened along the way, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).
8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are these?”9 Joseph said to his father, “They are thet sons God has given me in this place.” His fathert said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.”t10 Now Israel’s eyes were failingts because of his age; he was not able to see well. So Josepht brought his sonst near to him, and his fathert kissed them and embraced them.

11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expectedt to see yout again, but now God has allowed me to see your childrent too.”
12 So Joseph moved them from Israel’s kneest and bowed down with his face to the ground.13 Joseph positioned them;t he put Ephraim on his right hand across from Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh on his left hand across from Israel’s right hand. Then Joseph brought them closer to his father.t

14 Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger.t Crossing his hands, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,
“May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked –
the God who has been my shepherdt
all my life long to this day,

16 the Angels who has protected met
from all harm –
bless these boys.
May my name be named in them,t
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him.t So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

18 Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitudet of nations.”

20 So he blessed them that day, saying,
“By yout will Israel bless,t saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”
So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.s
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with yout and will bring you back to the land of your fathers.

22 As one who is above yourt brothers, I give to you the mountain slope,t which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

Genesis 49

The Blessing of Jacob

1 Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather together so I can tell yout what will happen to you in the future.t

2 “Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel, your father.

3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might and the beginning of my strength,
outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power.

4 You are destructivet like water and will not excel,t
for you got on your father’s bed,s
then you defiled it – he got on my couch!t

5 Simeon and Levi are brothers,
weapons of violence are their knives!t

6 O my soul, do not come into their council,
do not be united to their assembly, my heart,t
for in their anger they have killed men,
and for pleasure they have hamstrung oxen.

7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce,
and their fury, for it was cruel.
I will divide them in Jacob,
and scatter them in Israel!s

8 Judah,s your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies,
your father’s sons will bow down before you.

9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah,
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches and lies down like a lion;
like a lioness – who will rouse him?

10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,t
until he comes to whom it belongs;t
the nations will obey him.t

11 Binding his foal to the vine,
and his colt to the choicest vine,
he will washt his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes will be dark from wine,
and his teeth white from milk.t

13 Zebulun will livet by the haven of the sea
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend to Sidon.

14 Issachar is a strong-boned donkey
lying down between two saddlebags.

15 When he seest a good resting place,
and the pleasant land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and become a slave laborer.s

16 Dans will judget his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 May Dan be a snake beside the road,
a viper by the path,
that bites the heels of the horse
so that its rider falls backward.s

18 I wait for your deliverance, O Lord.s

19 Gad will be raided by marauding bands,
but he will attack them at their heels.ss

20 Asher’ss food will be rich,t
and he will provide delicaciest to royalty.

21 Naphtali is a free running doe,t
he speaks delightful words.ts

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough,t
a fruitful bough near a spring
whose branchest climb over the wall.

23 The archers will attack him,t
they will shoot at him and oppose him.

24 But his bow will remain steady,
and his handst will be skillful;
because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because oft the Shepherd, the Rockt of Israel,

25 because of the God of your father,
who will help you,t
because of the sovereign God,t
who will bless yout
with blessings from the sky above,
blessings from the deep that lies below,
and blessings of the breasts and womb.s

26 The blessings of your father are greater
thant the blessings of the eternal mountainst
or the desirable things of the age-old hills.
They will be on the head of Joseph
and on the brow of the prince of his brothers.t

27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning devouring the prey,
and in the evening dividing the plunder.”

28 Theset are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each of them an appropriate blessing.t
29 Then he instructed them,t “I am about to got to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.30 It is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought for a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite.31 There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah.

32 The field and the cave in it were acquired from the sons of Heth.”t

33 When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last breath, and wentt to his people.