the Fourth Week of Advent
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Myles Coverdale Bible
Genesis 47
1 Then came Ioseph, and tolde Pharao & sayde: My father and my brethren, their small & greate catell, & all yt they haue, are come out of ye lande of Canaan:2 & beholde, they are in the lande of Gesen. And he toke fyue of his brethren, & presented them vnto Pharao.3 Then sayde Pharao vnto his brethren: What is youre occupacion? They answered: Thy seruauntes are kepers of catell, we and oure fathers also.4 And they sayde morouer vnto Pharao: We are come to dwell with you in the lande, for yi seruautes haue no pasture for their catell, so sore doth the derth oppresse the lande of Canaan. Now therfore let yi seruauntes dwell in the lande of Gosen.5 Pharao sayde vnto Ioseph: Thy father and thy brethren are come vnto the:6 the lande of Egipte is open before the, let them dwell in the best place of the lande, & se yt they dwell euen in the lande of Gosen. And yf thou knowest that there be men of actiuyte amoge the, make the rulers of my catell.7 Ioseph brought in Iacob his father also, & set him before Pharao. And Iacob thanked Pharao.8 But Pharao axed Iacob: How olde art thou?9 Iacob sayde: The tyme of my pylgremage is an hudreth and thirtie yeares: litle and euell is the tyme of my pilgremage, and attayneth not vnto the tyme of my fathers in their pylgremages.10 And Iacob thanked Pharao, and wete out from him.11 So Ioseph prepared dwellinges for his father and his brethren, & gaue them a possession in the lande of Egipte, euen in the best place of the lande, namely, in the lande of Raemses, as Pharao comaunded.12 And he made prouysion for his father and his brethren, and all his fathers house with bred, euen as yonge children.
13 There was no bred in all the londe, for the derth was very sore: so yt the lande of Egipte & the lande of Canaan were fameshed by ye reason of the derth.14 And Ioseph brought together all the money that was founde in Egipte and Canaan, for ye corne that they bought. And he layed vp all the money in Pharaos house.15 Now whan money fayled in the lande of Egipte and Canaan, all the Egipcians came vnto Ioseph, & saide: Geue vs bred. Why suffrest thou vs to dye before ye, because weare without money?16 Ioseph saide: Brynge hither youre catell, so wil I geue you for youre catell, seynge ye are without money.17 Then brought they their catell vnto Ioseph. And he gaue the bred for their horses, shepe, oxen and Asses. So he fed them with bred yt yeare, for all their catell.18 Whan yt yeare was ended, they came vnto him the next yeare, & sayde vnto him: We wil not hyde it from or lorde, yt not onely the money, but all the catell also is spent vnto or lorde: & there is nothinge left more for or lorde, but onely or body & oure lande.19 Wherfore suffrest thou both vs to dye, and oure londe? Take vs and oure lade for bred, that we and oure lande maye be bonde vnto Pharao: geue vs sede, that we maye lyue and not dye, & yt the lande become not a wildernesse.20 So Ioseph toke all the lande of Egipte in for Pharao: for the Egipcians solde euery man his lande, because ye derth was so mightie vpon them: and so the lode became Pharaos,21 with the people that wente out and in at his cities, from one syde of Egipte vnto the other,22 excepte the prestes londe, that toke he not in: For it was ordened of Pharao for the prestes, that they shulde eate that which was appoynted them, which he gaue them, therfore they neded not to sell their londes.23 Then sayde Ioseph vnto the people: Beholde, I haue taken possession of you and youre lande this daye for Pharao, Beholde, there haue ye sede, sowe the londe,24 and of the corne ye shall geue the fifth parte vnto Pharao: foure partes shalbe youres, to sowe the londe for youre sustenaunce, and for youre houses and children.25 They sayde: Let vs but lyue, & fynde grace before the oure lorde, we wyl gladly be Pharaos seruauntes:26 So Ioseph made the a lawe vnto this daye ouer the Egipcians londe, to geue Pharao the fifth parte, excepte the prestes londe, which was not bonde vnto Pharao.
27 So Israel dwelt in Egipte in the londe of Gosen, and had it in possession, and grew and multiplied exceadingly.28 And Iacob lyued seuentene yeare in the lande of Egipte, so that his whole age was an hudreth and seuen and fourtye yeares.29 Now whan the tyme came that Israel shulde dye, he called Ioseph his sonne, and sayde vnto him: Yf I haue founde grace in thy sight, then laye thine honde vnder my thye, yt thou shalt shewe mercy and faithfulnes vpon me, and not burye me in Egipte,30 but I will lye by my fathers, and thou shalt carye me out of Egipte, & burye me in their buryall. He sayde: I wil do as thou hast sayde.31 But he sayde: Then sweare vnto me. And he sware vnto him. The Israel bowed himself towarde the bed heade.