Genesis 42
1 Toen Jakob vernam, dat er in Egypte koren was, zeide hij tot zijn zonen: Wat talmt ge nog?
When someone told Jacob that there was grain in Egypt that people could buy, he said to his sons, “(Why do you just sit there looking at each other?/Do not just sit there looking at each other!) [RHQ] We need some grain!”
2 Ik heb gehoord, dat er koren is in Egypte. Trekt daarheen, en gaat er wat voor ons kopen, zodat we in leven blijven en niet sterven.
He said to them, “Someone told me that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, in order that we will not die!”
3 Tien broeders van Josef gingen dus op weg, om in Egypte graan te kopen.
So Joseph’s ten [older] brothers went down to Egypt to buy some grain.
4 Maar Jakob liet Benjamin, den broer van Josef, niet met de andere broers meegaan; want hij was bang, dat hem een ongeluk zou overkomen.
But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s [younger] brother, to go with the others, because he was afraid/worried that something terrible might happen to him like what happened to Joseph.
5 Zo kwamen de zonen van Israël, tegelijk met vele anderen, daar aan, om koren te kopen; want er was hongersnood in het land Kanaän.
So Jacob’s other sons went down from Canaan to Egypt to buy grain, and others from there went too, because there was a famine in Canaan also.
6 Josef, die toen het land bestuurde, verkocht persoonlijk aan al de volken der aarde. Ook de broers van Josef gingen dus naar hem toe, en bogen zich voor hem ter aarde neer.
At that time Joseph was the governor of Egypt. He was the one who sold grain to people who came from all over Egypt and from many other countries [HYP] to buy grain. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, [they were told that it was necessary for them to talk with Joseph. So they went to him and] prostrated themselves before him with their faces to the ground.
7 Zodra Josef zijn broers zag, herkende hij hen, maar hij maakte zich zelf aan hen niet bekend. Bars sprak hij hen toe: Waar komt ge vandaan? Zij antwoordden: Uit het land Kanaän, om koren te kopen.
As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he pretended that he did not know them. He spoke harshly to them, saying, “Where do you come from?” One of them replied, “We have come from Canaan, to buy some grain.”
8 Nu wist Josef zeker, dat het zijn broers waren, en dat zij hem niet hadden herkend;
Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.
9 en hij herinnerde zich toen de dromen, die hij vroeger had gehad. Hij sprak tot hen: Gij zijt spionnen; ge zijt gekomen, om de zwakke punten van het land te verspieden.
And then Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about them many years previously. [But he decided not to tell them yet that he was their younger brother]. He said to them, “You are spies! You have come to find out whether we will be able to defend ourselves [if you attack us]!”
10 Zij antwoordden: Neen, heer; uw dienaars zijn enkel gekomen, om levensmiddelen te kopen.
One of them replied, “No, sir! We have come to buy grain.
11 Wij allen zijn zonen van één man, en wij zijn betrouwbare mensen; uw dienaars zijn geen spionnen.
We are all sons of one man. We are honest men, not spies.”
12 Hij herhaalde: Niet waar, ge zijt gekomen, om de zwakke punten van het land te verspieden.
He said to them, “[I do not believe you]. You have come just to see whether we would be able to defend ourselves if we were attacked!”
13 Ze zeiden: Uw dienaren zijn twaalf in getal geweest; wij zijn broeders en zonen van één man uit het land Kanaän. De jongste is bij onzen vader gebleven, en één is er niet meer.
But one of them replied, “No, that is not true! Originally there were twelve of us who were brothers, the sons of one man. Our younger brother is with our father. One [younger] brother has died. [EUP]”
14 Josef hernam: Ik blijf er bij; ge zijt spionnen.
Joseph replied, “[You are lying! I think] it is just as I told you. You are spies!
15 Dat is nu juist een punt, om u op de proef te stellen; bij het leven van Farao, gij komt hier niet vandaan, eer uw jongste broer naar hier is gekomen.
