1 Mosebog 43

1 Men Hungersnøden var haard i Landet;

And the famine was sore in the land.

2 og da de havde fortæret det Korn, de havde hentet i Ægypten, sagde deres Fader til dem: »Køb os igen lidt Føde!«

And it came to pass, when they had completely eaten up the provisions which they had brought out of Egypt, that their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.

3 Men Juda svarede ham: »Manden sagde os ganske afgjort: I bliver ikke stedt for mit Aasyn, medmindre eders Broder er med!

And Judah said unto him, thus, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

4 Hvis du derfor vil sende vor Broder med os, vil vi rejse ned og købe dig Føde;

If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food;

5 men sender du ham ikke med, saa rejser vi ikke derned, thi Manden sagde til os: I bliver ikke stedt for mit Aasyn, medmindre eders Broder er med!«

But if thou sendest him not, we will not go down; for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

6 Saa sagde Israel: »Hvorfor handlede I ilde imod mig og fortalte Manden, at I havde en Broder til?«

And Israel said, Wherefore have ye dealt so ill with me, as to tell the man that ye have yet another brother?

7 De svarede: »Manden spurgte os nøje ud om os og vor Slægt og sagde: Lever eders Fader endnu? Har I en Broder til? Og vi svarede ham paa hans Spørgsmaal; kunde vi vide, at han vilde sige: Bring eders Broder herned!«

And they said, The man inquired particularly concerning us, and 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 possibly know that he would say, Bring down your brother?

8 Men Juda sagde til sin Fader Israel: »Send dog Drengen med mig, saa vi kan komme af Sted og blive i Live og undgaa Døden, baade vi og du og vore Børn!

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, as also our little ones.

9 Jeg svarer for ham, af min Haand maa du kræve ham: bringer jeg ham ikke til dig og stiller ham for dit Aasyn, vil jeg være din Skyldner for bestandig;

I will be surety for him; from my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then shall I have sinned against thee all the days.

10 havde vi nu ikke spildt Tiden, kunde vi have været tilbage to Gange!«

For, if we had not lingered, surely we had now returned the second time.

11 Saa sagde deres Fader Israel til dem: »Kan det ikke være anderledes, gør da i alt Fald saaledes: Tag noget af det bedste, Landet frembringer, med i eders Sække og bring Manden en Gave, lidt Mastiksbalsam, lidt Honning, Tragakantgummi, Cistusharpiks, Pistacienødder og Mandler;

And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this: take of the best products of the land in your vessels, and carry down to the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices and lotus, pistachio-nuts and almonds;

12 og tag dobbelt saa mange Penge med, saa I bringer de Penge tilbage, som var lagt oven i eders Sække; maaske var det en Fejltagelse;

And twofold money take in your hand; and the money that was put back in the mouth of your sacks, you must carry back in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight;

13 og tag saa eders Broder og drag atter til Manden!

Also your brother take along, and arise, go again unto the man.

14 Gud den Almægtige lade eder finde Barmhjertighed hos Manden, saa han lader eders anden Broder og Benjamin fare — men skal jeg være barnløs, saa lad mig da blive det!«

And may God the Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away to you your other brother, and Benjamin. And I, if I am to be bereaved, let me be bereaved.

15 Saa tog Mændene deres Gave og dobbelt saa mange Penge med; ogsaa Benjamin tog de med, brød op og drog ned til Ægypten, hvor de fremstillede sig for Josef.

And the men took that present; and twofold money they took in their hand, as also Benjamin; and they rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

16 Da Josef saa Benjamin iblandt dem, sagde han til sin Hushovmester: »Bring de Mænd ind i mit Hus, lad slagte og lave til, thi de skal spise til Middag hos mig.«

And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the superintendent of his house, Bring these men into the house, and slay, and make ready; for with me shall these men dine at noon.

17 Manden gjorde, som Josef bød, og førte Mændene ind i Josefs Hus.

And the man did as Joseph had said; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.

