Читать книгу Bible - Various Authors , Government of Brandenburg - Страница 6

32:1 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 32:2 When he saw them, Jacob said, "This is God's army." He called the name of that place Mahanaim.

32:3 Jacob sent messengers in front of him to Esau, his brother, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, saying, "This is what you shall tell my lord, Esau: 'This is what your servant, Jacob, says. I have lived as a foreigner with Laban, and stayed until now. 32:5 I have cattle, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.'" 32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother Esau. Not only that, but he comes to meet you, and four hundred men with him." 32:7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two companies; 32:8 and he said, "If Esau comes to the one company, and strikes it, then the company which is left will escape." 32:9 Jacob said, "God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Yahweh, who said to me, 'Return to your country, and to your relatives, and I will do you good,' 32:10 I am not worthy of the least of all the loving kindnesses, and of all the truth, which you have shown to your servant; for with just my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I have become two companies. 32:11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he come and strike me, and the mothers with the children. 32:12 You said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your seed as the sand of the sea, which can't be numbered because there are so many.'"

32:13 He lodged there that night, and took from that which he had with him, a present for Esau, his brother: 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 32:15 thirty milk camels and their colts, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. 32:16 He delivered them into the hands of his servants, every herd by itself, and said to his servants, "Pass over before me, and put a space between herd and herd." 32:17 He commanded the foremost, saying, "When Esau, my brother, meets you, and asks you, saying, 'Whose are you? Where are you going? Whose are these before you?' 32:18 Then you shall say, 'They are your servant, Jacob's. It is a present sent to my lord, Esau. Behold, he also is behind us.'" 32:19 He commanded also the second, and the third, and all that followed the herds, saying, "This is how you shall speak to Esau, when you find him. 32:20 You shall say, 'Not only that, but behold, your servant, Jacob, is behind us.'" For, he said, "I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will accept me."

32:21 So the present passed over before him, and he himself lodged that night in the camp.

32:22 He rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford of the Jabbok. 32:23 He took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over that which he had. 32:24 Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day. 32:25 When he saw that he didn't prevail against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled. 32:26 The man said, "Let me go, for the day breaks."

Jacob said, "I won't let you go, unless you bless me."

32:27 He said to him, "What is your name?"

He said, "Jacob." 32:28 He said, "Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed."

32:29 Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name."

He said, "Why is it that you ask what my name is?" He blessed him there.

32:30 Jacob called the name of the place Peniel17: for, he said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." 32:31 The sun rose on him as he passed over Peniel, and he limped because of his thigh. 32:32 Therefore the children of Israel don't eat the sinew of the hip, which is on the hollow of the thigh, to this day, because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip.

33:1 Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau was coming, and with him four hundred men. He divided the children between Leah, Rachel, and the two handmaids. 33:2 He put the handmaids and their children in front, Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph at the rear. 33:3 He himself passed over in front of them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

33:4 Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, fell on his neck, kissed him, and they wept. 33:5 He lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, "Who are these with you?"

He said, "The children whom God has graciously given your servant." 33:6 Then the handmaids came near with their children, and they bowed themselves. 33:7 Leah also and her children came near, and bowed themselves. After them, Joseph came near with Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

33:8 Esau said, "What do you mean by all this company which I met?"

Jacob said, "To find favor in the sight of my lord."

33:9 Esau said, "I have enough, my brother; let that which you have be yours."

33:10 Jacob said, "Please, no, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present at my hand, because I have seen your face, as one sees the face of God, and you were pleased with me. 33:11 Please take the gift that I brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough." He urged him, and he took it.

33:12 Esau said, "Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before you."

33:13 Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are tender, and that the flocks and herds with me have their young, and if they overdrive them one day, all the flocks will die. 33:14 Please let my lord pass over before his servant, and I will lead on gently, according to the pace of the livestock that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord to Seir."

33:15 Esau said, "Let me now leave with you some of the folk who are with me."

He said, "Why? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord."

