Genesis 47
Jacob and his sons are presented before Pharao: he giveth them the land of Gessen. The famine forceth the Egyptians to sell all their possessions to the king.
Ingressus ergo Joseph nuntiavit Pharaoni, dicens: Pater meus et fratres, oves eorum et armenta, et cuncta quæ possident, venerunt de terra Chanaan: et ecce consistunt in terra Gessen.
Then Joseph went in and told Pharao, saying: My father and brethren, their sheep and their herds, and all that they possess, are come out of the land of Chanaan: and behold they stay in the land of Gessen.
Extremos quoque fratrum suorum quinque viros constituit coram rege:
Five men also, the last of his brethren, he presented before the king:
quos ille interrogavit: Quid habetis operis? Responderunt: Pastores ovium sumus servi tui, et nos et patres nostri.
And he asked them: What is your occupation? They answered: We, thy servants, are shepherds, both we and our fathers.
Ad peregrinandum in terra tua venimus: quoniam non est herba gregibus servorum tuorum, ingravescente fame in terra Chanaan: petimusque ut esse nos jubeas servos tuos in terra Gessen.
We are come to sojourn in thy land, because there is no grass for the flocks of thy servants, the famine being very grievous in the land of Chanaan: and we pray thee to give orders that we thy servants may be in the land of Gessen.
Dixit itaque rex ad Joseph: Pater tuus et fratres tui venerunt ad te.
The king therefore said to Joseph: Thy father and thy brethren are come to thee.
Terra Ægypti in conspectu tuo est: in optimo loco fac eos habitare, et trade eis terram Gessen. Quod si nosti in eis esse viros industrios, constitue illos magistros pecorum meorum.
The land of Egypt is before thee: and make them dwell in the best place, and give them the land of Gessen. And if thou knowest that there are industrious men among them, make them rulers over my cattle.
Post hæc introduxit Joseph patrem suum ad regem, et statuit eum coram eo: qui benedicens illi,
After this Joseph brought in his father to the king, and presented him before him: and he blessed him.
et interrogatus ab eo: Quot sunt dies annorum vitæ tuæ?
And being asked by him: How many are the days of the years of thy life?
respondit: Dies peregrinationis meæ centum triginta annorum sunt, parvi et mali, et non pervenerunt usque ad dies patrum meorum quibus peregrinati sunt.
He answered: The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few, and evil, and they are not come up to the days of the pilgrimage of my fathers.
Et benedicto rege, egressus est foras.
And blessing the king, he went out.
Joseph vero patri et fratribus suis dedit possessionem in Ægypto in optimo terræ loco, Ramesses, ut præceperat Pharao.
But Joseph gave a possession to his father and his brethren in Egypt, in the best place of the land, in Ramesses, as Pharao had commanded.
Et alebat eos, omnemque domum patris sui, præbens cibaria singulis.
And he nourished them, and all his father's house, allowing food to every one.
In toto enim orbe panis deerat, et oppresserat fames terram, maxime Ægypti et Chanaan.
For in the whole world there was want of bread, and a famine had oppressed the land, more especially of Egypt and Chanaan;
E quibus omnem pecuniam congregavit pro venditione frumenti, et intulit eam in ærarium regis.
Out of which he gathered up all the money for the corn which they bought, and brought it in to the king's treasure.
Cumque defecisset emptoribus pretium, venit cuncta Ægyptus ad Joseph, dicens: Da nobis panes: quare morimur coram te, deficiente pecunia?
And when the buyers wanted money, all Egypt came to Joseph, saying: Give us bread: why should we die in thy presence, having now no money?
Quibus ille respondit: Adducite pecora vestra, et dabo vobis pro eis cibos, si pretium non habetis.
And he answered them: Bring me your cattle, and for them I will give you food, if you have no money.
Quæ cum adduxissent, dedit eis alimenta pro equis, et ovibus, et bobus, et asinis: sustentavitque eos illo anno pro commutatione pecorum.
And when they had brought them, he gave them food in exchange for their horses, and sheep, and oxen, and asses: and he maintained them that year for the exchange of their cattle.
