12. At first there weren't very many of God's people. There were only a few. And they were strangers in the land.
13. They wandered from nation to nation. They wandered from one kingdom to another.
14. But God didn't allow anyone to beat them down. To keep them safe, he gave a command to kings.
15. He said to them, "Do not touch my anointed ones. Do not harm my prophets."
16. He made the people in the land go hungry. He destroyed all their food supplies.
17. He sent a man ahead of them into Egypt. That man was Joseph. He had been sold as a slave.
18. The Egyptians put his feet in chains. They put an iron collar around his neck.