17 From then on, they brought him their horses and donkeys and their sheep and goats in exchange for grain.Within a year Joseph had collected every animal in Egypt.
18 Then the people came to him and said:Sir, there's no way we can hide the truth from you. We are broke, and we don't have any more animals. We have nothing left except ourselves and our land.
19 Don't let us starve and our land be ruined. If you'll give us grain to eat and seed to plant, we'll sell ourselves and our land to the king. We'll become his slaves.
20 The famine became so severe that Joseph finally bought every piece of land in Egypt for the king
21 and made everyone the king's slaves,
22 except the priests. The king gave the priests a regular food allowance, so they did not have to sell their land.
23 Then Joseph said to the people, “You and your land now belong to the king. I'm giving you seed to plant,