Genesis 43
1 In the meene tyme hungur oppresside greetli al the lond;
The famine continued to be really bad in Canaan,
2 and whanne the meetis weren wastid, whiche thei brouyten fro Egipt, Jacob seide to hise sones, Turne ye ayen, and bie ye a litil of meetis to vs.
so once they had finished the grain they'd brought from Egypt, their father told them, “You have to go back and buy some more grain for us.”
3 Judas answeride, The ilke man denounside to vs vndir witnessyng of an ooth, and seide, Ye schulen not se my face, if ye schulen not brynge with you youre leeste brother;
But Judah responded, “The man was adamant when he warned us, ‘I won't even see you unless your brother is with you.’
4 therfor if thou wolt sende hym with vs, we schulen go to gidere, and we schulen bie necessaries to thee;
If you send our brother Benjamin with us then we'll go and buy food for you.
5 ellis if thou wolt not, we schulen not go; for as we seiden ofte, the man denounside to vs, and seide, Ye schulen not se my face with out youre leeste brother.
But if you won't send him, then we won't go, because the man was very clear, ‘I won't even see you unless your brother is with you.’”
6 Forsothe Israel seide to hem, Ye diden this in to my wretchidnesse, that ye schewiden to hym, that ye hadden also another brother.
“Why have you made things so bad for me by telling the man you had another brother?” Israel asked.
7 And thei answeriden, The man axide vs bi ordre oure generacioun, if the fadir lyuede, if we hadden a brother; and we answeriden suyngli to hym, bi that that he axide; whether we myyten wite that he wolde seie, Brynge ye youre brothir with you?
“The man kept on asking direct questions about us and our family like ‘Is your father still alive?’ and ‘Do you have another brother?’” they replied. “We just answered his questions. How were we to know he'd say, ‘Bring your brother here!’?”
8 And Judas seide to his fadir, Sende the child with me, that we go, and moun lyue, lest we dien, and oure litle children;
Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy in my care, and we'll leave immediately, so that we can stay alive and not die—and that includes you and us and our children!
9 Y take the child, require thou hym of myn hoond; if Y schal not brynge ayen, and bitake hym to thee, Y schal be gilti of synne ayens thee in al tyme;
I promise to take care of him—I'll be personally responsible for bringing him back to you. If I don't, then I will always carry the blame!
10 if delai hadde not be, we hadden come now anothir tyme.
Now let's go, because if we hadn't hesitated, we could have gone there and come back twice by now.”
11 Therfor Israel, `the fadir of hem, seide to hem, If it is nede so, do ye that that ye wolen; `take ye of the beste fruytis of the lond in youre vesselis, and `bere ye yiftis to the man, a litil of gumme, and of hony, and of storax, and of mirre, and of therebynte, and of alemaundis;
“If it has to be, then this is what you'll do,” Israel replied. “Take with you the best our country produces. Pack your bags with gifts for the man—balm, a little honey, spices, myrrh, pistachios, and almonds.
12 and `bere ye with you double money, and `bere ye ayen that money which ye founden in baggis, lest perauenture it be doon bi errour;
Take double the money that was returned to you in your sacks—maybe it was a mistake.
13 but also take ye youre brother, and go ye to the man;
Take your brother and go back to the man right away.
14 forsothe my God Almyyti mak him pesible to you, and sende he ayen youre brother, whom he holdith in boondis, and this Beniamyn; forsothe Y schal be as maad bare without sones.
May God Almighty make the man treat you kindly so when you come before him he'll release your other brother and send Benjamin back. As for me, if I am to lose all my children, then so be it.”
15 Therfor the men token yiftis, and double monei, and Beniamyn; and thei yeden doun in to Egipt, and stoden bifore Joseph.
So they packed the gifts, took double the money, and set off, accompanied by Benjamin. They arrived in Egypt and went to have an audience with Joseph.
16 And whanne he hadde seyn `hem and Beniamyn togidere, he comaundide the dispendere of his hows, and seide, Lede these men in to the hous, and sle beestis, and make a feeste; for thei schulen ete with me to dai.
When Joseph saw Benjamin was with them, he told his household supervisor, “Take these men to my house. Slaughter an animal and make a meal, for they are going to eat with me at noon.”
17 He dide as it was comaundid, and ledde the men in to the hows;
The man did as Joseph ordered and took them to Joseph's house.
18 and there thei weren aferd, and seiden to gidere, We ben brouyt in for the monei which we baren ayen bifore in oure sackis, that he putte chalenge `in to vs, and make suget bi violence to seruage bothe vs and oure assis.
