Γένεσις 42
1 ἰδὼν δὲ Ιακωβ ὅτι ἔστιν πρᾶσις ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ εἶπεν τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ ἵνα τί ῥᾳθυμεῖτε
When Jacob found out grain was available in Egypt, he asked his sons, “Why do you keep on looking at each other to do something?
2 ἰδοὺ ἀκήκοα ὅτι ἔστιν σῖτος ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ κατάβητε ἐκεῖ καὶ πρίασθε ἡμῖν μικρὰ βρώματα ἵνα ζῶμεν καὶ μὴ ἀποθάνωμεν
I've heard there's grain in Egypt. Go there and buy some for us so we can stay alive—if not, we're going to die!”
3 κατέβησαν δὲ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ Ιωσηφ οἱ δέκα πρίασθαι σῖτον ἐξ Αἰγύπτου
So ten of Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to buy grain.
4 τὸν δὲ Βενιαμιν τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ιωσηφ οὐκ ἀπέστειλεν μετὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ εἶπεν γάρ μήποτε συμβῇ αὐτῷ μαλακία
But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his other brothers, for he said, “I'm afraid something bad might happen to him.”
5 ἦλθον δὲ οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ ἀγοράζειν μετὰ τῶν ἐρχομένων ἦν γὰρ ὁ λιμὸς ἐν γῇ Χανααν
So Israel's sons went to buy grain along with everyone else, because there was famine in Canaan too.
6 Ιωσηφ δὲ ἦν ἄρχων τῆς γῆς οὗτος ἐπώλει παντὶ τῷ λαῷ τῆς γῆς ἐλθόντες δὲ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ Ιωσηφ προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν
Joseph was the governor of the country and he sold grain to all the people there. So Joseph's brothers went to him, and bowed low before him with their faces to the ground.
7 ἰδὼν δὲ Ιωσηφ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ ἐπέγνω καὶ ἠλλοτριοῦτο ἀπ’ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς σκληρὰ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς πόθεν ἥκατε οἱ δὲ εἶπαν ἐκ γῆς Χανααν ἀγοράσαι βρώματα
Joseph recognized them as soon as he saw them, but he acted like a stranger towards them and spoke to them in a severe way, saying, “Where are you from?” “From the country of Canaan,” they replied. “We've come to buy food.”
8 ἐπέγνω δὲ Ιωσηφ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ αὐτοὶ δὲ οὐκ ἐπέγνωσαν αὐτόν
Even though Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn't recognize him.
9 καὶ ἐμνήσθη Ιωσηφ τῶν ἐνυπνίων ὧν εἶδεν αὐτός καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς κατάσκοποί ἐστε κατανοῆσαι τὰ ἴχνη τῆς χώρας ἥκατε
Joseph thought back to the dreams he'd had about them, and told them, “No! You're spies! You've come to discover our country's weaknesses!”
10 οἱ δὲ εἶπαν οὐχί κύριε οἱ παῖδές σου ἤλθομεν πρίασθαι βρώματα
“That's not true, my lord!” they responded. “We, your servants, have just come to buy food.
11 πάντες ἐσμὲν υἱοὶ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου εἰρηνικοί ἐσμεν οὐκ εἰσὶν οἱ παῖδές σου κατάσκοποι
We're all the sons of one man and we're honest. We're not spies!”
12 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς οὐχί ἀλλὰ τὰ ἴχνη τῆς γῆς ἤλθατε ἰδεῖν
“No! You've come to find our country's weaknesses!” he insisted.
13 οἱ δὲ εἶπαν δώδεκά ἐσμεν οἱ παῖδές σου ἀδελφοὶ ἐν γῇ Χανααν καὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ νεώτερος μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν σήμερον ὁ δὲ ἕτερος οὐχ ὑπάρχει
“Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man living in the country of Canaan,” they explained. “The youngest is right now with our father, and one has passed away.”
14 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς Ιωσηφ τοῦτό ἐστιν ὃ εἴρηκα ὑμῖν λέγων ὅτι κατάσκοποί ἐστε
“As I said before, you're spies!” Joseph declared.
15 ἐν τούτῳ φανεῖσθε νὴ τὴν ὑγίειαν Φαραω οὐ μὴ ἐξέλθητε ἐντεῦθεν ἐὰν μὴ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὑμῶν ὁ νεώτερος ἔλθῃ ὧδε
“This is how your story will be checked. I swear on Pharaoh's life that you'll never leave this country unless your younger brother comes here.
16 ἀποστείλατε ἐξ ὑμῶν ἕνα καὶ λάβετε τὸν ἀδελφὸν ὑμῶν ὑμεῖς δὲ ἀπάχθητε ἕως τοῦ φανερὰ γενέσθαι τὰ ῥήματα ὑμῶν εἰ ἀληθεύετε ἢ οὔ εἰ δὲ μή νὴ τὴν ὑγίειαν Φαραω ἦ μὴν κατάσκοποί ἐστε
One of you go back and bring your other brother here. The others of you will be kept here in prison until it's clear that you're telling the truth. If not, then I swear on Pharaoh's life it proves you're spies!”
