43 The famine was still bad in Canaan. 2 Jacob's family ate all the food that they had brought from Egypt. So Jacob said to his sons, ‘Go back to Egypt, and buy some more food for us.’ [ a ] 3 But Judah said, ‘The man told us many times, “Unless your brother is with you, I will not let you see me again.” 4 So you must send Benjamin with us. Then we will go and buy food for you. 5 But if you do not send Benjamin, we will not go. The man clearly said to us, “Unless your brother is with you, you will not see me again.” ’
6 Jacob said to them, ‘You have brought great trouble to me! You should not have told the man that you had another brother.’ 7 The brothers replied, ‘The man asked us many questions about our family. He asked us, “Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?” We only answered his questions. We did not know that he would say, “Bring your brother here.” ’
8 Then Judah said to his father Jacob, ‘Agree to send the boy with me. We will go to Egypt immediately. Then all our family can continue to live. We will not die. [ b ] 9 I promise you to keep Benjamin safe. I myself will take care of him and I will bring him back to you. If I do not bring him back home, then you should say that I am guilty. I will be guilty for all of my life. 10 We must go now! We have already talked for too long. By now, we could have gone to Egypt and returned twice!’
11 Then their father Jacob said to them, ‘If you must take Benjamin, do what I tell you. Put some of the best things from our land in your bags. Take them to the man as a gift. Take some oil, some honey and some spices. Also take some myrrh, and some nuts. [ c ] 12 Also take twice the amount of money with you. You must give back the money that they put back into your bags last time. It may have been a mistake. 13 Take your brother Benjamin too. Go back to the man now. 14 I pray that God Almighty will help you. I pray that God will cause the man to be kind to you. Then he will let your older brother go free. He and Benjamin will return here with you. As for me, if I must lose my sons, then I will lose them. There is nothing that I can do to stop it.’
15 So the brothers took the gifts, and they took twice as much money with them. They took Benjamin and they hurried to Egypt. When they arrived there, they went to meet Joseph.
16 Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them. So he said to his servant who took care of his house, ‘Take these men to my house. Kill an animal and prepare it for a meal. These men will eat with me at noon.’ 17 The servant did as Joseph told him. He took the men to Joseph's house.
18 The brothers were frightened when the servant took them to Joseph's house. They thought, ‘He has brought us here because of the money that we found in our bags last time. Someone put it there before we returned home. Now he wants to punish us. He will take us to be his slaves. He will take our donkeys too.’
19 So the brothers went to Joseph's servant. They spoke to him at the door of Joseph's house before they went in. 20 They said, ‘Please sir. The first time we came here, we came to buy food. 21 But on our journey back, we stopped at a place to sleep for the night. When we opened our bags, each of us found our money there. It was the same amount of money that each of us had taken to buy food in Egypt. The money was in the top of our bags. Now we have brought the money back here. 22 We have also brought more money so that we can buy more food. We do not know who put the money back into our bags.’
23 The servant replied, ‘Do not worry. Everything is all right. Your God, the God of your father, put the valuable silver coins there. I received your money. No problem!’ Then the servant brought Simeon out to see his brothers.
24 The servant took the men into Joseph's house. He gave them water to wash their feet. He also gave food to their donkeys. 25 The brothers prepared their gifts to give to Joseph when he would arrive at noon. The servant had told them that they would eat a meal there.
26 When Joseph arrived home, the brothers gave him the gifts that they had brought with them. They bent down low to the ground in front of him. 27 Joseph asked them if they were well. Then he said, ‘You told me last time about your old father. How is he? Is he still alive?’ 28 The brothers replied, ‘Your servant, our father, is still alive. And he is well.’ They bent down to the ground again, to respect Joseph.
29 Then Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son. [ d ] Joseph asked, ‘Is this your youngest brother? Is he the one that you told me about?’ Joseph said to Benjamin, ‘I pray that God will bless you, my son.’ 30 Joseph loved Benjamin very much. He quickly went out of the room because he wanted to weep. Joseph went into his own room and he wept there. 31 After that, he washed his face. He returned to his brothers. He controlled himself and he said, ‘Prepare the food for them to eat.’ 32 The servants gave food to Joseph at his own table. The brothers sat together at a different table. And the Egyptians who ate there also sat together. The Egyptians could not eat a meal with Hebrews, because that would make the Egyptians ashamed. 33 The brothers sat in a place where Joseph could see them. The servants told each of them where to sit, by their age. The oldest brother was at one end, all along to the youngest brother at the other end. The brothers were very surprised to see this. [ e ]
34 Then the servants took food from Joseph's table and they gave it to the brothers. Benjamin received the biggest amount of food. It was five times more than any of his brothers. The brothers also drank wine with Joseph and they were all very happy.
43 The famine was very bad in that country. 2 The people ate all the grain they had brought from Egypt. When that grain was gone, Jacob said to his sons, “Go to Egypt and buy some more grain for us to eat.”