18 Men Mændene blev bange, da de førtes ind i Josefs Hus, og sagde: »Det er for de Penges Skyld, der forrige Gang kom tilbage i vore Sække, at vi føres herind, for at de kan vælte sig ind paa os og kaste sig over os, gøre os til Trælle og tage vore Æsler.«

And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house: and they said, Because of the money that came back 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, together with our asses.

19 Derfor traadte de hen til Josefs Hushovmester ved Døren til Huset

And they came near to the man who was appointed over Joseph's house, and they spoke with him at the door of the house.

20 og sagde: »Hør os, Herre! Vi drog en Gang før herned for at købe Føde,

And they said, Pardon, my lord, we came down at the first time to buy food:

21 og da vi kom til vort Natteherberge og aabnede vore Sække, se, da laa vore Penge oven i hver enkelts Sæk, vore Penge til sidste Hvid. Men nu har vi bragt dem med tilbage

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 its full weight; and we have brought it back in our hand.

22 og desuden andre Penge for at købe Føde. Vi ved ikke, hvem der har lagt Pengene i vore Sække!«

And other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food; we know not who hath put our money in our sacks.

23 Men han svarede: »Vær ved godt Mod, frygt ikke! Eders Gud og eders Faders Gud har lagt en Skat i eders Sække — eders Penge har jeg modtaget!« Og han førte Simeon ud til dem.

And he said, Peace be to you, fear not; your God, and the God of your father, hath given you a treasure in your sacks; your money hath come to me. And he brought Simeon out unto them.

24 Saa førte Manden dem ind i Josefs Hus og gav dem Vand til at tvætte deres Fødder og Foder til Æslerne.

And the man brought the men into Joseph's house; and he gave them water, and they washed their feet, and he gave provender to their asses.

25 Og de fremtog deres Gave, før Josef kom hjem ved Middagstid, thi de hørte, at de skulde spise der.

And they made ready the present before Joseph came home at noon; for they had heard that they should eat bread there.

26 Da Josef traadte ind i Huset, bragte de ham den Gave, de havde med, og kastede sig til Jorden for ham.

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 Han hilste paa dem og spurgte: »Gaar det eders gamle Fader vel, ham, I talte om? Lever han endnu?«

And he asked them after their welfare, and said, Is your old father well, of whom ye spoke? is he yet alive?

28 De svarede: »Det gaar din Træl, vor Fader, vel; han lever endnu!« Og de bøjede sig og kastede sig til Jorden.

And they answered, Thy servant, our father, is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and prostrated themselves.

29 Da han saa fik Øje paa sin kødelige Broder Benjamin, sagde han: »Er det saa eders yngste Broder, som I talte til mig om?« Og han sagde: »Gud være dig naadig, min Søn!«

And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your youngest brother, of whom ye spoke unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.

30 Men Josef brød hurtigt af, thi Kærligheden til Broderen blussede op i ham, og han kæmpede med Graaden; derfor gik han ind i sit Kammer og græd der.

And Joseph hastened away, for his affection toward his brother became enkindled, and he sought to weep; and he entered into his chamber and wept there.

31 Men da han havde badet sit Ansigt, kom han ud, og han beherskede sig og sagde: »Sæt Maden frem!«

And he washed his face, and came out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on the bread.

32 Saa blev Maden sat frem særskilt for ham og for dem og for de Ægyptere, der spiste hos ham; thi Ægypterne kan ikke spise sammen med Hebræere, det er dem en Vederstyggelighed.

And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves; and for the Egyptians, who did eat with him, by themselves; because the Egyptians may not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

33 De blev bænket foran ham efter Alder, den førstefødte øverst og den yngste nederst, og Mændene undrede sig og saa paa hverandre;

And they sat before him, the first-born according to his prior birth, and the youngest according to his youth; and the men marveled one at the other.

34 og han lod dem bringe Mad fra sit eget Bord, og Benjamin fik fem Gange saa meget som hver af de andre. Og de drak og blev lystige sammen med ham.

And he sent portions unto them from before him; but Benjamin's portion exceeded the portions of all of them fivefold. And they drank, and were merry with him.