Jacob and His Family in Egypt

46¹ And Israel journeyeth, and all that he hath, and cometh in to Beer-Sheba, and sacrificeth sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac; ² and God speaketh to Israel in visions of the night, and saith, 'Jacob, Jacob;' and he saith, 'Here 'am' I.' ³ And He saith, 'I 'am' God, God of thy father, be not afraid of going down to Egypt, for for a great nation I set thee there; ⁴ I—I go down with thee to Egypt, and I—I also certainly bring thee up, and Joseph doth put his hand on thine eyes.'

⁵ And Jacob riseth from Beer-Sheba, and the sons of Israel bear away Jacob their father, And their infants, and their wives, in the waggons which Pharaoh hath sent to bear him, ⁶ and they take their cattle, and their goods which they have acquired in the land of Canaan, and come into Egypt—Jacob, and all his seed with him, ⁷ his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, yea, all his seed he brought with him into Egypt. ⁸ And these 'are' the names of the sons of Israel who are coming into Egypt: Jacob and his sons, Jacob's first-born, Reuben. ⁹ And sons of Reuben: Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. ¹⁰ And sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul son of the Canaanitess. ¹¹ And sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹² And sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah, (and Er and Onan die in the land of Canaan.) And sons of Pharez are Hezron and Hamul. ¹³ And sons of Issachar: Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron. ¹⁴ And sons of Zebulun: Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. ¹⁵ These 'are' sons of Leah whom she bare to Jacob in Padan-Aram, and Dinah his daughter; all the persons of his sons and his daughters 'are' thirty and three. ¹⁶ And sons of Gad: Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. ¹⁷ And sons of Asher: Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. And sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. ¹⁸ These 'are' sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and she beareth these to Jacob—sixteen persons. ¹⁹ Sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁰ And born to Joseph in the land of Egypt (whom Asenath daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, hath borne to him) 'are' Manasseh and Ephraim. ²¹ And sons of Benjamin: Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. ²² These 'are' sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob; all the persons 'are' fourteen. ²³ And sons of Dan: Hushim. ²⁴ And sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. ²⁵ These 'are' sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter; and she beareth these to Jacob—all the persons 'are' seven. ²⁶ All the persons who are coming to Jacob to Egypt, coming out of his thigh, apart from the wives of Jacob's sons, all the persons 'are' sixty and six. ²⁷ And the sons of Joseph who have been born to him in Egypt 'are' two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who are coming into Egypt 'are' seventy.

²⁸ And Judah he hath sent before him unto Joseph, to direct before him to Goshen, and they come into the land of Goshen; ²⁹ and Joseph harnesseth his chariot, and goeth up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and appeareth unto him, and falleth on his neck, and weepeth on his neck again; ³⁰ and Israel saith unto Joseph, 'Let me die this time, after my seeing thy face, for thou 'art' yet alive.' ³¹ And Joseph saith unto his brethren, and unto the house of his father, 'I go up, and declare to Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and the house of my father who 'are' in the land of Canaan have come in unto me; ³² and the men 'are' feeders of a flock, for they have been men of cattle; and their flock, and their herd, and all that they have, they have brought.' ³³ 'And it hath come to pass when Pharaoh calleth for you, and hath said, What 'are' your works? ³⁴ that ye have said, Thy servants have been men of cattle from our youth, even until now, both we and our fathers,—in order that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen, for the abomination of the Egyptians is every one feeding a flock.'

47¹ And Joseph cometh, and declareth to Pharaoh, and saith, 'My father, and my brethren, and their flock, and their herd, and all they have, have come from the land of Canaan, and lo, they 'are' in the land of Goshen.' ² And out of his brethren he hath taken five men, and setteth them before Pharaoh; ³ and Pharaoh saith unto his brethren, 'What 'are' your works?' and they say unto Pharaoh, 'Thy servants 'are' feeders of a flock, both we and our fathers;' ⁴ and they say unto Pharaoh, 'To sojourn in the land we have come, for there is no pasture for the flock which thy servants have, for grievous 'is' the famine in the land of Canaan; and now, let thy servants, we pray thee, dwell in the land of Goshen.' ⁵ And Pharaoh speaketh unto Joseph, saying, 'Thy father and thy brethren have come unto thee: ⁶ the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land cause thy father and thy brethren to dwell—they dwell in the land of Goshen, and if thou hast known, and there are among them men of ability, then thou hast set them heads over the cattle I have.' ⁷ And Joseph bringeth in Jacob his father, and causeth him to stand before Pharaoh; and Jacob blesseth Pharaoh. ⁸ And Pharaoh saith unto Jacob, 'How many 'are' the days of the years of thy life?' ⁹ And Jacob saith unto Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my sojournings 'are' an hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days of their sojournings.' ¹⁰ And Jacob blesseth Pharaoh, and goeth out from before Pharaoh. ¹¹ And Joseph settleth his father and his brethren, and giveth to them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh commanded; ¹² and Joseph nourisheth his father, and his brethren, and all the house of his father 'with' bread, according to the mouth of the infants.

