The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Then Joseph went to Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brothers with their flocks and their herds and all they have, are come from Canaan, and are now in the land of Goshen.
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So Joseph took five of his brothers and went to the king. He told him, "My father and my brothers have come from Canaan with their flocks, their herds, and all that they own. They are now in the region of Goshen."
2 And he took five of his brothers to Pharaoh.
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He then presented his brothers to the king.
3 And Pharaoh said to them, What is your business? And they said, Your servants are keepers of sheep, as our fathers were before us.
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The king asked them, "What is your occupation?" "We are shepherds, sir, just as our ancestors were," they answered.
4 And they said to Pharaoh, We have come to make a living in this land, because we have no grass for our flocks in the land of Canaan; so now let your servants make a place for themselves in the land of Goshen.
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"We have come to live in this country, because in the land of Canaan the famine is so severe that there is no pasture for our flocks. Please give us permission to live in the region of Goshen."
5 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Let them have the land of Goshen; and if there are any able men among them, put them over my cattle.
5
The king said to Joseph, "Now that your father and your brothers have arrived,
6 And Jacob and his sons came to Joseph in Egypt, and when word of it came to the ears of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, he said to Joseph, Your father and brothers have come to you; all the land of Egypt is before you; let your father and your brothers have the best of the land for their resting-place.
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the land of Egypt is theirs. Let them settle in the region of Goshen, the best part of the land. And if there are any capable men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock."
7 Then Joseph made his father Jacob come before Pharaoh, and Jacob gave him his blessing.
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Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing,
8 And Pharaoh said to him, How old are you?
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and the king asked him, "How old are you?"
9 And Jacob said, The years of my wanderings have been a hundred and thirty; small in number and full of sorrow have been the years of my life, and less than the years of the wanderings of my fathers.
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Jacob answered, "My life of wandering has lasted a hundred and thirty years. Those years have been few and difficult, unlike the long years of my ancestors in their wanderings."
10 And Jacob gave Pharaoh his blessing, and went out from before him.
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Jacob gave the king a farewell blessing and left.
11 And Joseph made a place for his father and his brothers, and gave them a heritage in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had given orders.
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Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt, giving them property in the best of the land near the city of Rameses, as the king had commanded.
12 And Joseph took care of his father and his brothers and all his father's people, giving them food for the needs of their families.
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Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all the rest of his father's family, including the very youngest.
13 Now there was no food to be had in all the land, so that all Egypt and Canaan were wasted from need of food.
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The famine was so severe that there was no food anywhere, and the people of Egypt and Canaan became weak with hunger.
14 And all the money in Egypt and in the land of Canaan which had been given for grain, came into the hands of Joseph: and he put it in Pharaoh's house.
14
As they bought grain, Joseph collected all the money and took it to the palace.
15 And when all the money in Egypt and Canaan was gone, the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, Give us bread; would you have us come to destruction before your eyes? for we have no more money.
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When all the money in Egypt and Canaan was spent, the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, "Give us food! Don't let us die. Do something! Our money is all gone."
16 And Joseph said, Give me your cattle; I will give you grain in exchange for your cattle if your money is all gone.
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Joseph answered, "Bring your livestock; I will give you food in exchange for it if your money is all gone."
17 So they took their cattle to Joseph and he gave them bread in exchange for their horses and flocks and herds and asses, so all that year he gave them food in exchange for their cattle.
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So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. That year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18 And when that year was ended, they came to him in the second year, and said, We may not keep it from our lord's knowledge that all our money is gone, and all the herds of cattle are my lord's; there is nothing more to give my lord but our bodies and our land;
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The following year they came to him and said, "We will not hide the fact from you, sir, that our money is all gone and our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left to give you except our bodies and our lands.
19 Are we to come to destruction before your eyes, we and our land? take us and our land and give us bread; and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh; and give us seed so that we may have life and the land may not become waste.
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Don't let us die. Do something! Don't let our fields be deserted. Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We will be the king's slaves, and he will own our land. Give us grain to keep us alive and seed so that we can plant our fields."
20 So Joseph got all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh; for every Egyptian gave up his land in exchange for food, because of their great need; so all the land became Pharaoh's.
20
Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian was forced to sell his land, because the famine was so severe; and all the land became the king's property.
21 And as for the people, he made servants of them, town by town, from one end of Egypt to the other.
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Joseph made slaves of the people from one end of Egypt to the other.
22 Only he did not take the land of the priests, for the priests had their food given them by Pharaoh, and having what Pharaoh gave them, they had no need to give up their land.
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The only land he did not buy was the land that belonged to the priests. They did not have to sell their lands, because the king gave them an allowance to live on.
23 Then Joseph said to the people, I have made you and your land this day the property of Pharaoh; here is seed for you to put in your fields.
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Joseph said to the people, "You see, I have now bought you and your lands for the king. Here is seed for you to sow in your fields.
24 And when the grain is cut, you are to give a fifth part to Pharaoh, and four parts will be yours for seed and food, and for your families and your little ones.
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At the time of harvest you must give one-fifth to the king. You can use the rest for seed and for food for yourselves and your families."
25 And they said to him, Truly you have kept us from death; may we have grace in your eyes, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.
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They answered, "You have saved our lives; you have been good to us, sir, and we will be the king's slaves."
26 Then Joseph made a law which is in force to this day, that Pharaoh was to have the fifth part; only the land of the priests did not become his.
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So Joseph made it a law for the land of Egypt that one-fifth of the harvest should belong to the king. This law still remains in force today. Only the lands of the priests did not become the king's property.
27 And so Israel was living among the Egyptians in the land of Goshen; and they got property there, and became very great in numbers and in wealth.
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The Israelites lived in Egypt in the region of Goshen, where they became rich and had many children.
28 And Jacob was living in the land of Goshen for seventeen years; so the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.
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Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, until he was a hundred and forty-seven years old.
29 And the time of his death came near, and he sent for his son Joseph and said to him, If now I am dear to you, put your hand under my leg and take an oath that you will not put me to rest in Egypt;
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When the time drew near for him to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "Place your hand between my thighs and make a solemn vow that you will not bury me in Egypt.
30 But when I go to my fathers, you are to take me out of Egypt and put me to rest in their last resting-place. And he said, I will do so.
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I want to be buried where my fathers are; carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried." Joseph answered, "I will do as you say."
31 And he said, Take an oath to me; and he took an oath to him: and Israel gave worship on the bed's head.
31
Jacob said, "Make a vow that you will." Joseph made the vow, and Jacob gave thanks there on his bed.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.