33:16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 33:17 Jacob traveled to Succoth, built himself a house, and made shelters for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.18

33:18 Jacob came in peace to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Paddan Aram; and encamped before the city. 33:19 He bought the parcel of ground where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for one hundred pieces of money. 33:20 He erected an altar there, and called it El Elohe Israel.19

34:1 Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 34:2 Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her. 34:3 His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady. 34:4 Shechem spoke to his father, Hamor, saying, "Get me this young lady as a wife."

34:5 Now Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah, his daughter; and his sons were with his livestock in the field. Jacob held his peace until they came. 34:6 Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to talk with him. 34:7 The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had done folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; a which thing ought not to be done. 34:8 Hamor talked with them, saying, "The soul of my son, Shechem, longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. 34:9 Make marriages with us. Give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. 34:10 You shall dwell with us, and the land will be before you. Live and trade in it, and get possessions in it."

34:11 Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you will tell me I will give. 34:12 Ask me a great amount for a dowry, and I will give whatever you ask of me, but give me the young lady as a wife."

34:13 The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit, and spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister, 34:14 and said to them, "We can't do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised; for that is a reproach to us. 34:15 Only on this condition will we consent to you. If you will be as we are, that every male of you be circumcised; 34:16 then will we give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 34:17 But if you will not listen to us, to be circumcised, then we will take our sister,20 and we will be gone."

34:18 Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor's son. 34:19 The young man didn't wait to do this thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter, and he was honored above all the house of his father. 34:20 Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying, 34:21 "These men are peaceful with us. Therefore let them live in the land and trade in it. For behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. 34:22 Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people, if every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised. 34:23 Won't their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let us give our consent to them, and they will dwell with us."

34:24 All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor, and to Shechem his son; and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city. 34:25 It happened on the third day, when they were sore, that two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword, came upon the unsuspecting city, and killed all the males. 34:26 They killed Hamor and Shechem, his son, with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went away. 34:27 Jacob's sons came on the dead, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. 34:28 They took their flocks, their herds, their donkeys, that which was in the city, that which was in the field, 34:29 and all their wealth. They took captive all their little ones and their wives, and took as plunder everything that was in the house. 34:30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have troubled me, to make me odious to the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I am few in number. They will gather themselves together against me and strike me, and I will be destroyed, I and my house."

34:31 They said, "Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?"

35:1 God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother."

35:2 Then Jacob said to his household, and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, change your garments. 35:3 Let us arise, and go up to Bethel. I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went."

35:4 They gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. 35:5 They traveled, and a terror of God was on the cities that were around them, and they didn't pursue the sons of Jacob. 35:6 So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 35:7 He built an altar there, and called the place El Beth El; because there God was revealed to him, when he fled from the face of his brother. 35:8 Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and its name was called Allon Bacuth.

35:9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan Aram, and blessed him. 35:10 God said to him, "Your name is Jacob. Your name shall not be Jacob any more, but your name will be Israel." He named him Israel. 35:11 God said to him, "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will be from you, and kings will come out of your body. 35:12 The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and to your seed after you will I give the land."

35:13 God went up from him in the place where he spoke with him. 35:14 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it. 35:15 Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him "Bethel."

35:16 They traveled from Bethel. There was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and Rachel travailed. She had hard labor. 35:17 When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for now you will have another son."

35:18 It happened, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Benoni,21 but his father named him Benjamin.22 35:19 Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath (the same is Bethlehem). 35:20 Jacob set up a pillar on her grave. The same is the Pillar of Rachel's grave to this day. 35:21 Israel traveled, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 35:22 It happened, while Israel lived in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and Israel heard of it.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. 35:23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 35:24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 35:25 The sons of Bilhah (Rachel's handmaid): Dan and Naphtali. 35:26 The sons of Zilpah (Leah's handmaid): Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram. 35:27 Jacob came to Isaac his father, to Mamre, to Kiriath Arba (which is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac lived as foreigners.

35:28 The days of Isaac were one hundred eighty years. 35:29 Isaac gave up the spirit, and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him.