¹³ And there is no bread in all the land, for the famine 'is' very grievous, and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan are feeble because of the famine; ¹⁴ and Joseph gathereth all the silver that is found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn that they are buying, and Joseph bringeth the silver into the house of Pharaoh. ¹⁵ And the silver is consumed out of the land of Egypt, and out of the land of Canaan, and all the Egyptians come in unto Joseph, saying, 'Give to us bread—why do we die before thee, though the money hath ceased?' ¹⁶ and Joseph saith, 'Give your cattle; and I give to you for your cattle, if the money hath ceased.' ¹⁷ And they bring in their cattle unto Joseph, and Joseph giveth to them bread, for the horses, and for the cattle of the flock, and for the cattle of the herd, and for the asses; and he tendeth them with bread, for all their cattle, during that year. ¹⁸ And that year is finished, and they come in unto him on the second year, and say to him, 'We do not hide from my lord, that since the money hath been finished, and possession of the cattle 'is' unto my lord, there hath not been left before my lord save our bodies, and our ground; ¹⁹ why do we die before thine eyes, both we and our ground? buy us and our ground for bread, and we and our ground are servants to Pharaoh; and give seed, and we live, and die not, and the ground is not desolate.' ²⁰ And Joseph buyeth all the ground of Egypt for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians have sold each his field, for the famine hath been severe upon them, and the land becometh Pharaoh's; ²¹ as to the people he hath removed them to cities from the 'one' end of the border of Egypt even unto its 'other' end. ²² Only the ground of the priests he hath not bought, for the priests have a portion from Pharaoh, and they have eaten their portion which Pharaoh hath given to them, therefore they have not sold their ground. ²³ And Joseph saith unto the people, 'Lo, I have bought you to-day and your ground for Pharaoh; lo, seed for you, and ye have sown the ground, ²⁴ and it hath come to pass in the increases, that ye have given a fifth to Pharaoh, and four of the parts are for yourselves, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for those who 'are' in your houses, and for food for your infants.' ²⁵ And they say, 'Thou hast revived us; we find grace in the eyes of my lord, and have been servants to Pharaoh;' ²⁶ and Joseph setteth it for a statute unto this day, concerning the ground of Egypt, 'that' Pharaoh hath a fifth; only the ground of the priests alone hath not become Pharaoh's.

²⁷ And Israel dwelleth in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they have possession in it, and are fruitful, and multiply exceedingly; ²⁸ and Jacob liveth in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the days of Jacob, the years of his life, are an hundred and forty and seven years. ²⁹ And the days of Israel are near to die, and he calleth for his son, for Joseph, and saith to him, 'If, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and thou hast done with me kindness and truth; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt, ³⁰ and I have lain with my fathers, and thou hast borne me out of Egypt, and buried me in their burying-place.' And he saith, 'I—I do according to thy word;' ³¹ and he saith, 'Swear to me;' and he sweareth to him, and Israel boweth himself on the head of the bed.

Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

48¹ And it cometh to pass, after these things, that 'one' saith to Joseph, 'Lo, thy father is sick;' and he taketh his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim. ² And 'one' declareth to Jacob, and saith, 'Lo, thy son Joseph is coming unto thee;' and Israel doth strengthen himself, and sit upon the bed. ³ And Jacob saith unto Joseph, 'God Almighty hath appeared unto me, in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blesseth me, ⁴ and saith unto me, Lo, I am making thee fruitful, and have multiplied thee, and given thee for an assembly of peoples, and given this land to thy seed after thee, a possession age-during. ⁵ 'And now, thy two sons, who are born to thee in the land of Egypt, before my coming unto thee to Egypt, mine they 'are'; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon they are mine; ⁶ and thy family which thou hast begotten after them are thine; by the name of their brethren they are called in their inheritance. ⁷ 'And I—in my coming in from Padan-'Aram' Rachel hath died by me in the land of Canaan, in the way, while yet a kibrath of land to enter Ephrata, and I bury her there in the way of Ephrata, which 'is' Bethlehem.'

