18. The next year the people came to Joseph and said, “You know we have no money left. And all our animals belong to you. We have nothing left except our bodies and our land.
19. Surely both we and our land will die here in front of you. Buy us and our land in exchange for food. And we will be slaves to the king, together with our land. Give us seed to plant. Then we will live and not die. And the land will not become a desert.”
20. So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian sold Joseph his field, because the hunger was very great. So the land became the king’s.
21. And Joseph made the people slaves from one end of Egypt to the other.
22. The only land he did not buy was the land the priests owned. They did not need to sell their land because the king paid them for their work. So they had money to buy food.
23. Joseph said to the people, “Now I have bought you and your land for the king. So I will give you seed. And you can plant your fields.
24. At harvest time you must give one-fifth to the king. You may keep four-fifths for yourselves. Use it as seed for the field and as food for yourselves, your families and your children.”