Jacob and His Family Go to Egypt
1 Jacob packed up everything he owned and left for Egypt. On the way he stopped near the town of Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God his father Isaac had worshiped. 2 That night, God spoke to him in a dream and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”
“Here I am,” Jacob answered.
3 God said, “I am God, the same God your father worshiped. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation. 4 I will go with you to Egypt, and later I will bring your descendants back here. Your son Joseph will be at your side when you die.”
5-7 Jacob and his family set out from Beersheba and headed for Egypt. His sons put him in the wagon that the king had sent for him, and they put their small children and their wives in the other wagons. Jacob's whole family went to Egypt, including his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters. They took along their animals and everything else they owned.
8-15 When Jacob went to Egypt, his children who were born in northern Syria also went along with their families.
Jacob and his wife Leah had a total of 33 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but two of their grandchildren had died in Canaan.
Their oldest son Reuben took his sons Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
Their son Simeon took his sons Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, whose mother was a Canaanite.
Their son Levi took his sons Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Their son Judah took his sons Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. Judah's sons Er and Onan had died in Canaan. Judah's son Perez took his sons Hezron and Hamul.
Their son Issachar took his sons Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron.
Their son Zebulun took his sons Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
Their daughter Dinah also went.
16-18 Jacob and Zilpah, the servant woman Laban had given his daughter Leah, had a total of 16 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Their son Gad took his sons Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
Their son Asher took his sons Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, who took his sons, Heber and Malchiel.
Serah, the daughter of Asher, also went.
19-22 Jacob and Rachel had 14 children and grandchildren.
Their son Joseph was already in Egypt, where he had married Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of Heliopolis. Joseph and Asenath had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Jacob and Rachel's son Benjamin took his sons Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
23-25 Jacob and Bilhah, the servant woman Laban had given his daughter Rachel, had seven children and grandchildren.
Their son Dan took his son Hushim.
Their son Naphtali took his sons Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
26 Sixty-six members of Jacob's family went to Egypt with him, not counting his daughters-in-law. 27 Jacob's two grandsons who were born there made it a total of 70 members of Jacob's family in Egypt.
28 Jacob had sent his son Judah ahead of him to ask Joseph to meet them in Goshen. 29 So Joseph got in his chariot and went to meet his father. When they met, Joseph hugged his father around the neck and cried for a long time. 30 Jacob said to Joseph, “Now that I have seen you and know you are still alive, I am ready to die.”
31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to everyone who had come with them:
I must go and tell the king that you have arrived from Canaan. 32 I will tell him that you are shepherds and that you have brought your sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else you own. 33 The king will call you in and ask what you do for a living. 34 When he does, be sure to say, “We are shepherds. Our families have always raised sheep.” If you tell him this, he will let you settle in the region of Goshen.
Joseph wanted them to say this to the king, because the Egyptians did not like to be around anyone who raised sheep.
Jakubo ne nsha uwe banoyenda ku Egipiti
1 Ndizo Iziraela katola kose kwaakabe anako katola gwendo kanoti ku Bheerisheba, ipapo kapisila Ndzimu wa tate babe Isaki zwibhayilo. 2 Ndzimu ukalebeleka na Iziraela nge mbono mu busiku ukati, “Jakubo! Jakubo!”
Kadabila eti, “Ndipano.”
3 Ndzimu ukabe uti, “Ndimi Ndzimu, Ndzimu wa tate babo. Usitje kuyenda ku Egipiti, ngoti ndowokuthama ukabe itjaba tjikulu ikweno. 4 Ndowoyenda nawe ku Egipiti ngono ndowokubuza ngeno kakale. Tjiazha tja Josefa tjowozhalila mesho awo nsi waunowofa.”
