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Genesis 47:18-20
New English Translation
Genesis 47:18-20
New English Translation
18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our[a] lord that the money is used up and the livestock and the animals belong to our lord. Nothing remains before our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become[b] Pharaoh’s slaves.[c] Give us seed that we may live[d] and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.”[e]
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Each[f] of the Egyptians sold his field, for the famine was severe.[g] So the land became Pharaoh’s.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 47:18 tn Heb “my.” The expression “my lord” occurs twice more in this verse.
- Genesis 47:19 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates consequence.
- Genesis 47:19 sn Pharaoh’s slaves. The idea of slavery is not attractive to the modern mind, but in the ancient world it was the primary way of dealing with the poor and destitute. If the people became slaves of Pharaoh, it was Pharaoh’s responsibility to feed them and care for them. It was the best way for them to survive the famine.
- Genesis 47:19 tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with vav here indicates purpose or result.
- Genesis 47:19 tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav plus subject plus negated verb) highlights the statement and brings their argument to a conclusion.
- Genesis 47:20 tn The Hebrew text connects this clause with the preceding one with a causal particle (כִּי, ki). The translation divides the clauses into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 47:20 tn The Hebrew text adds “upon them.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Genesis 47:18-20
New International Version
Genesis 47:18-20
New International Version
18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone(A) and our livestock belongs to you,(B) there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes(C)—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food,(D) and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.(E) Give us seed so that we may live and not die,(F) and that the land may not become desolate.”
20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe(G) for them. The land became Pharaoh’s,
New English Translation (NET)
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