There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay for a while because the famine was severe.

As he approached Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman.

When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot.

Lot looked up and saw the whole region of the Jordan. He noticed that all of it was well-watered (before the Lord obliterated Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, all the way to Zoar.

That day the Lord made a covenant with Abram: "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River --

He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother found a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

His descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next to Egypt all the way to Asshur. They settled away from all their relatives.

The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; settle down in the land that I will point out to you.

When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt.

So when the Midianite merchants passed by, Joseph's brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites then took Joseph to Egypt.

Now in Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.

Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, purchased him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.

After these things happened, the cupbearer to the king of Egypt and the royal baker offended their master, the king of Egypt.

Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream the same night. Each man's dream had its own meaning.

In the morning he was troubled, so he called for all the diviner-priests of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

Then seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows as these in all the land of Egypt!

Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt.

But seven years of famine will occur after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate the land.

"So now Pharaoh should look for a wise and discerning man and give him authority over all the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh should do this -- he should appoint officials throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine."

"See here," Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I place you in authority over all the land of Egypt."

Pharaoh had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command, and they cried out before him, "Kneel down!" So he placed him over all the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh also said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your permission no one will move his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt."

Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt.

Now Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by Pharaoh and was in charge of all the land of Egypt.

Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and stored it in the cities. In every city he put the food gathered from the fields around it.

The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end.

Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. There was famine in all the other lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food.

When all the land of Egypt experienced the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the people of Egypt, "Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you."

While the famine was over all the earth, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt.

People from every country came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe throughout the earth.

When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why are you looking at each other?"

He then said, "Look, I hear that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us so that we may live and not die."

So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.

When they finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Return, buy us a little more food."

So the men took these gifts, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me," so they came near. Then he said, "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.

So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me an adviser to Pharaoh, lord over all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Now go up to my father quickly and tell him, 'This is what your son Joseph says: "God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay!

So tell my father about all my honor in Egypt and about everything you have seen. But bring my father down here quickly!"

Get your father and your households and come to me! Then I will give you the best land in Egypt and you will eat the best of the land.'

You are also commanded to say, 'Do this: Take for yourselves wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives. Bring your father and come.

Don't worry about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt will be yours.'"

To his father he sent the following: ten donkeys loaded with the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, food, and provisions for his father's journey.

So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.

They told him, "Joseph is still alive and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!" Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them.

He said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

I will go down with you to Egypt and I myself will certainly bring you back from there. Joseph will close your eyes."

Jacob and all his descendants took their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they went to Egypt.

He brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters -- all his descendants.

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt -- Jacob and his sons: Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob.

Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore them to him.

All the direct descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt with him were sixty-six in number. (This number does not include the wives of Jacob's sons.)

Counting the two sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt, all the people of the household of Jacob who were in Egypt numbered seventy.

The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best region of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any highly capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock."

So Joseph settled his father and his brothers. He gave them territory in the land of Egypt, in the best region of the land, the land of Rameses, just as Pharaoh had commanded.

But there was no food in all the land because the famine was very severe; the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away because of the famine.

Joseph collected all the money that could be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan as payment for the grain they were buying. Then Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's palace.

When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was used up, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, "Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes because our money has run out?"

So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Each of the Egyptians sold his field, for the famine was severe. So the land became Pharaoh's.

Joseph made all the people slaves from one end of Egypt's border to the other end of it.

So Joseph made it a statute, which is in effect to this day throughout the land of Egypt: One-fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh's.

Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they owned land there. They were fruitful and increased rapidly in number.

Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; the years of Jacob's life were 147 in all.

The time for Israel to die approached, so he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt,

but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place." Joseph said, "I will do as you say."

"Now, as for your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they will be mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are.

So Joseph went up to bury his father; all Pharaoh's officials went with him -- the senior courtiers of his household, all the senior officials of the land of Egypt,

After he buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, along with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to bury his father.

Joseph lived in Egypt, along with his father's family. Joseph lived 110 years.

So Joseph died at the age of 110. After they embalmed him, his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

These are the names of the sons of Israel who entered Egypt -- each man with his household entered with Jacob:

All the people who were directly descended from Jacob numbered seventy. But Joseph was already in Egypt,

Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power over Egypt.

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,

But the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.

Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this and let the boys live?"

During that long period of time the king of Egypt died, and the Israelites groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cry because of their slave labor went up to God.

The Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

So now go, and I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."

Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"

He replied, "Surely I will be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will serve God on this mountain."

"Go and bring together the elders of Israel and tell them, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers, appeared to me -- the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- saying, "I have attended carefully to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt,

and I have promised that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey."'

"The elders will listen to you, and then you and the elders of Israel must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.'

But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, not even under force.

So I will extend my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will do among them, and after that he will release you.

Every woman will ask her neighbor and the one who happens to be staying in her house for items of silver and gold and for clothing. You will put these articles on your sons and daughters -- thus you will plunder Egypt!"

So Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, "Let me go, so that I may return to my relatives in Egypt and see if they are still alive." Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace."

The Lord said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, because all the men who were seeking your life are dead."

Then Moses took his wife and sons and put them on a donkey and headed back to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

The Lord said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put under your control. But I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.

The king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you cause the people to refrain from their work? Return to your labor!"

So the people spread out through all the land of Egypt to collect stubble for straw.

"Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt that he must release the Israelites from his land."

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge for the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, "Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their regiments."

They were the men who were speaking to Pharaoh king of Egypt, in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. It was the same Moses and Aaron.