5 Ipapo Jakubo kamilika mu Bheerisheba kawila mu zila. Bana babe bakantathisa ne bana babo ne bakadzi babo mu dzikoloyi dzakabe dzatumigwa ndi Faro kubasenga. 6 Bakayenda ne zwithuwo zwabo ne thundu dzabo dzabakashaba mu Kanana, ngono Jakubo ne bana babe bose bakayenda ku Egipiti. 7 Katola bakololo babe ne zwizekugwana zwizwe ne bakololokadzi, bose be ludzi gugwe. 8 Mazina e bana ba Iziraela bakayenda ku Egipiti ndiawa: Rubheni mbano ya Jakubo. 9 Bakololo ba Rubheni ndi Hanoki na Phalu na Hezironi na Khami. 10 Bakololo ba Simiyoni ndi Jemuyele na Jamini na Ohadi na Jakini na Zohari na Shawulu mwana we nkadzi we Tjikanana. 11 Bakololo ba Levi ndi Geshoni na Kohati na Merari. 12 Bakololo ba Juda ndi Eri na Onani na Shela na Perezi na Zera (koga Eri wakafila mu shango ye Kanana). Bakololo ba Perezi ndi Hezironi na Hamuli. 13 Bakololo ba Isakari ndi Tola na Lobe na Puva na Shimironi. 14 Bakololo ba Zebuluni ndi Seredi na Eloni na Jahileeli. 15 Ibaba ndibo bakololo bakazwagwa ndi Liya na Jakubo batji ku Padani Aramu ne nkololokadzi uwe Dina. Bakololo ne bakololokadzi ibaba bose, bakabe bali makumi matatu ana bali batatu (33).
16 Bakololo ba Gadi ndi Zefoni na Hagi na Shuni na Ezibhoni na Eri na Arodi na Areli. 17 Bakololo ba Asheri ndi Imuna na Ishuva na Ishivi na Bheriya. Hazwadzi yabo yakabe ili Sera. Bakololo ba Bheriya ndi Heberi na Malekhieli. 18 Ibaba bakabe bali bana ba Jakubo na Zilipa, iye wakabe apiwa Liya ndi Labani. Bakabe bali gumi lina bali tathatu bose.
19 Bakololo ba Jakubo ne nkadzi uwe Rahele ndi Josefa na Bhenjamini. 20 Mu Egipiti Josefa na Asenati nkololokadzi wa Potifera mpirisiti we Oni bakazwala Manase na Ifureimi. 21 Bakololo ba Bhenjamini ndi Bhela na Bhekeri na Ashebheli na Gera na Naamani na Ehi na Roshi na Mupimu na Hupimu na Aridi. 22 Ibaba bali gumi lina bali banna ndibo bakololo ba Jakubo na Rahele.
23 Nkololo wa Dani ndi Hushimu. 24 Bakololo ba Nafutali ndi Jahitsaeli na Guni na Jezeri na Shilemu. 25 Ibaba bakololo ba Jakubo na Bhiliha iye Labani waakapa nkololokadzi uwe Rahele, bose bali kutendeka. 26 Bose bakayenda ku Egipiti na Jakubo, ibabo bakabe bali bana babe kusingabagwe bakadzi be bana babe, bakabe bali makumi matathatu ana bali tathatu (66). 27 Bana ba Josefa bakazwaligwa mu Egipiti bakabe bali babili. Ndizo be nsha wa Jakubo bose bakayenda ku Egipiti, bakabe bali makumi ali kutendeka (70).
Jakubo ne be nsha uwe ku Egipiti
28 Jakubo katuma Juda kuyenda mbeli kuna Josefa kunokumbila Josefa kunobashanganidza ku Gosheni. Kwakati beswika mu ntuthu we Gosheni, 29 Josefa katatha koloyi iye kayenda ku Gosheni kunoshanganidza tate babe Iziraela. Kati eswika kagumbatila tate babe katola tjibaka elila akabagumbatila. 30 Iziraela kadwa Josefa kati, “Ngwenu ndingatjifa zwangu ngoti ndakuzwibonegwa kuti utjatjila.”
31 Josefa kabe elebeleka ne bakulu babe ne nnung'una uwe na bose be nsha wa tate babe eti, “Ndowoyenda anolebeleka na Faro nditi, ‘Bakulu bangu ne banung'una bangu ne nsha wa tate bakabe begala mu shango ye Kanana bazha kundili. 32 Ibaba bathu bathuwi, bana zwithuwo, bazha ne pkhwizi dzabo ne ng'ombe ne tjimwe ne tjimwe tjabanatjo.’ 33 Ha Faro emudana emubhuzwa eti, ‘Nshingo wenyu ndiwupi?’ 34 Mudabile muti, ‘Balanda benyu bakakula bali bathuwi be zwithuwo kudwila mu butukununu gwedu kuswikila ngwenu, sa botate bedu.’ Ha majalo mowodumigwa kugala mu ntuthu we Gosheni.” Josefa wakaleba ikoku ngoti Baegipiti banoyilana ne balisi.