Genesis 43

1 The famine in Canaan got worse.

Now the famine was severe in the land.

2 Finally, when Jacob and his family had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, Jacob said to them, “Go back to Egypt and buy some more grain for us!”

So it came about when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, that their father said to them, "Go again, buy us a little more food."

3 But Judah said to him, “The man who sold us the grain warned us sternly, ‘I will not let you see me [SYN] again if you come and your younger brother is not with you.’

But Judah spoke to him, saying, "The man strictly warned us, saying, 'You may not see my face unless your brother is with you.'

4 So, if you will send our younger brother with us, we will go down to Egypt and buy some grain for you.

If you'll send our brother with us, we'll go down and buy you food,

5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down there, because that man said to us, ‘I will not let you see me again if your younger brother is not with you.’”

but if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, 'You may not see my face unless your brother is with you.'"

6 Jacob asked, “Why did you cause me to have this trouble by telling the man that you had a younger brother?”

Then Israel said, "Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man that you had another brother?"

7 One of them replied, “The man asked about us and about our family. He said, ‘Is your father still living? Do you have another brother?’ We had to answer his questions. (We could not know that he would say, ‘The next time that you come down here, bring your brother with you!’/How could we know that he would say, ‘The next time that you come down here, bring your brother with you!’)” [RHQ]

They said, "The man kept asking about ourselves, and concerning our relatives, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' So we just answered his questions. How were we to know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down?'"

8 Then Judah said to his father Jacob, “Send the boy with me, and we will go immediately, in order that we and you and our children may get grain and not die from hunger.

Then Judah said to his father Israel, "Send the boy with me and we'll get up and go, so that we may live and not die, both we and you, and also our little ones.

9 I myself will guarantee that he will return. You can require me to do what I am promising [IDM]. If I do not bring him back to you safely, you can say forever that (I am to blame/it was my fault [that he did not return to you)].

I will be collateral for him. You can hold me responsible for him. If I fail to bring him to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever,

10 If we had not (wasted so much time/waited so long), by now we could have gone there and returned two times!”

for if we hadn't delayed, surely we would have returned a second time by now."

11 Then their father Jacob said to them, “If there is no other way, do this: Put in your sacks some of the best things that are grown in this land, and take them down to the man as a gift. Take some balm/perfume and honey and spices and myrrh/ointment, some pistachio nuts, and almonds.

Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your bags and bring a gift for the man, a little balm, a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.

12 Take twice as much money as you took the previous time, because you must return the silver that someone put in the tops of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake that it was put in your sacks.

Take twice as much silver in your hand, and take back the silver that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight.

13 Take your younger brother and go back to that man.

Take your brother also, and get up, go back to the man.

14 I will pray that God Almighty will cause that man to act mercifully toward you, so that he will let your other brother, as well as Benjamin, come back here with you. But as for me, if my sons are taken from me, then I will not have my sons!”

And may El Shaddai grant you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am deprived of my children, then I am deprived."

15 So the men took the gifts that Jacob said that they should take, and twice the amount of money that the grain would cost, and they also took Benjamin. They went down quickly to Egypt, and they stood in front of Joseph.

The men took this gift, and they took twice as much silver with them, and Benjamin. Then they got up and went down to Egypt, and presented themselves before Joseph.

16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the man who (was in charge of/supervised) things in his house, “Take these men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare a meal, because I want them to eat with me at noon.” [And he told him in what order they were to be seated].

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant of his house, "Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and prepare it; for the men will eat with me at noon."

17 The man did as Joseph said. And he took them to Joseph’s house.

The man did as Joseph had said, and the man brought the men to Joseph's house.

18 But they were afraid because he was taking them to Joseph’s house. They were thinking, “He is taking us here because of the silver that was put in our sacks the first time that we came here. While we are eating, he will have his servants attack us and seize us and cause us to become his slaves, and also take our donkeys.”

But the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house, and they said, "It is because of the silver that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are brought here; so that he may capture us, and make us slaves, and take our donkeys."

19 They went with the man who was in charge of things in Joseph’s house. When they arrived at the entrance of the house,

So they came near to the man of Joseph's house and they spoke to him at the entrance of the house,

20 one of them said to him, “Please, sir, listen to me. We came down here previously and bought some grain.

and said, "My lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food.

21 But at the place where we stopped for the night as we were returning home, we opened our sacks. We were astonished to see that in the top of each of our sacks was the exact amount of silver that we had paid for the grain! So we have brought it back with us.

But when we came to the lodging place, we opened our sacks, and look, every man's silver was in the mouth of his sack, our silver in full weight. So we have brought it back in our hand.

22 We have also brought more silver with us to buy more grain. We do not know who put the silver in our sacks.”

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

23 The man replied, [“Relax]! Do not worry about it! I received the silver that you brought. Your God, the God your father worships, must have put it in your sacks.” And then he brought Simeon to them from the prison.

He said, "Peace to you. Do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. I received your silver." Then he brought Simeon out to them.

24 Then he took them into Joseph’s house. He gave them water to wash their feet and gave them food for the donkeys.

The man brought the men into Joseph's house and gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave their donkeys food.

25 He told them that they were going to eat with Joseph at noon. So the men prepared their gifts to give to Joseph when he arrived.

They prepared the gift for Joseph's arrival at noon, for they heard that they would eat a meal there.

26 When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts that they had brought into the house. Then they bowed down to the ground in front of him.

When Joseph came home, they prepared the gift they had brought with them into the house, and bowed themselves down to him with their face to the ground.

27 He asked them if they were (well/in good health), and then he asked, “How is the health of your old father, the one that you told me about? Is he still living?”

Then he asked them of their welfare, and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"

28 One of them replied, “Yes, our father, [who is willing to be] your servant, is still alive, and he is well.” Then again they bowed down in front of him.

And they answered, "Your servant, our father, is well. He is still alive." Then he said, "Blessed be that man by God." And they bowed and prostrated themselves.

29 Then he saw his [younger] brother Benjamin, his own mother’s other son. He asked them, “Is this your youngest brother, the one whom you told me about?” After they said “Yes,” he said to Benjamin, “Young man, I pray that God will act kindly toward you.”

And he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, "Is this your youngest brother, of whom you told me about?" Then he said, "God be gracious to you, my son."

30 Joseph quickly left the room. He realized that he was about to cry because he (was full of emotion about his younger brother/loved his younger brother so much). He went into his private room and cried there.

Then Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome with emotion because of his brother, and he was at the point of tears. So he entered into his chamber and wept there.

31 Then, after he washed the tears from his face, he came out, and controlling his emotions, he said to the servants, “Serve the food!”

Then he washed his face and came out. And he controlled himself and said, "Serve the food."

32 The people of Egypt considered that it was disgraceful for them to eat with Hebrews, so the servants served food to Joseph by himself, and served the other people of Egypt who ate with him by themselves, and they served Joseph’s older brothers and younger brother by themselves.

They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is disgraceful to the Egyptians.

33 His brothers were astonished to see that their seats were arranged according to their ages, from the oldest to the youngest!

And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at each other with amazement.

34 And when their portions of food were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s portion! So they ate food and drank wine with Joseph and became very cheerful.

Then he gave portions to them in front of him, but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank until they all became drunk.