3 But Judah said to Jacob, “But the governor of that country warned us. He said, ‘If you don’t bring your brother back to me, I will refuse to talk to you.’ 4 If you send Benjamin with us, we will go down and buy grain. 5 But if you refuse to send Benjamin, we will not go. The man warned us to not come back without him.”
6 Israel said, “Why did you tell him you had another brother? Why did you do such a bad thing to me?”
7 The brothers answered, “He asked lots of questions. He wanted to know all about us and about our family. He asked us, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother at home?’ We only answered his questions. We didn’t know he would ask us to bring our brother to him!”
8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Let Benjamin go with me. I will take care of him. We have to go to Egypt to get food. If we don’t go, we will all die—including our children. 9 I will make sure he is safe. I will be responsible for him. If I don’t bring him back to you, you can blame me forever. 10 If you had let us go before, we could have already made two trips for food.”
11 Then their father Israel said, “If it is really true, take Benjamin with you. But take some gifts to the governor. Take some of the things we have been able to gather in our land. Take him some honey, pistachio nuts, almonds, spices, and myrrh. 12 Take twice as much money with you this time. Take the money that was given back to you after you paid last time. Maybe the governor made a mistake. 13 Take Benjamin, and go back to the man. 14 I pray that God All-Powerful will help you when you stand before the governor. I pray that he will let Benjamin, and also Simeon, come back safely. If not, I will again be sad from losing my children.”
15 So the brothers took the gifts to give to the governor. And the brothers took twice as much money with them as they took the first time. This time Benjamin went with the brothers to Egypt.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his servant, “Bring these men into my house. Kill an animal and cook it. They will eat with me at noon today.” 17 The servant did as he was told. He brought the men into Joseph’s house.
18 The brothers were afraid when they were taken to Joseph’s house and said, “We have been brought here because of the money that was put back in our sacks the last time. They will use this as proof against us and steal our donkeys and make us slaves.”
19 So the brothers went to the servant in charge of Joseph’s house. 20 They said, “Sir, I promise this is the truth. The last time we came, we came to buy food. 21-22 On the way home, we opened our sacks and found our money in every sack. We don’t know how it got there, but we brought that money with us to give it back to you. And we have brought more money to pay for the food that we want to buy this time.”
23 But the servant answered, “Don’t be afraid; believe me. Your God, the God of your father, must have put the money in your sack as a gift. I remember that you paid me for the grain the last time.”
Then the servant brought Simeon out of the prison. 24 The servant led the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he fed their donkeys.
25 The brothers heard that they were going to eat with Joseph, so they worked until noon preparing their gifts for him.
26 When Joseph came home, the brothers gave him the gifts they had brought with them. Then they bowed down to the ground in front of him.
27 Joseph asked them how they were doing. Then he said, “How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?”
28 The brothers answered, “Yes, sir, our father is still alive.” And they again bowed before Joseph.
29 Then Joseph saw his brother Benjamin. (Benjamin and Joseph had the same mother.) Joseph said, “Is this your youngest brother that you told me about?” Then Joseph said to Benjamin, “God bless you, my son!”
30 Joseph felt a strong desire to show his brother Benjamin that he loved him. He was about to cry and didn’t want his brothers to see him, so he ran into his private room and cried there. 31 Then Joseph washed his face and came out. He regained control of himself and said, “Now it is time to eat.”
32 The servants seated Joseph at a table by himself. His brothers were at another table by themselves, and the Egyptians were at a table by themselves. The Egyptians believed that it was wrong for them to eat with Hebrews. [ a ] 33 Joseph’s brothers were seated at a table facing him. The brothers were looking at each other because, to their surprise, they had been seated in order, from the oldest to the youngest. 34 Servants were taking food from Joseph’s table and bringing it to them. But the servants gave Benjamin five times more than the others. The brothers continued to eat and drink with Joseph until they were drunk.
43 And the famine was sore in the land.
2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.
3 And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
4 If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:
5 But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
6 And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?
7 And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
8 And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.
9 I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:
10 For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.
11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:
12 And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:
13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:
14 And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
15 And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.
17 And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
18 And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.
19 And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,
20 And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
21 And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.
22 And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.
23 And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.
24 And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.
25 And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.
26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.
27 And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?
28 And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
31 And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
32 And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.
34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of their's. And they drank, and were merry with him.