36:1 Now this is the history of the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). 36:2 Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon, the Hittite; and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, the Hivite; 36:3 and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebaioth. 36:4 Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz. Basemath bore Reuel. 36:5 Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 36:6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, with his livestock, all his animals, and all his possessions, which he had gathered in the land of Canaan, and went into a land away from his brother Jacob. 36:7 For their substance was too great for them to dwell together, and the land of their travels couldn't bear them because of their livestock. 36:8 Esau lived in the hill country of Seir. Esau is Edom.

36:9 This is the history of the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir: 36:10 these are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Adah, the wife of Esau; and Reuel, the son of Basemath, the wife of Esau. 36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. 36:12 Timna was concubine to Eliphaz, Esau's son; and she bore to Eliphaz Amalek. These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. 36:13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 36:14 These were the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

36:15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 36:16 chief Korah, chief Gatam, chief Amalek: these are the chiefs who came of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 36:17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah: these are the chiefs who came of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 36:18 These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah: these are the chiefs who came of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. 36:19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

36:20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 36:21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs who came of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. 36:22 The children of Lotan were Hori and Heman. Lotan's sister was Timna. 36:23 These are the children of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 36:24 These are the children of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he fed the donkeys of Zibeon his father. 36:25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. 36:26 These are the children of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 36:27 These are the children of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 36:28 These are the children of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 36:29 These are the chiefs who came of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 36:30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, and chief Dishan: these are the chiefs who came of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir.

36:31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the children of Israel. 36:32 Bela, the son of Beor, reigned in Edom. The name of his city was Dinhabah. 36:33 Bela died, and Jobab, the son of Zerah of Bozrah, reigned in his place. 36:34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 36:35 Husham died, and Hadad, the son of Bedad, who struck Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. The name of his city was Avith. 36:36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 36:37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth by the river, reigned in his place. 36:38 Shaul died, and Baal Hanan, the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 36:39 Baal Hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place. The name of his city was Pau. His wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

36:40 These are the names of the chiefs who came from Esau, according to their families, after their places, and by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 36:41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 36:42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 36:43 chief Magdiel, and chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom, according to their habitations in the land of their possession. This is Esau, the father of the Edomites.

37:1 Jacob lived in the land of his father's travels, in the land of Canaan. 37:2 This is the history of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father. 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a coat of many colors. 37:4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn't speak peaceably to him.

37:5 Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more. 37:6 He said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 37:7 for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf."

37:8 His brothers said to him, "Will you indeed reign over us? Or will you indeed have dominion over us?" They hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words. 37:9 He dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, "Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me." 37:10 He told it to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked him, and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to you to the earth?" 37:11 His brothers envied him, but his father kept this saying in mind.

37:12 His brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. 37:13 Israel said to Joseph, "Aren't your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." He said to him, "Here I am."

37:14 He said to him, "Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again." So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 37:15 A certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. The man asked him, "What are you looking for?"

37:16 He said, "I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are feeding the flock."

37:17 The man said, "They have left here, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'"

Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan. 37:18 They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. 37:19 They said one to another, "Behold, this dreamer comes. 37:20 Come now therefore, and let's kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, 'An evil animal has devoured him.' We will see what will become of his dreams."

37:21 Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, "Let's not take his life." 37:22 Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him"--that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father. 37:23 It happened, when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him; 37:24 and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.

37:25 They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. 37:26 Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 37:27 Come, and let's sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh." His brothers listened to him. 37:28 Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. They brought Joseph into Egypt.

37:29 Reuben returned to the pit; and saw that Joseph wasn't in the pit; and he tore his clothes. 37:30 He returned to his brothers, and said, "The child is no more; and I, where will I go?" 37:31 They took Joseph's coat, and killed a male goat, and dipped the coat in the blood. 37:32 They took the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, "We have found this. Examine it, now, whether it is your son's coat or not."

37:33 He recognized it, and said, "It is my son's coat. An evil animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces." 37:34 Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 37:35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, "For I will go down to Sheol23 to my son mourning." His father wept for him. 37:36 The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard.

