1 Mosebog 43

1 Men Hungersnøden var haard i Landet;

And the famine [was] severe 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 consumed the corn which they had brought from Egypt, their father said to 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 spoke to him, saying, The man did solemnly protest to 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 wilt not send [him], we will not go down, for the man said to 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, Why dealt ye [so] ill with me, [as] to tell the man whether ye had yet a 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 asked us strictly concerning our state, 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 certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?

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 to 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 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; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not to thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:

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

For except we had delayed, surely now we had returned this 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 to them, If [it must be] so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry to the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, 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 take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks, carry [it] again in your hand; it may be it [was] an oversight:

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

Take also your brother, and arise, go again to 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 God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin: If I be bereaved, I am 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 they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and arose, 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 ruler of his house, Bring [these] men home, and slay, and make ready: for [these] men shall dine with me at noon.

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

And the man did as Joseph commanded: 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 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 bond-men, and our asses.

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

And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed 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 said, O sir, we came down indeed 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 full weight: and we have brought it again 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 hands to buy food: we cannot tell who 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 treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out to 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 gave [them] water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.

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 against Joseph should come at noon: for they 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 of [their] welfare, and said, [Is] your father well, the old man 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 their heads and made obeisance.

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 younger brother, of whom ye spoke to me? And he said, God be gracious to 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 made haste; for his bowels yearned towards his brother: and he sought [where] 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 went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on 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 ate with him, by themselves; because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that [is] an abomination to 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 birth-right, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men wondered one at another.

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 took [and sent] messes to them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.