43 ( A ) Now the famine was severe in the land. 2 So it came about, when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” 3 Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “ ( B ) The man sternly warned [ a ] us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But if you do not send him , we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” 6 Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly, [ b ] by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” 7 But they said, “The man specifically asked about us and our relatives, saying, ‘ ( C ) Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we [ c ] answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8 So Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will arise and go, ( D ) so that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. 9 ( E ) I myself will take responsibility for him! You may demand him back from [ d ] me. If I do not bring him back to you and present him to you, then [ e ] you can let me take the blame forever. 10 For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your [ f ] bags, and carry down to the man ( F ) as a gift, a little ( G ) balsam and a little honey, labdanum resin and [ g ] myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 And take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand ( H ) the money that was returned in the opening of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man; 14 and may [ h ] ( I ) God Almighty ( J ) grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you ( K ) your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, ( L ) if I am bereaved of my sons, I am bereaved!” 15 So the men took ( M ) this gift, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; then they set out and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his ( N ) house steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make preparations; for the men are to dine with me at noon.” 17 So the man did as Joseph said, and [ i ] brought the men to Joseph’s house. 18 Now the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, “ It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, so that he may [ j ] attack us and [ k ] overpower us, and take us as slaves with our donkeys.” 19 So they approached Joseph’s house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house, 20 and said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food, 21 and it happened when we came to the campsite, that we opened our sacks, and behold, ( O ) each man’s money was in the opening of his sack, our money in [ l ] full. So ( P ) we have brought it back in our hand. 22 We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 But he said, “Peace be to you, do not be afraid. ( Q ) Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; your [ m ] money was in my possession.” Then ( R ) he brought Simeon out to them. 24 Then the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and ( S ) gave them water, and they ( T ) washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. 25 So they prepared ( U ) the gift [ n ] for Joseph’s arrival at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat [ o ] a meal there.
26 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the gift which was in their hand, and they ( V ) bowed down to the ground before him. 27 Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, “ ( W ) Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 And they said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” Then ( X ) they bowed down again [ p ] in homage. 29 And as he raised his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this ( Y ) your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” Then he said, “ ( Z ) May God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Joseph then hurried out , for [ q ] ( AA ) he was deeply stirred over his brother, and he looked for a place to weep; so he entered his chamber and ( AB ) wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he ( AC ) controlled himself and said, “ [ r ] Serve the meal.” 32 Then they served him by himself, and [ s ] Joseph’s brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an ( AD ) abomination to the Egyptians. 33 Now they [ t ] were seated before him, from ( AE ) the firstborn according to his birthright to the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. 34 Then he took portions to them from [ u ] his own table, ( AF ) but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank freely with him.
43 Now the famine was still severe in the land. ( A ) 2 So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, ( B ) their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.” ( C )
3 But Judah ( D ) said to him, “The man warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ ( E ) 4 If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you. ( F ) 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you. ( G ) ’”
6 Israel ( H ) asked, “Why did you bring this trouble ( I ) on me by telling the man you had another brother?”
7 They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’ ( J ) he asked us. ‘Do you have another brother?’ ( K ) We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?” ( L )
8 Then Judah ( M ) said to Israel ( N ) his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. ( O ) 9 I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. ( P ) If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame ( Q ) before you all my life. ( R ) 10 As it is, if we had not delayed, ( S ) we could have gone and returned twice.”
11 Then their father Israel ( T ) said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products ( U ) of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift ( V ) —a little balm ( W ) and a little honey, some spices ( X ) and myrrh, ( Y ) some pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double the amount ( Z ) of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. ( AA ) Perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. ( AB ) 14 And may God Almighty [ a ] ( AC ) grant you mercy ( AD ) before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. ( AE ) As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.” ( AF )
15 So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, ( AG ) and Benjamin also. They hurried ( AH ) down to Egypt and presented themselves ( AI ) to Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin ( AJ ) with them, he said to the steward of his house, ( AK ) “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal; ( AL ) they are to eat with me at noon.”
17 The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house. ( AM ) 18 Now the men were frightened ( AN ) when they were taken to his house. ( AO ) They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks ( AP ) the first time. He wants to attack us ( AQ ) and overpower us and seize us as slaves ( AR ) and take our donkeys. ( AS ) ”
19 So they went up to Joseph’s steward ( AT ) and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 20 “We beg your pardon, our lord,” they said, “we came down here the first time to buy food. ( AU ) 21 But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver—the exact weight—in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. ( AV ) 22 We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in our sacks.”
23 “It’s all right,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, ( AW ) has given you treasure in your sacks; ( AX ) I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. ( AY )
24 The steward took the men into Joseph’s house, ( AZ ) gave them water to wash their feet ( BA ) and provided fodder for their donkeys. 25 They prepared their gifts ( BB ) for Joseph’s arrival at noon, ( BC ) because they had heard that they were to eat there.
26 When Joseph came home, ( BD ) they presented to him the gifts ( BE ) they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. ( BF ) 27 He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father ( BG ) you told me about? Is he still living?” ( BH )
28 They replied, “Your servant our father ( BI ) is still alive and well.” And they bowed down, ( BJ ) prostrating themselves before him. ( BK )
29 As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, ( BL ) he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” ( BM ) And he said, “God be gracious to you, ( BN ) my son.” 30 Deeply moved ( BO ) at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept ( BP ) there.
31 After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, ( BQ ) said, “Serve the food.” ( BR )
32 They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, ( BS ) for that is detestable to Egyptians. ( BT ) 33 The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn ( BU ) to the youngest; ( BV ) and they looked at each other in astonishment. 34 When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s. ( BW ) So they feasted ( BX ) and drank freely with him.