38:1 It happened at that time, that Judah went down from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 38:2 Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her, and went in to her. 38:3 She conceived, and bore a son; and he named him Er. 38:4 She conceived again, and bore a son; and she named him Onan. 38:5 She yet again bore a son, and named him Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bore him. 38:6 Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 38:7 Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Yahweh. Yahweh killed him. 38:8 Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her, and raise up seed to your brother." 38:9 Onan knew that the seed wouldn't be his; and it happened, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother. 38:10 The thing which he did was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and he killed him also. 38:11 Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up;" for he said, "Lest he also die, like his brothers." Tamar went and lived in her father's house.

38:12 After many days, Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah, the Adullamite. 38:13 It was told Tamar, saying, "Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep." 38:14 She took off of her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she wasn't given to him as a wife. 38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought that she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 38:16 He turned to her by the way, and said, "Please come, let me come in to you," for he didn't know that she was his daughter-in-law.

She said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?"

38:17 He said, "I will send you a kid of the goats from the flock."

She said, "Will you give me a pledge, until you send it?"

38:18 He said, "What pledge will I give you?"

She said, "Your signet and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand."

He gave them to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him. 38:19 She arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. 38:20 Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend, the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman's hand, but he didn't find her. 38:21 Then he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the road?"

They said, "There has been no prostitute here."

38:22 He returned to Judah, and said, "I haven't found her; and also the men of the place said, 'There has been no prostitute here.'" 38:23 Judah said, "Let her keep it, lest we be shamed. Behold, I sent this kid, and you haven't found her."

38:24 It happened about three months later, that it was told Judah, saying, "Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has played the prostitute; and moreover, behold, she is with child by prostitution."

Judah said, "Bring her forth, and let her be burnt." 38:25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, "By the man, whose these are, I am with child." She also said, "Please discern whose are these--the signet, and the cords, and the staff."

38:26 Judah acknowledged them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, because I didn't give her to Shelah, my son."

He knew her again no more. 38:27 It happened in the time of her travail, that behold, twins were in her womb. 38:28 When she travailed, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, "This came out first." 38:29 It happened, as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out, and she said, "Why have you made a breach for yourself?" Therefore his name was called Perez.24 38:30 Afterward his brother came out, that had the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.25

39:1 Joseph was brought down to Egypt. Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites that had brought him down there. 39:2 Yahweh was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 39:3 His master saw that Yahweh was with him, and that Yahweh made all that he did prosper in his hand. 39:4 Joseph found favor in his sight. He ministered to him, and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. 39:5 It happened from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that Yahweh blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of Yahweh was on all that he had, in the house and in the field. 39:6 He left all that he had in Joseph's hand. He didn't concern himself with anything, except for the food which he ate.

Joseph was well-built and handsome. 39:7 It happened after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph; and she said, "Lie with me."

39:8 But he refused, and said to his master's wife, "Behold, my master doesn't know what is with me in the house, and he has put all that he has into my hand. 39:9 He isn't greater in this house than I, neither has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?"

39:10 As she spoke to Joseph day by day, he didn't listen to her, to lie by her, or to be with her. 39:11 About this time, he went into the house to do his work, and there were none of the men of the house inside. 39:12 She caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me!"

He left his garment in her hand, and ran outside. 39:13 When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and had run outside, 39:14 she called to the men of her house, and spoke to them, saying, "Behold, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice. 39:15 It happened, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment by me, and ran outside." 39:16 She laid up his garment by her, until his master came home. 39:17 She spoke to him according to these words, saying, "The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought to us, came in to me to mock me, 39:18 and it happened, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment by me, and ran outside."

39:19 It happened, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, "This is what your servant did to me," that his wrath was kindled. 39:20 Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were bound, and he was there in custody. 39:21 But Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 39:22 The keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever they did there, he was responsible for it. 39:23 The keeper of the prison didn't look after anything that was under his hand, because Yahweh was with him; and that which he did, Yahweh made it prosper.

