Genesis 43

1 Now the famine was still severe in the land.

And the famine was grievous in the land.

2 So when Jacob’s sons had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”

And it came to pass, when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, Go again, buy us a little food.

3 But Judah replied, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’

And Judah spoke to him, saying, The man did positively testify to us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, unless your brother be with you.

4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you.

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

5 But if you will not send him, we will not go; for the man told us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”

but if thou do not send [him], we will not go down, for the man said to us, Ye shall not see my face, unless your brother be with you.

6 “Why did you bring this trouble upon me?” Israel asked. “Why did you tell the man you had another brother?”

And Israel said, Why did ye deal [so] ill with me [as] to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?

7 They replied, “The man questioned us in detail about ourselves and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?”

And they said, The man asked very closely after us, and after our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye a brother? And we told him according to the tenor of these words. Could we at all know that he would say, Bring your brother down?

8 And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will go at once, so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our children.

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 our little ones.

9 I will guarantee his safety. You may hold me personally responsible. If I do not bring him back and set him before you, then may I bear the guilt before you all my life.

I will be surety for him: of my hand shalt thou require him; if I bring him not to thee, and set him before thy face, then shall I be guilty toward thee for ever.

10 If we had not delayed, we could have come and gone twice by now.”

For had we not lingered, we should now certainly have returned already twice.

11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and carry them down as a gift for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds.

And their father Israel said to them, If it is then so, do this: take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a gift: a little balsam and a little honey, tragacanth and ladanum, pistacia-nuts and almonds.

12 Take double the silver with you so that you may return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake.

And take other money in your hand, and the money that was returned to you in the mouth of your sacks, carry back in your hand: perhaps it is an oversight.

13 Take your brother as well, and return to the man at once.

And take your brother, and arise, go again to the man.

14 May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

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

15 So the men took these gifts, along with double the amount of silver, and Benjamin as well. Then they hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

And the men took that gift, and took double money in their hand, and Benjamin, and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and came before Joseph.

16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with his brothers, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they shall dine with me at noon.”

And Joseph saw Benjamin with them, and said to the [man] who was over his house, Bring the men into the house, and slaughter cattle, and make ready; for the men shall eat with me at noon.

17 The man did as Joseph had commanded and took the brothers to Joseph’s house.

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

18 But the brothers were frightened that they had been taken to Joseph’s house. “We have been brought here because of the silver that was returned in our bags the first time,” they said. “They intend to overpower us and take us as slaves, along with our donkeys.”

And the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph's house, and said, Because of the money that was returned to us in our sacks at the beginning are we brought in, that he may turn against us, and fall upon us and take us for bondmen, and our asses.

19 So they approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house.

And they came up to the man that was over Joseph's house, and they spoke to him at the door of the house,

20 “Please, sir,” they said, “we really did come down here the first time to buy food.

and said, Ah! my lord, we came indeed down at the first to buy food.

21 But when we came to the place we lodged for the night, we opened our sacks and, behold, each of us found his silver in the mouth of his sack! It was the full amount of our silver, and we have brought it back with us.

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 according to its weight; and we have brought it again in our hand.

22 We have brought additional silver with us to buy food. We do not know who put our silver in our sacks.”

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

23 “It is fine,” said the steward. “Do not be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, gave you the treasure that was in your sacks. I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

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

24 And the steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided food for their donkeys.

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

25 Since the brothers had been told that they were going to eat a meal there, they prepared their gift for Joseph’s arrival at noon.

And they made ready the gift for Joseph's coming at noon; for they had heard that they should eat bread there.

26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought, and they bowed to the ground before him.

When Joseph came home, they brought him the gift that was in their hand, into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.

27 He asked if they were well, and then he asked, “How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?”

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 “Your servant our father is well,” they answered. “He is still alive.” And they bowed down to honor him.

And they said, Thy servant our father is well; he is yet alive. And they bowed, and made obeisance.

29 When Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” Then he declared, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”

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 Joseph hurried out because he was moved to tears for his brother, and he went to a private room to weep.

And Joseph made haste, for his bowels burned for his brother; and he sought [a place] to weep, and he went into the chamber, and wept there.

31 Then he washed his face and came back out. Regaining his composure, he said, “Serve the meal.”

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

32 They separately served Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptians. They ate separately because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, since that was detestable to them.

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 unto the Egyptians.

33 They were seated before Joseph in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest, and the men looked at one another in astonishment.

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 When the portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of the others. So they feasted and drank freely with Joseph.

And he had portions carried to them from before him. And Benjamin's portion was five times greater than the portions of them all. And they drank, and made merry with him.