They were really worried that they were being taken to Joseph's house. “It's because of the money that was put in our sacks the first time we came,” they said to each other. “That's why we're being brought in—so he can accuse us and attack us! He'll make us his slaves and take our donkeys!”
19 Wherfor thei neiyeden in the `yatis, and spaken to the dispendere,
So they went and spoke to Joseph's household supervisor at the entrance to the house.
20 Lord, we preien that thou here vs; we camen doun now bifore that we schulden bie metis;
“Please excuse us, my lord,” they said. “We came down the first time to buy food,
21 whanne tho weren bouyt, whanne we camen to the ynne, we openeden oure baggis, and we founden money in the mouth of sackis, which money we han brouyt ayen now in the same weiyte;
and when we stopped for the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found our money—the exact amount—at the top of our sacks. So we've brought it back with us.
22 but also we han brouyt other siluer, that we bie tho thingis that ben nedeful to vs; it is not in oure conscience, who puttide the money in oure pursis.
We've also brought more money to buy food. We've no idea who put our money in our sacks!”
23 And he answerde, Pees be to you, nyle ye drede; youre God and God of youre fadir yaf to you tresouris in youre baggis; for I haue the monei preued, which ye yauen to me. And he ledde out Symeon to hem;
“Everything's fine!” he told them. “Don't worry! Your God, the God of your father, must have given you the treasure hidden in your sacks. I got your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to meet them.
24 and whanne thei weren brouyt in to the hows, he brouyte watir, and thei waischiden her feet, and he yaf `meetis to her assis.
The steward took them inside Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet, and supplied food for their donkeys.
25 Sotheli thei maden redi yiftis til Joseph entride at myd day, for thei hadden herd that thei schulden ete breed there.
They got their gifts ready for when Joseph would come at noon, because they had found out that they were going to eat there.
26 Therfor Joseph entride in to his hows, and thei offriden yiftis to hym, and helden in the hondis, and worschipiden lowe to erthe.
When Joseph arrived at the house they gave him the gifts they had brought for him, and bowed low to the ground before him.
27 And he grette hem ayen mekeli; and he axide hem, and seide, Whether youre fadir, the elde man, is saaf, of whom ye seiden to me? lyueth he yit?
He asked how they were, and then he asked, “How is your elderly father doing that you spoke of? Is he still alive?”
28 Whiche answeriden, He is hool, thi seruaunt oure fadir lyueth yit; and thei weren bowid, and worschipiden hym.
“Yes, your servant our father is still alive, and is well,” they replied and bowed low in respect.
29 Forsothe Joseph reyside hise iyen, and siy Beniamyn his brother of the same wombe, and seide, Is this youre litil brother, of whom ye seiden to me? And eft Joseph seide, My sone, God haue merci of thee.
Then Joseph looked over at his brother Benjamin, the son of his own mother. “Is this your youngest brother that you told me about?” he asked. “God be gracious to you, my son,” he said.
30 And Joseph hastide in to the hous, for his entrailis weren moued on his brother, and teeris brasten out, and he entride into a closet, and wepte.
Joseph had to run out quickly because he was becoming so emotional at seeing his brother. He looked for a place to cry, and went to his room to weep there.
31 And eft whanne the face was waischun, he yede out, and refreynede hym silf, and seide, Sette ye looues.
Then he washed his face, got his emotions under control, and went back out. “Serve the food,” he ordered.
32 `And whanne tho weren set to Joseph by hym silf, and to the britheren bi hem silf, and to Egipcyans that eeten to gidre by hem silf; for it is vnleueful to Egipcians to ete with Ebrewis, and thei gessen sich a feeste vnhooli.
Joseph was served at a table by himself, and his brothers were served at a separate table. The Egyptians were also served at another table, because Egyptians cannot eat with Hebrews because they find this repulsive.
33 Therfor thei saten bifore hym, the firste gendrid bi the rite of his firste gendryng, and the leeste bi his age; and thei wondriden greetli,
The brothers had been seated in front of him in order by age, from the firstborn, the oldest, down to the youngest, and they looked at each other in complete surprise.
34 whanne the partis weren takun whiche thei hadden resseyued of him, and the more part cam to Beniamyn, so that it passide in fyue partis; and thei drunken, and weren fillid with him.
The food was served to them from Joseph's table, and Benjamin received five times as much as anyone else. So they ate and drank plenty with him.