40:1 It happened after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord, the king of Egypt. 40:2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. 40:3 He put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. 40:4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he took care of them. They stayed in prison many days. 40:5 They both dreamed a dream, each man his dream, in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison. 40:6 Joseph came in to them in the morning, and saw them, and saw that they were sad. 40:7 He asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, saying, "Why do you look so sad today?"

40:8 They said to him, "We have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it."

Joseph said to them, "Don't interpretations belong to God? Please tell it to me."

40:9 The chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, "In my dream, behold, a vine was in front of me, 40:10 and in the vine were three branches. It was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. 40:11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand."

40:12 Joseph said to him, "This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. 40:13 Within three more days, Pharaoh will lift up your head, and restore you to your office. You will give Pharaoh's cup into his hand, the way you did when you were his cupbearer. 40:14 But remember me when it will be well with you, and show kindness, please, to me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. 40:15 For indeed, I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon."

40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, "I also was in my dream, and behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head. 40:17 In the uppermost basket there was all kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head."

40:18 Joseph answered, "This is its interpretation. The three baskets are three days. 40:19 Within three more days, Pharaoh will lift up your head from off you, and will hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from off you." 40:20 It happened the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants, and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 40:21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position again, and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand; 40:22 but he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 40:23 Yet the chief cupbearer didn't remember Joseph, but forgot him.

41:1 It happened at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and behold, he stood by the river. 41:2 Behold, there came up out of the river seven cattle, sleek and fat, and they fed in the marsh grass. 41:3 Behold, seven other cattle came up after them out of the river, ugly and thin, and stood by the other cattle on the brink of the river. 41:4 The ugly and thin cattle ate up the seven sleek and fat cattle. So Pharaoh awoke. 41:5 He slept and dreamed a second time: and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, healthy and good. 41:6 Behold, seven heads of grain, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. 41:7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy and full ears. Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 41:8 It happened in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all of Egypt's magicians and wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

41:9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, "I remember my faults today. 41:10 Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker. 41:11 We dreamed a dream in one night, I and he. We dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. 41:12 There was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. To each man according to his dream he interpreted. 41:13 It happened, as he interpreted to us, so it was: he restored me to my office, and he hanged him."

41:14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothing, and came in to Pharaoh. 41:15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."

41:16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "It isn't in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace."

41:17 Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I stood on the brink of the river: 41:18 and behold, there came up out of the river seven cattle, fat and sleek. They fed in the marsh grass, 41:19 and behold, seven other cattle came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for ugliness. 41:20 The thin and ugly cattle ate up the first seven fat cattle, 41:21 and when they had eaten them up, it couldn't be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ugly, as at the beginning. So I awoke. 41:22 I saw in my dream, and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, full and good: 41:23 and behold, seven heads of grain, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. 41:24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me."

41:25 Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh. 41:26 The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. The dream is one. 41:27 The seven thin and ugly cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted with the east wind; they will be seven years of famine. 41:28 That is the thing which I spoke to Pharaoh. What God is about to do he has shown to Pharaoh. 41:29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. 41:30 There will arise after them seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, 41:31 and the plenty will not be known in the land by reason of that famine which follows; for it will be very grievous. 41:32 The dream was doubled to Pharaoh, because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

41:33 "Now therefore let Pharaoh look for a discreet and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 41:34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt's produce in the seven plenteous years. 41:35 Let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 41:36 The food will be for a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt; that the land not perish through the famine."

41:37 The thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. 41:38 Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?" 41:39 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Because God has shown you all of this, there is none so discreet and wise as you. 41:40 You shall be over my house, and according to your word will all my people be ruled. Only in the throne I will be greater than you." 41:41 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Behold, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." 41:42 Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in robes of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck, 41:43 and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had. They cried before him, "Bow the knee!" He set him over all the land of Egypt. 41:44 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and without you shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt." 41:45 Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-Paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On as a wife. Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

41:46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 41:47 In the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth abundantly. 41:48 He gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was around every city, he laid up in the same. 41:49 Joseph laid up grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he stopped counting, for it was without number. 41:50 To Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him. 41:51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh,26 "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house." 41:52 The name of the second, he called Ephraim27: "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."