But this is how I will determine whether what you are saying is true. I think that as surely as the king lives, you are spies. And you will not leave this place until your youngest brother comes here!
16 Stuur dus een van u, om uw broer te halen; gij blijft hier gevangen achter. Zo kan worden onderzocht, of ge de waarheid hebt gesproken. En zo dit niet het geval is: bij het leven van Farao, dan zijt ge verspieders.
Send one of your group to go and get your younger brother and bring him here. I will put the rest of you in prison, in order that I may test what you have said to find out whether what you are telling me is true. If the one who goes does not bring your younger brother here, then, just as surely as the king lives, it will be clear that you are lying and that you are spies.”
17 Nu liet hij hen drie dagen lang te zamen in de gevangenis opsluiten.
Then Joseph put them all in prison for three days.
18 Op de derde dag sprak Josef tot hen: Ge kunt uw leven redden, zo ge doet wat ik zeg; ook ik ben een godvrezend man.
On the third day, Joseph went to the prison and said to them, “I am a man who fears that God [will punish me if I do not do what I promise]. So do what I tell you, and I will spare your lives.
19 Wanneer gij betrouwbare mannen zijt, laat dan een van uw broers als gevangene in uw kerker achter; de anderen van u kunnen vertrekken, en koren meenemen, om de honger van uw gezinnen te stillen.
If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, and the rest of you can take some grain back to your families who are very hungry because of the famine.
20 Maar ge brengt uw jongsten broeder naar mij toe, om de waarheid van uw woorden te bewijzen; dan zult ge niet sterven. Daar gingen ze op in.
But if you come back here again, you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that you can prove that what you told me is true, and as a result I will not have you executed.” So they agreed to do that.
21 Maar ze zeiden toch onder elkander: Waarachtig, we hebben het aan onzen broer verdiend. Wij hebben zijn doodsangst gezien, maar niet naar hem willen luisteren, toen hij ons om genade smeekte. Daarom komt deze ramp over ons.
They said to each other, “It is surely because of what we did to our [younger] brother that (we are being punished/God is punishing us)! We saw that he [SYN] was very distressed when he pleaded with us not to harm him. But we did not pay any attention to him, and that is why we are having this trouble!”
22 Ruben voegde er nog aan toe: Heb ik u niet gezegd, u niet aan den knaap te bezondigen? Maar gij hebt niet willen luisteren. Zie, nu wordt zijn bloed teruggeëist.
Reuben said to them, “I told you not to harm the boy [RHQ], but you did not pay attention to what I said! Now we are being (paid back/punished) for killing him [MTY]!”
23 Ze wisten niet, dat Josef hen verstond; want ze hadden zich van een tolk bediend.
While they were talking with Joseph, they were speaking through (an interpreter/someone who knew their language and the Egyptian language), but when they said these things among themselves, they were speaking in their own language, and they did not know that Joseph could understand their language, and that he could understand what they were saying.
24 Josef weende met de rug naar hen toe. Daarna keerde hij zich om, en onderhield zich met hen. Hij liet Simeon uit hun midden weghalen, en hem voor hun ogen in boeien slaan.
[Because of what they said, Joseph realized that they admitted that what they had done to him many years previously was wrong]. He could not keep from crying, [and he did not want them to see him crying], so he left them and went outside the room and began to cry. But then he returned to them and talked to them again. Then he took Simeon, and while they were watching, he told his servants to tie him up. He left Simeon in the prison and told the others that they could go.
25 Nu gaf Josef bevel, hun zakken met koren te vullen, maar in ieders zak het geld terug te leggen, en hun mondvoorraad mee te geven voor onderweg. Zo deed men.
Joseph told his servants to fill the men’s sacks with grain, but he also told them to put the money that each one had paid for the grain in the top of his sack. He also told them to give them food to eat along the way. After the servants did those things for Joseph’s older brothers,
26 Zij laadden het koren op hun ezels, en trokken weg.
his older brothers loaded the sacks of grain on their donkeys and left.
