They answered, “We are shepherds just as our ancestors were. 4 We have come to live in this country, because there is very little food in Canaan, and there is no grass for our sheep and cattle. Please give us permission to live in Goshen.”

5 The king said to Joseph, “Now that your father and your brothers have arrived, 6 the land of Egypt is theirs. Let them settle in Goshen, the best part of Egypt. And if there are any good workers among them, let them look after my sheep and cattle.”

7 Then Joseph went back to his father and brought him to the king. Jacob came up to the king and said, “May God bless you.”

8 The king asked him, “How old are you?”

9 Jacob answered, “I have been wandering for 130 years until now. But those years have been hard and few. I have not lived like my ancestors. They lived good, long years as they wandered from place to place.”

10 Before Jacob left the king, he said again, “May God bless you,” and then he went away.

11-12 Then Joseph gave his father and his brothers the best place to live in, as the king had told him. It was near the city called Rameses. He also gave food to his father, his brothers and to all the rest of his family, from the oldest to the youngest. He helped his family there in Egypt so that they could settle down.

13 There was no food because those years were so bad. All the people in Egypt and Canaan were hungry and very weak. 14 They came from everywhere to Joseph to buy food. Joseph gave them the food that the Egyptians had put in the storehouses before, when there was plenty of food in Egypt, and he took their money to the palace.

15 This went on for some time until all the money in Egypt and Canaan was spent. Then the Egyptians came to Joseph and asked for food. “Please give us food,” they said. “Don't let us starve to death. Our money is all gone, so you must help us.”

16 Joseph said to them, “Bring your horses and sheep and other animals here to me. Because you haven't any money, give them to me so that I can give you food.” 17 So they brought their animals to him and he gave them food. That year he gave them food and they gave him their horses and sheep and goats and cattle and donkeys.

18 The next year the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Our money is all gone, and all our animals are yours now. We can't hide this and we are telling the truth. We have nothing left to give you. There are only our bodies and our land. 19 But please help us and don't let us die. And don't let our land lie empty. Buy us and our land and then you can give us food today. We will be the king's workers and all our land will belong to him too. Give us food now so we won't die. And give us seeds so we can grow food, so the land won't stay empty any longer.”

20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. But those years were still bad, and one by one the Egyptian people gave their land to the king, until it all belonged to him. 21 Joseph bought all the Egyptian people and they all became the king's workers. 22 The only land he did not buy was the land that belonged to the priests. They did not have to give their land because the king gave them money to buy food, but he didn't give money to anyone else.

23 Joseph said to the Egyptians, “Look, I have bought you and your land for the king. Here are seeds for you to plant. 24 Later on when the plants have grown and you cut them down you must give some to the king. If you have five bags of food you will give one to him. The rest will be for you and your families to eat and for seed to plant later.”

25 They answered, “You have saved our lives and you have been good to us. So we will be the king's workers.”

26 So Joseph made a law for all the people of Egypt about their land. He said, “Every year when you collect the food you have grown, you must give some to the king. If you have five bags of food, you must give him one, and if you have ten bags you must give him two. You must do that every year.” This is still the law today. All the land of Egypt belongs to the king, except the land of the priests.

27 The Israelite people lived in Egypt in the part called Goshen. There they became rich with food and animals and other things. And they had many children. 28 And Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years. But he was now an old man, 147 years old. 29 When it was nearly time for him to die he called for his son Joseph and he came to him.

Jacob said to him, “Put your hand between my legs, so that you can make this promise and you won't change it. Tell me that you will not bury me here in Egypt. 30 I want you to bury me where my father and grandfather are buried. So carry me there to Canaan.”

Joseph answered, “Yes, I will do as you say.”

31 Jacob said, “Promise me and don't change it.”

Joseph put his hand between his father's legs and said, “I am making this promise. When you die, I will take you to Canaan and bury you there.”

When Jacob heard his son say that, he thanked God, there where he lay on his bed.

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