41:53 The seven years of plenty, that were in the land of Egypt, came to an end. 41:54 The seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 41:55 When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do." 41:56 The famine was over all the surface of the earth. Joseph opened all the store houses, and sold to the Egyptians. The famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 41:57 All countries came into Egypt, to Joseph, to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all the earth.

42:1 Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?" 42:2 He said, "Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there, and buy for us from there, so that we may live, and not die." 42:3 Joseph's ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 42:4 But Jacob didn't send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his brothers; for he said, "Lest perhaps harm happen to him." 42:5 The sons of Israel came to buy among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. 42:6 Joseph was the governor over the land. It was he who sold to all the people of the land. Joseph's brothers came, and bowed themselves down to him with their faces to the earth. 42:7 Joseph saw his brothers, and he recognized them, but acted like a stranger to them, and spoke roughly with them. He said to them, "Where did you come from?"

They said, "From the land of Canaan to buy food."

42:8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn't recognize him. 42:9 Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed about them, and said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land."

42:10 They said to him, "No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 42:11 We are all one man's sons; we are honest men. Your servants are not spies."

42:12 He said to them, "No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land."

42:13 They said, "We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more."

42:14 Joseph said to them, "It is like I told you, saying, 'You are spies.' 42:15 By this you shall be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go forth from here, unless your youngest brother comes here. 42:16 Send one of you, and let him get your brother, and you shall be bound, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you, or else by the life of Pharaoh surely you are spies." 42:17 He put them all together into custody for three days.

42:18 Joseph said to them the third day, "Do this, and live, for I fear God. 42:19 If you are honest men, then let one of your brothers be bound in your prison; but you go, carry grain for the famine of your houses. 42:20 Bring your youngest brother to me; so will your words be verified, and you won't die."

They did so. 42:21 They said one to another, "We are certainly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and we wouldn't listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us." 42:22 Reuben answered them, saying, "Didn't I tell you, saying, 'Don't sin against the child,' and you wouldn't listen? Therefore also, behold, his blood is required." 42:23 They didn't know that Joseph understood them; for there was an interpreter between them. 42:24 He turned himself away from them, and wept. Then he returned to them, and spoke to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him before their eyes. 42:25 Then Joseph gave a command to fill their bags with grain, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them food for the way. So it was done to them.

42:26 They loaded their donkeys with their grain, and departed from there. 42:27 As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey food in the lodging place, he saw his money. Behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. 42:28 He said to his brothers, "My money is restored! Behold, it is in my sack!" Their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling one to another, saying, "What is this that God has done to us?" 42:29 They came to Jacob their father, to the land of Canaan, and told him all that had happened to them, saying, 42:30 "The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly with us, and took us for spies of the country. 42:31 We said to him, 'We are honest men. We are no spies. 42:32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.' 42:33 The man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your houses, and go your way. 42:34 Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. So I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.'"

42:35 It happened as they emptied their sacks, that behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack. When they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. 42:36 Jacob, their father, said to them, "You have bereaved me of my children! Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin away. All these things are against me."

42:37 Reuben spoke to his father, saying, "Kill my two sons, if I don't bring him to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him to you again."

42:38 He said, "My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left. If harm happens to him along the way in which you go, then you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol."

43:1 The famine was severe in the land. 43:2 It happened, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, "Go again, buy us a little more food."

43:3 Judah spoke to him, saying, "The man solemnly warned us, saying, 'You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.' 43:4 If you'll send our brother with us, we'll go down and buy you food, 43:5 but if you'll not send him, we'll not go down, for the man said to us, 'You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.'"

43:6 Israel said, "Why did you treat me so badly, telling the man that you had another brother?"

43:7 They said, "The man asked directly concerning ourselves, and concerning our relatives, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?' We just answered his questions. Is there any way we could know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down?'"

