Genesis 43

1 And the famine was sore in the land.

Now the famine was still severe in the land.

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

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.”

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

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

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

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

5 but if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

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.’”

6 And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?

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

7 And they said, The man asked straitly concerning ourselves, and concerning 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 in any wise know that he would say, Bring your brother down?

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’?”

8 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, and also our little ones.

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.

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

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.

10 for except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a second time.

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

11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it be so now, do this; take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:

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.

12 and take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:

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.

13 take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:

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

14 and God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release unto you your other brother and Benjamin. And if I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.

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.”

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

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.

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

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.”

17 And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.

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

18 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 bondmen, and our asses.

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.”

19 And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they spake unto him at the door of the house,

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

20 and said, Oh my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

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

21 and it came to pass, when we came to the lodging place, 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.

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.

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

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

23 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 unto them.

“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.

24 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.

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

25 And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.

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.

26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down themselves to him to the earth.

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

27 And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?

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

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

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

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

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.”

30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

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

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

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

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

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.

33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marveled one with another.

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

34 And he took [and sent] messes unto 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.

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.