Venerunt quoque anno secundo, et dixerunt ei: Non celabimus dominum nostrum quod deficiente pecunia, pecora simul defecerunt: nec clam te est, quod absque corporibus et terra nihil habeamus.
And they came the second year, and said to him: We will not hide from our lord, how that our money is spent, and our cattle also are gone: neither art thou ignorant that we have nothing now left but our bodies and our lands.
Cur ergo moriemur te vidente? et nos et terra nostra tui erimus: eme nos in servitutem regiam, et præbe semina, ne pereunte cultore redigatur terra in solitudinem.
Why therefore shall we die before thy eyes? we will be thine, both we and our lands: buy us to be the king's servants, and give us seed, lest for want of tillers the land be turned into a wilderness.
Emit igitur Joseph omnem terram Ægypti, vendentibus singulis possessiones suas præ magnitudine famis. Subjecitque eam Pharaoni,
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, every man selling his possessions, because of the greatness of the famine. And he brought it into Pharao's hands:
et cunctos populos ejus a novissimis terminis Ægypti usque ad extremos fines ejus,
And all its people from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to the other end thereof,
præter terram sacerdotum, quæ a rege tradita fuerat eis: quibus et statuta cibaria ex horreis publicis præbebantur, et idcirco non sunt compulsi vendere possessiones suas.
Except the land of the priests, which had been given them by the king: to whom also a certain allowance of food was given out of the public stores, and therefore they were not forced to sell their possessions.
Dixit ergo Joseph ad populos: En ut cernitis, et vos et terram vestram Pharao possidet: accipite semina, et serite agros,
Then Joseph said to the people: Behold, as you see, both you and your lands belong to Pharao; take seed and sow the fields,
ut fruges habere possitis. Quintam partem regi dabitis: quatuor reliquas permitto vobis in sementem, et in cibum familiis et liberis vestris.
That you may have corn. The fifth part you shall give to the king; the other four you shall have for seed, and for food for your families and children.
Qui responderunt: Salus nostra in manu tua est: respiciat nos tantum dominus noster, et læti serviemus regi.
And they answered: our life is in thy hand; only let my lord look favourably upon us, and we will gladly serve the king.
Ex eo tempore usque in præsentem diem, in universa terra Ægypti regibus quinta pars solvitur, et factum est quasi in legem, absque terra sacerdotali, quæ libera ab hac conditione fuit.
From that time unto this day, in the whole land of Egypt, the fifth part is paid to the kings, and it is become as a law, except the land of the priests, which was free from this covenant.
Habitavit ergo Israël in Ægypto, id est, in terra Gessen, et possedit eam: auctusque est, et multiplicatus nimis.
So Israel dwelt in Egypt, that is, in the land of Gessen, and possessed it; and grew, and was multiplied exceedingly.
Et vixit in ea decem et septem annis: factique sunt omnes dies vitæ illius, centum quadraginta septem annorum.
And he lived in it seventeen years: and all the days of his life came to a hundred and forty-seven years.
Cumque appropinquare cerneret diem mortis suæ, vocavit filium suum Joseph, et dixit ad eum: Si inveni gratiam in conspectu tuo, pone manum tuam sub femore meo: et facies mihi misericordiam et veritatem, ut non sepelias me in Ægypto:
And when he saw that the day of his death drew nigh, he called his son Joseph, and said to him: If I have found favour in thy sight, put thy hand under my thigh; and thou shalt shew me this kindness and truth, not to bury me in Egypt.
sed dormiam cum patribus meis, et auferas me de terra hac, condasque in sepulchro majorum meorum. Cui respondit Joseph: Ego faciam quod jussisti.
But I will sleep with my fathers, and thou shalt take me away out of this land, and bury me in the burying place of my ancestors. And Joseph answered him: I will do what thou hast commanded.
Et ille: Jura ergo, inquit, mihi. Quo jurante, adoravit Israël Deum, conversus ad lectuli caput.
And he said: Swear then to me. And as he was swearing, Israel adored God, turning to the bed's head.