43:8 Judah said to Israel, his father, "Send the boy with me, and we'll get up and go, so that we may live, and not die, both we, and you, and also our little ones. 43:9 I'll be collateral for him. From my hand will you require him. If I don't bring him to you, and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever, 43:10 for if we hadn't delayed, surely we would have returned a second time by now."

43:11 Their father, Israel, said to them, "If it must be so, then do this. Take from the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry down a present for the man, a little balm, a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts, and almonds; 43:12 and take double money in your hand, and take back the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. 43:13 Take your brother also, get up, and return to the man. 43:14 May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."

43:15 The men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and got up, went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. 43:16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Bring the men into the house, and butcher an animal, and make ready; for the men will dine with me at noon."

43:17 The man did as Joseph commanded, and the man brought the men to Joseph's house. 43:18 The men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph's house; and they said, "Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time, we're brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, attack us, and seize us as slaves, along with our donkeys." 43:19 They came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they spoke to him at the door of the house, 43:20 and said, "Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food. 43:21 When we came to the lodging place, we opened our sacks, and behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. We have brought it back in our hand. 43:22 We have brought down other money in our hand to buy food. We don't know who put our money in our sacks."

43:23 He said, "Peace be to you. Don't be afraid. Your God, and the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks. I received your money." He brought Simeon out to them. 43:24 The man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet. He gave their donkeys fodder. 43:25 They made ready the present for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.

43:26 When Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves down to him to the earth. 43:27 He asked them of their welfare, and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he yet alive?"

43:28 They said, "Your servant, our father, is well. He is still alive." They bowed the head, and did homage. 43:29 He lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin, his brother, his mother's son, and said, "Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?" He said, "God be gracious to you, my son." 43:30 Joseph hurried, for his heart yearned over his brother; and he sought a place to weep. He entered into his room, and wept there. 43:31 He washed his face, and came out. He controlled himself, and said, "Serve the meal."

43:32 They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians, that ate with him, by themselves, because the Egyptians don't eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. 43:33 They sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth, and the men marveled one with another. 43:34 He sent portions to them from before him, but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs. They drank, and were merry with him.

44:1 He commanded the steward of his house, saying, "Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. 44:2 Put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, with his grain money." He did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. 44:3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. 44:4 When they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, "Up, follow after the men. When you overtake them, ask them, 'Why have you rewarded evil for good? 44:5 Isn't this that from which my lord drinks, and by which he indeed divines? You have done evil in so doing.'" 44:6 He overtook them, and he spoke these words to them.

44:7 They said to him, "Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants that they should do such a thing! 44:8 Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again to you out of the land of Canaan. How then should we steal silver or gold out of your lord's house? 44:9 With whoever of your servants it be found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondservants."

44:10 He said, "Now also let it be according to your words: he with whom it is found will be my bondservant; and you will be blameless."

44:11 Then they hurried, and every man took his sack down to the ground, and every man opened his sack. 44:12 He searched, beginning with the eldest, and ending at the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin's sack. 44:13 Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and returned to the city.

44:14 Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was still there. They fell on the ground before him. 44:15 Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Don't you know that such a man as I can indeed divine?"

44:16 Judah said, "What will we tell my lord? What will we speak? Or how will we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Behold, we are my lord's bondservants, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is found."

44:17 He said, "Far be it from me that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cup is found, he will be my bondservant; but as for you, go up in peace to your father."

44:18 Then Judah came near to him, and said, "Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord's ears, and don't let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even as Pharaoh. 44:19 My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father, or a brother?' 44:20 We said to my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother; and his father loves him.' 44:21 You said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.' 44:22 We said to my lord, 'The boy can't leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.' 44:23 You said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will see my face no more.' 44:24 It happened when we came up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 44:25 Our father said, 'Go again, buy us a little food.' 44:26 We said, 'We can't go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down: for we may not see the man's face, unless our youngest brother is with us.' 44:27 Your servant, my father, said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons: 44:28 and the one went out from me, and I said, "Surely he is torn in pieces;" and I haven't seen him since. 44:29 If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.' 44:30 Now therefore when I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the boy's life; 44:31 it will happen, when he sees that the boy is no more, that he will die. Your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant, our father, with sorrow to Sheol. 44:32 For your servant became collateral for the boy to my father, saying, 'If I don't bring him to you, then I will bear the blame to my father forever.' 44:33 Now therefore, please let your servant stay instead of the boy, a bondservant to my lord; and let the boy go up with his brothers. 44:34 For how will I go up to my father, if the boy isn't with me?--lest I see the evil that will come on my father."

