John Calvin Commentary Genesis 47:18

"And when that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide from my lord, how that our money is all spent; and the herds of cattle are my lord`s; there is nought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:" — Genesis 47:18 (ASV)

They came to him the second year. Moses does not count the second year from the date of the famine, but from the time when the money had run out. But since they knew from the divine revelation that the end of the scarcity was approaching, they desired not only that grain should be given to them for food, but also for seed.

From this it appears that they had become wise too late and had neglected God's useful warning at the time when they should have made provision for the future.

Moreover, when they declare that their money and cattle had failed, they do this not to remonstrate with Joseph, as if he had unjustly deprived them of these things, but to show that the only option remaining for them was to purchase food and seed at the price of their lands, and that they could not be preserved otherwise unless Joseph would enter into this agreement. For it would have been impudent to offer no price or compensation.

They begin by saying that they had nothing left and, therefore, would die unless Joseph were willing to buy their lands. To arouse his compassion, they ask again why he would allow them to die and their very land to perish. For this is the death of the land: when its cultivation is neglected and when, reduced to a desert, it can no longer produce anything.