27 Maar toen een van hen in het nachtverblijf zijn zak opendeed, om zijn ezel te voeren, vond hij het geld bovenop in de zak.
At the place where they stopped to sleep that night, one of them opened his sack to get some grain for his donkey. He was amazed to see his money in the top of the sack.
28 Hij zei tot zijn broers: Mijn geld is terug; daar ligt het in mijn zak. Zij bestierven het van schrik, en zeiden tot elkander: Wat laat God ons nu overkomen?
He exclaimed to his brothers, “Someone has returned my money! Here it is in my sack!” They started shaking with fear, and said to each other, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 Zo kwamen zij dan bij hun vader Jakob in het land Kanaän terug, en verhaalden hem alles, wat hun overkomen was.
When they returned to their father in Canaan land, they told him all that had happened to them. One of them said,
30 Ze zeiden: Die man, die daar het land regeert, heeft ons bars toegesproken, en ons uitgemaakt voor verspieders van het land.
“The man who governs the whole land of Egypt talked very harshly to us. He acted toward us as though we were spying on his country.
31 Wij hebben hem geantwoord: Wij zijn betrouwbare mensen en geen spionnen.
But we told him, ‘We are honest men! We are not spies.
32 Wij zijn twaalf broeders geweest, zonen van één vader; één is er niet meer, en de jongste is bij zijn vader in het land Kanaän gebleven.
Originally there were twelve of us who were brothers, the sons of one father. One has died [EUP], and our youngest brother is with our father in Canaan.’
33 Maar de man, die daar het land regeert, sprak tot ons: Dit zal voor mij het bewijs zijn, dat gij betrouwbare mensen zijt; één van uw broers zal bij me blijven; de anderen van u kunnen vertrekken en koren meenemen, om de honger van uw gezinnen te stillen.
The man who is the governor of the land [did not believe us], so he said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are truly honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me. Then the rest of you can take some grain for your families that are starving from hunger and go.
34 Maar brengt uw jongsten broer tot mij; dan zal ik weten, dat gij geen verspieders zijt. Als gij betrouwbare mannen zijt, geef ik uw broer aan u terug, en kunt gij vrij door het land reizen.
But when you return, bring your youngest brother to me, in order that I will know that you are not spies, but instead, that you are honest men. Then I will release your brother for you. And then you can buy whatever you want in this country.’”
35 Toen zij hun zakken ledigden, vond ieder zijn buidel met geld in zijn zak. Bij het zien van hun buidels met geld, werden zij, zowel als hun vader, bevreesd.
As they were emptying their sacks, they were surprised that in each man’s sack was his pouch of money! When they and their father saw all the pouches of money, they were frightened.
36 En hun vader Jakob zeide tot hen: Ge maakt me kinderloos; Josef is weg, Simeon is weg, en nu neemt ge ook nog Benjamin weg; het drukt me allemaal zwaar.
Their father Jacob said to them, “You have caused two of my children to be taken from me! Joseph is dead, and Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin from me! It is I who am suffering because of all these things that are happening!”
37 Maar nu zei Ruben tot zijn vader: Ge moogt mijn beide zonen doden, als ik hem niet bij u terugbreng. Vertrouw hem mij toe; ik breng hem u terug.
Reuben said to his father, “I will be responsible for Benjamin. [I will take him to Egypt and] bring him back to you. Let me take care of him. If I do not bring Benjamin back to you, you may kill both of my sons.”
38 Maar hij antwoordde: Mijn zoon gaat niet met u mee; want zijn broer is dood, en hij alleen is nog over. Overkomt hem een ongeluk op de reis, die ge onderneemt, dan zoudt ge mijn grijze haren met kommer ten grave doen dalen. (Sheol h7585)
But Jacob said, “No, I will not let my son go down there with you. His [older] brother is dead, and he is the only [one of my wife Rachel’s] sons who is left! If something harms him while you are traveling, you would cause me, a gray-haired old man, to die because of sorrow.” (Sheol h7585)