45:1 Then Joseph couldn't control himself before all those who stood before him, and he cried, "Cause every man to go out from me!" No one else stood with him, while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 45:2 He wept aloud. The Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard. 45:3 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Does my father still live?"

His brothers couldn't answer him; for they were terrified at his presence. 45:4 Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please."

They came near. "He said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 45:5 Now don't be grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 45:6 For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are yet five years, in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 45:7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance. 45:8 So now it wasn't you who sent me here, but God, and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 45:9 Hurry, and go up to my father, and tell him, 'This is what your son Joseph says, "God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me. Don't wait. 45:10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you will be near to me, you, your children, your children's children, your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 45:11 There I will nourish you; for there are yet five years of famine; lest you come to poverty, you, and your household, and all that you have."' 45:12 Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 45:13 You shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. You shall hurry and bring my father down here." 45:14 He fell on his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 45:15 He kissed all his brothers, and wept on them. After that his brothers talked with him.

45:16 The report of it was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, "Joseph's brothers have come." It pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. 45:17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers, 'Do this. Load your animals, and go, travel to the land of Canaan. 45:18 Take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.' 45:19 Now you are commanded: do this. Take wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 45:20 Also, don't concern yourselves about your belongings, for the good of all of the land of Egypt is yours."

45:21 The sons of Israel did so. Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. 45:22 He gave each one of them changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. 45:23 To his father, he sent after this manner: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and provision for his father by the way. 45:24 So he sent his brothers away, and they departed. He said to them, "See that you don't quarrel on the way."

45:25 They went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan, to Jacob their father. 45:26 They told him, saying, "Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." His heart fainted, for he didn't believe them. 45:27 They told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them. When he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob, their father, revived. 45:28 Israel said, "It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."

46:1 Israel traveled with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. 46:2 God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, "Jacob, Jacob!"

He said, "Here I am."

46:3 He said, "I am God, the God of your father. Don't be afraid to go down into Egypt, for there I will make of you a great nation. 46:4 I will go down with you into Egypt. I will also surely bring you up again. Joseph will close your eyes."

46:5 Jacob rose up from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel carried Jacob, their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 46:6 They took their livestock, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt--Jacob, and all his seed with him, 46:7 his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and he brought all his seed with him into Egypt.

46:8 These are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn. 46:9 The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 46:10 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. 46:11 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 46:12 The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 46:13 The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron. 46:14 The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 46:15 These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty-three. 46:16 The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 46:17 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. 46:18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob, even sixteen souls. 46:19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin. 46:20 To Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. 46:21 The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 46:22 These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen. 46:23 The son of Dan: Hushim. 46:24 The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 46:25 These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob: all the souls were seven. 46:26 All the souls who came with Jacob into Egypt, who were his direct descendants, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were sixty-six. 46:27 The sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, who came into Egypt, were seventy.

46:28 He sent Judah before him to Joseph, to show the way before him to Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. 46:29 Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel, his father, in Goshen. He presented himself to him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. 46:30 Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive."

46:31 Joseph said to his brothers, and to his father's house, "I will go up, and speak with Pharaoh, and will tell him, 'My brothers, and my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 46:32 These men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.' 46:33 It will happen, when Pharaoh summons you, and will say, 'What is your occupation?' 46:34 that you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers:' that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians."

47:1 Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father and my brothers, with their flocks, their herds, and all that they own, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen." 47:2 From among his brothers he took five men, and presented them to Pharaoh. 47:3 Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?"

They said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers." 47:4 They said to Pharaoh, "We have come to live as foreigners in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks. For the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen."