Genesis 47:11-25

NSB(i) 11 Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt. He gave them property in the best of the land near the city of Rameses. This was as the king had commanded. 12 Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all the rest of his father’s family, including the very youngest. 13 The famine was so severe that there was no food anywhere. The people of Egypt and Canaan became weak with hunger. 14 They bought grain from Joseph. Joseph collected all the money and took it to the palace. 15 When all the money in Egypt and Canaan was spent, the Egyptians came to Joseph and said: »Give us food! Do not let us die. Do something! Our money is all gone.« 16 Joseph answered: »Bring your livestock. I will give you food in exchange for it if your money is all gone.« 17 They brought their livestock to Joseph. 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 The following year they said to him: »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 »Do not let us die. Do something! Do not let our fields be deserted. Buy us and buy our land in exchange for food. We will be the king’s slaves. He will own our land. Give us grain to keep us alive and seed so that we can plant our fields.« 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. All the land became the king’s property. 21 He [Joseph] removed the people into the cities from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other. 22 The only land he did not buy was the land that belonged to the priests. The king gave the priests an allowance to live on. So they did not have to sell their lands. 23 Joseph said to the people: »I have now bought you and your lands for the king. Here is seed for you to sow in your fields. 24 »You must give one-fifth to the king at the time of harvest. You can use the rest for seed and for food for yourselves and your families.« 25 They answered: »You have saved our lives. You have been good to us. We will be the king’s slaves.«