< Genesis 43 >
1 Now the famine was still severe in the land.
ὁ δὲ λιμὸς ἐνίσχυσεν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς
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.”
ἐγένετο δὲ ἡνίκα συνετέλεσαν καταφαγεῖν τὸν σῖτον ὃν ἤνεγκαν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῶν πάλιν πορευθέντες πρίασθε ἡμῖν μικρὰ βρώματα
3 But Judah replied, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’
εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ Ιουδας λέγων διαμαρτυρίᾳ διαμεμαρτύρηται ἡμῖν ὁ ἄνθρωπος λέγων οὐκ ὄψεσθε τὸ πρόσωπόν μου ἐὰν μὴ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὑμῶν ὁ νεώτερος μεθ’ ὑμῶν ᾖ
4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you.
εἰ μὲν οὖν ἀποστέλλεις τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἡμῶν μεθ’ ἡμῶν καταβησόμεθα καὶ ἀγοράσωμέν σοι βρώματα
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.’”
εἰ δὲ μὴ ἀποστέλλεις τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἡμῶν μεθ’ ἡμῶν οὐ πορευσόμεθα ὁ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος εἶπεν ἡμῖν λέγων οὐκ ὄψεσθέ μου τὸ πρόσωπον ἐὰν μὴ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὑμῶν ὁ νεώτερος μεθ’ ὑμῶν ᾖ
6 “Why did you bring this trouble upon me?” Israel asked. “Why did you tell the man you had another brother?”
εἶπεν δὲ Ισραηλ τί ἐκακοποιήσατέ με ἀναγγείλαντες τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ εἰ ἔστιν ὑμῖν ἀδελφός
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’?”
οἱ δὲ εἶπαν ἐρωτῶν ἐπηρώτησεν ἡμᾶς ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ τὴν γενεὰν ἡμῶν λέγων εἰ ἔτι ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ζῇ εἰ ἔστιν ὑμῖν ἀδελφός καὶ ἀπηγγείλαμεν αὐτῷ κατὰ τὴν ἐπερώτησιν ταύτην μὴ ᾔδειμεν εἰ ἐρεῖ ἡμῖν ἀγάγετε τὸν ἀδελφὸν ὑμῶν
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.
εἶπεν δὲ Ιουδας πρὸς Ισραηλ τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ ἀπόστειλον τὸ παιδάριον μετ’ ἐμοῦ καὶ ἀναστάντες πορευσόμεθα ἵνα ζῶμεν καὶ μὴ ἀποθάνωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς καὶ σὺ καὶ ἡ ἀποσκευὴ ἡμῶν
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.
ἐγὼ δὲ ἐκδέχομαι αὐτόν ἐκ χειρός μου ζήτησον αὐτόν ἐὰν μὴ ἀγάγω αὐτὸν πρὸς σὲ καὶ στήσω αὐτὸν ἐναντίον σου ἡμαρτηκὼς ἔσομαι πρὸς σὲ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας
10 If we had not delayed, we could have come and gone twice by now.”
εἰ μὴ γὰρ ἐβραδύναμεν ἤδη ἂν ὑπεστρέψαμεν δίς
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.
εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς Ισραηλ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῶν εἰ οὕτως ἐστίν τοῦτο ποιήσατε λάβετε ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν τῆς γῆς ἐν τοῖς ἀγγείοις ὑμῶν καὶ καταγάγετε τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ δῶρα τῆς ῥητίνης καὶ τοῦ μέλιτος θυμίαμα καὶ στακτὴν καὶ τερέμινθον καὶ κάρυα
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.
καὶ τὸ ἀργύριον δισσὸν λάβετε ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν ὑμῶν τὸ ἀργύριον τὸ ἀποστραφὲν ἐν τοῖς μαρσίπποις ὑμῶν ἀποστρέψατε μεθ’ ὑμῶν μήποτε ἀγνόημά ἐστιν
13 Take your brother as well, and return to the man at once.
καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ὑμῶν λάβετε καὶ ἀναστάντες κατάβητε πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον
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.”
ὁ δὲ θεός μου δῴη ὑμῖν χάριν ἐναντίον τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ ἀποστείλαι τὸν ἀδελφὸν ὑμῶν τὸν ἕνα καὶ τὸν Βενιαμιν ἐγὼ μὲν γάρ καθὰ ἠτέκνωμαι ἠτέκνωμαι
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.
λαβόντες δὲ οἱ ἄνδρες τὰ δῶρα ταῦτα καὶ τὸ ἀργύριον διπλοῦν ἔλαβον ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν καὶ τὸν Βενιαμιν καὶ ἀναστάντες κατέβησαν εἰς Αἴγυπτον καὶ ἔστησαν ἐναντίον Ιωσηφ
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.”
εἶδεν δὲ Ιωσηφ αὐτοὺς καὶ τὸν Βενιαμιν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν ὁμομήτριον καὶ εἶπεν τῷ ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκίας αὐτοῦ εἰσάγαγε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ σφάξον θύματα καὶ ἑτοίμασον μετ’ ἐμοῦ γὰρ φάγονται οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἄρτους τὴν μεσημβρίαν
17 The man did as Joseph had commanded and took the brothers to Joseph’s house.
ἐποίησεν δὲ ὁ ἄνθρωπος καθὰ εἶπεν Ιωσηφ καὶ εἰσήγαγεν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους εἰς τὸν οἶκον Ιωσηφ
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.”
ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι ὅτι εἰσήχθησαν εἰς τὸν οἶκον Ιωσηφ εἶπαν διὰ τὸ ἀργύριον τὸ ἀποστραφὲν ἐν τοῖς μαρσίπποις ἡμῶν τὴν ἀρχὴν ἡμεῖς εἰσαγόμεθα τοῦ συκοφαντῆσαι ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐπιθέσθαι ἡμῖν τοῦ λαβεῖν ἡμᾶς εἰς παῖδας καὶ τοὺς ὄνους ἡμῶν
19 So they approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house.
προσελθόντες δὲ πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ οἴκου Ιωσηφ ἐλάλησαν αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ πυλῶνι τοῦ οἴκου
20 “Please, sir,” they said, “we really did come down here the first time to buy food.
λέγοντες δεόμεθα κύριε κατέβημεν τὴν ἀρχὴν πρίασθαι βρώματα
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.
ἐγένετο δὲ ἡνίκα ἤλθομεν εἰς τὸ καταλῦσαι καὶ ἠνοίξαμεν τοὺς μαρσίππους ἡμῶν καὶ τόδε τὸ ἀργύριον ἑκάστου ἐν τῷ μαρσίππῳ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀργύριον ἡμῶν ἐν σταθμῷ ἀπεστρέψαμεν νῦν ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν ἡμῶν
22 We have brought additional silver with us to buy food. We do not know who put our silver in our sacks.”
καὶ ἀργύριον ἕτερον ἠνέγκαμεν μεθ’ ἑαυτῶν ἀγοράσαι βρώματα οὐκ οἴδαμεν τίς ἐνέβαλεν τὸ ἀργύριον εἰς τοὺς μαρσίππους ἡμῶν
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.
εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς ἵλεως ὑμῖν μὴ φοβεῖσθε ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν καὶ ὁ θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ὑμῶν ἔδωκεν ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐν τοῖς μαρσίπποις ὑμῶν τὸ δὲ ἀργύριον ὑμῶν εὐδοκιμοῦν ἀπέχω καὶ ἐξήγαγεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν Συμεων
24 And the steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided food for their donkeys.
καὶ ἤνεγκεν ὕδωρ νίψαι τοὺς πόδας αὐτῶν καὶ ἔδωκεν χορτάσματα τοῖς ὄνοις αὐτῶν
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.
ἡτοίμασαν δὲ τὰ δῶρα ἕως τοῦ ἐλθεῖν Ιωσηφ μεσημβρίας ἤκουσαν γὰρ ὅτι ἐκεῖ μέλλει ἀριστᾶν
26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought, and they bowed to the ground before him.
εἰσῆλθεν δὲ Ιωσηφ εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ προσήνεγκαν αὐτῷ τὰ δῶρα ἃ εἶχον ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν οἶκον καὶ προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν
27 He asked if they were well, and then he asked, “How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?”
ἠρώτησεν δὲ αὐτούς πῶς ἔχετε καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς εἰ ὑγιαίνει ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ πρεσβύτερος ὃν εἴπατε ἔτι ζῇ
28 “Your servant our father is well,” they answered. “He is still alive.” And they bowed down to honor him.
οἱ δὲ εἶπαν ὑγιαίνει ὁ παῖς σου ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν ἔτι ζῇ καὶ εἶπεν εὐλογητὸς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος τῷ θεῷ καὶ κύψαντες προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ
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.”
ἀναβλέψας δὲ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς Ιωσηφ εἶδεν Βενιαμιν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν ὁμομήτριον καὶ εἶπεν οὗτος ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὑμῶν ὁ νεώτερος ὃν εἴπατε πρός με ἀγαγεῖν καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς ἐλεήσαι σε τέκνον
30 Joseph hurried out because he was moved to tears for his brother, and he went to a private room to weep.
ἐταράχθη δὲ Ιωσηφ συνεστρέφετο γὰρ τὰ ἔντερα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐζήτει κλαῦσαι εἰσελθὼν δὲ εἰς τὸ ταμιεῖον ἔκλαυσεν ἐκεῖ
31 Then he washed his face and came back out. Regaining his composure, he said, “Serve the meal.”
καὶ νιψάμενος τὸ πρόσωπον ἐξελθὼν ἐνεκρατεύσατο καὶ εἶπεν παράθετε ἄρτους
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.
καὶ παρέθηκαν αὐτῷ μόνῳ καὶ αὐτοῖς καθ’ ἑαυτοὺς καὶ τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις τοῖς συνδειπνοῦσιν μετ’ αὐτοῦ καθ’ ἑαυτούς οὐ γὰρ ἐδύναντο οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι συνεσθίειν μετὰ τῶν Εβραίων ἄρτους βδέλυγμα γάρ ἐστιν τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις
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.
ἐκάθισαν δὲ ἐναντίον αὐτοῦ ὁ πρωτότοκος κατὰ τὰ πρεσβεῖα αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ νεώτερος κατὰ τὴν νεότητα αὐτοῦ ἐξίσταντο δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἕκαστος πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ
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.
ἦραν δὲ μερίδας παρ’ αὐτοῦ πρὸς αὐτούς ἐμεγαλύνθη δὲ ἡ μερὶς Βενιαμιν παρὰ τὰς μερίδας πάντων πενταπλασίως πρὸς τὰς ἐκείνων ἔπιον δὲ καὶ ἐμεθύσθησαν μετ’ αὐτοῦ