I acted for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

But I refrained from doing so, ¹  and acted instead for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

“‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will kill ¹  every person and every animal.

No human foot will pass through it, and no animal’s foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years.

“‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: At the end of forty years ¹  I will gather Egypt from the peoples where they were scattered.

I will dry up the waterways and hand the land over to ¹  evil men. I will make the land and everything in it desolate by the hand of foreigners. I, the Lord, have spoken!

I will leave you on the ground, I will fling you on the open field, I will allow ¹  all the birds of the sky to settle ²  on you, and I will permit ³  all the wild animals ⁴  to gorge themselves on you.

When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky; I will darken its stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not shine. ¹ 

“Then the king of the south ¹  and one of his subordinates ²  will grow strong. His subordinate ³  will resist ⁴  him and will rule a kingdom greater than his. ⁵ 

“Then the king of the south ¹  will be enraged and will march out to fight against the king of the north, who will also muster a large army, but that army will be delivered into his hand.

You are no more secure ¹  than Thebes ²  – she was located on the banks of the Nile; the waters surrounded her, her ³  rampart ⁴  was the sea, the water ⁵  was her wall.

On their second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers again, and Joseph’s family ¹  became known to Pharaoh.

So Joseph sent a message ¹  and invited ²  his father Jacob and all his relatives to come, seventy-five people ³  in all.

Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. ¹  Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down ²  before him with ³  their faces to the ground.

Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live as temporary residents ¹  in the land. There ²  is no pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.”

So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for their horses, the livestock of their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. ¹  He got them through that year by giving them food in exchange for livestock.

Joseph said to his father, “They are the ¹  sons God has given me in this place.” His father ²  said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.” ³ 

When the Canaanites who lived in the land saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a very sad occasion ¹  for the Egyptians.” That is why its name was called ²  Abel Mizraim, ³  which is beyond the Jordan.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you ¹  and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give ²  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

The Nile will swarm ¹  with frogs, and they will come up and go into your house, in your bedroom, and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading troughs. ²