⁸ And Israel seeth the sons of Joseph, and saith, 'Who 'are' these?' ⁹ and Joseph saith unto his father, 'They 'are' my sons, whom God hath given to me in this 'place';' and he saith, 'Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I bless them.' ¹⁰ And the eyes of Israel have been heavy from age, he is unable to see; and he bringeth them nigh unto him, and he kisseth them, and cleaveth to them; ¹¹ and Israel saith unto Joseph, 'To see thy face I had not thought, and lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.' ¹² And Joseph bringeth them out from between his knees, and boweth himself on his face to the earth; ¹³ and Joseph taketh them both, Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel's left, and Manasseh in his left towards Israel's right, and bringeth 'them' nigh to him. ¹⁴ And Israel putteth out his right hand, and placeth 'it' upon the head of Ephraim, who 'is' the younger, and his left hand upon the head of Manasseh; he hath guided his hands wisely, for Manasseh 'is' the first-born. ¹⁵ And he blesseth Joseph, and saith, 'God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked habitually: God who is feeding me from my being unto this day: ¹⁶ the Messenger who is redeeming me from all evil doth bless the youths, and my name is called upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and they increase into a multitude in the midst of the land.' ¹⁷ And Joseph seeth that his father setteth his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and it is wrong in his eyes, and he supporteth the hand of his father to turn it aside from off the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasseh; ¹⁸ and Joseph saith unto his father, 'Not so, my father, for this 'is' the first-born; set thy right hand on his head.' ¹⁹ And his father refuseth, and saith, 'I have known, my son, I have known; he also becometh a people, and he also is great, and yet, his young brother is greater than he, and his seed is the fulness of the nations;' ²⁰ and he blesseth them in that day, saying, 'By thee doth Israel bless, saying, God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh;' and he setteth Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹ And Israel saith unto Joseph, 'Lo, I am dying, and God hath been with you, and hath brought you back unto the land of your fathers; ²² and I—I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I have taken out of the hand of the Amorite by my sword and by my bow.'

The Parable of the Sower

13¹ And in that day Jesus, having gone forth from the house, was sitting by the sea, ² and gathered together unto him were many multitudes, so that he having gone into the boat did sit down, and all the multitude on the beach did stand, ³ and he spake to them many things in similes, saying: 'Lo, the sower went forth to sow, ⁴ and in his sowing, some indeed fell by the way, and the fowls did come and devour them, ⁵ and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang forth, through not having depth of earth, ⁶ and the sun having risen they were scorched, and through not having root, they withered, ⁷ and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns did come up and choke them, ⁸ and others fell upon the good ground, and were giving fruit, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty. ⁹ He who is having ears to hear—let him hear.'

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰ And the disciples having come near, said to him, 'Wherefore in similes dost thou speak to them?' ¹¹ And he answering said to them that—'To you it hath been given to know the secrets of the reign of the heavens, and to these it hath not been given, ¹² for whoever hath, it shall be given to him, and he shall have overabundance, and whoever hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken from him. ¹³ 'Because of this, in similes do I speak to them, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand, ¹⁴ and fulfilled on them is the prophecy of Isaiah, that saith, With hearing ye shall hear, and ye shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and ye shall not perceive, ¹⁵ for made gross was the heart of this people, and with the ears they heard heavily, and their eyes they did close, lest they might see with the eyes, and with the ears might hear, and with the heart understand, and turn back, and I might heal them. ¹⁶ 'And happy are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear, ¹⁷ for verily I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men did desire to see that which ye look on, and they did not see, and to hear that which ye hear, and they did not hear.

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower

¹⁸ 'Ye, therefore, hear ye the simile of the sower: ¹⁹ Every one hearing the word of the reign, and not understanding—the evil one doth come, and doth catch that which hath been sown in his heart; this is that sown by the way. ²⁰ 'And that sown on the rocky places, this is he who is hearing the word, and immediately with joy is receiving it, ²¹ and he hath not root in himself, but is temporary, and persecution or tribulation having happened because of the word, immediately he is stumbled. ²² 'And that sown toward the thorns, this is he who is hearing the word, and the anxiety of this age, and the deceitfulness of the riches, do choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. ²³ 'And that sown on the good ground: this is he who is hearing the word, and is understanding, who indeed doth bear fruit, and doth make, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.'

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

²⁴ Another simile he set before them, saying: 'The reign of the heavens was likened to a man sowing good seed in his field, ²⁵ and, while men are sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away, ²⁶ and when the herb sprang up, and yielded fruit, then appeared also the darnel. ²⁷ 'And the servants of the householder, having come near, said to him, Sir, good seed didst thou not sow in thy field? whence then hath it the darnel? ²⁸ And he saith to them, A man, an enemy, did this; and the servants said to him, Wilt thou, then, 'that' having gone away we may gather it up? ²⁹ 'And he said, No, lest—gathering up the darnel—ye root up with it the wheat, ³⁰ suffer both to grow together till the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the darnel, and bind it in bundles, to burn it, and the wheat gather up into my storehouse.'