17 καὶ ἔθετο αὐτοὺς ἐν φυλακῇ ἡμέρας τρεῖς
So Joseph put all of them in prison for three days.
18 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃ τοῦτο ποιήσατε καὶ ζήσεσθε τὸν θεὸν γὰρ ἐγὼ φοβοῦμαι
On the third day he told them, “Since I'm someone who respects God, do as I tell you and you'll live.
19 εἰ εἰρηνικοί ἐστε ἀδελφὸς ὑμῶν εἷς κατασχεθήτω ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ αὐτοὶ δὲ βαδίσατε καὶ ἀπαγάγετε τὸν ἀγορασμὸν τῆς σιτοδοσίας ὑμῶν
If you're truly honest, choose one of your brothers to stay here in prison. The rest of you can go back home with grain for your hungry families.
20 καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ὑμῶν τὸν νεώτερον ἀγάγετε πρός με καὶ πιστευθήσονται τὰ ῥήματα ὑμῶν εἰ δὲ μή ἀποθανεῖσθε ἐποίησαν δὲ οὕτως
But you must bring your youngest brother here to me to prove what you're saying is true. If not, you will all die.” They agreed to do this.
21 καὶ εἶπεν ἕκαστος πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ναί ἐν ἁμαρτίᾳ γάρ ἐσμεν περὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἡμῶν ὅτι ὑπερείδομεν τὴν θλῖψιν τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ὅτε κατεδέετο ἡμῶν καὶ οὐκ εἰσηκούσαμεν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν τούτου ἐπῆλθεν ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς ἡ θλῖψις αὕτη
“Clearly we're being punished for what we did to our brother,” they said to each other. “We watched him in agony pleading with us for mercy, but we refused to listen to him. That's why we're in all this trouble.”
22 ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ Ρουβην εἶπεν αὐτοῖς οὐκ ἐλάλησα ὑμῖν λέγων μὴ ἀδικήσητε τὸ παιδάριον καὶ οὐκ εἰσηκούσατέ μου καὶ ἰδοὺ τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐκζητεῖται
Reuben said to them, “Didn't I tell you, ‘Don't harm the boy!’ But you didn't listen to me. Now we're paying the price for what we did to him.”
23 αὐτοὶ δὲ οὐκ ᾔδεισαν ὅτι ἀκούει Ιωσηφ ὁ γὰρ ἑρμηνευτὴς ἀνὰ μέσον αὐτῶν ἦν
They didn't realize that Joseph understood what they were saying because they were talking to him through an interpreter.
24 ἀποστραφεὶς δὲ ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ἔκλαυσεν Ιωσηφ καὶ πάλιν προσῆλθεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἔλαβεν τὸν Συμεων ἀπ’ αὐτῶν καὶ ἔδησεν αὐτὸν ἐναντίον αὐτῶν
Joseph stepped away from them because he started crying. He came back when he was able to speak to them again. He chose Simeon and had him tied up as they watched.
25 ἐνετείλατο δὲ Ιωσηφ ἐμπλῆσαι τὰ ἀγγεῖα αὐτῶν σίτου καὶ ἀποδοῦναι τὸ ἀργύριον ἑκάστου εἰς τὸν σάκκον αὐτοῦ καὶ δοῦναι αὐτοῖς ἐπισιτισμὸν εἰς τὴν ὁδόν καὶ ἐγενήθη αὐτοῖς οὕτως
Joseph gave the order to fill up their sacks with grain, and also to return the money they had paid by placing it in the sacks as well. He also ordered that they should be provided with food for their journey home. All this was done.
26 καὶ ἐπιθέντες τὸν σῖτον ἐπὶ τοὺς ὄνους αὐτῶν ἀπῆλθον ἐκεῖθεν
The brothers loaded the grain onto their donkeys and then set off.
27 λύσας δὲ εἷς τὸν μάρσιππον αὐτοῦ δοῦναι χορτάσματα τοῖς ὄνοις αὐτοῦ οὗ κατέλυσαν εἶδεν τὸν δεσμὸν τοῦ ἀργυρίου αὐτοῦ καὶ ἦν ἐπάνω τοῦ στόματος τοῦ μαρσίππου
On their way they stopped for the night, and one of them opened up his sack to give his donkey something to eat and saw his money there at the top of the sack.
28 καὶ εἶπεν τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ ἀπεδόθη μοι τὸ ἀργύριον καὶ ἰδοὺ τοῦτο ἐν τῷ μαρσίππῳ μου καὶ ἐξέστη ἡ καρδία αὐτῶν καὶ ἐταράχθησαν πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγοντες τί τοῦτο ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς ἡμῖν
He told his brothers, “My money's been returned to me. It's right here at the top of my sack!” They were horrified! Trembling with fear they asked each other, “What is this that God's done to us?”
29 ἦλθον δὲ πρὸς Ιακωβ τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν εἰς γῆν Χανααν καὶ ἀπήγγειλαν αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ συμβάντα αὐτοῖς λέγοντες
When they arrived home in Canaan, they told their father Jacob everything that had happened.
30 λελάληκεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ κύριος τῆς γῆς πρὸς ἡμᾶς σκληρὰ καὶ ἔθετο ἡμᾶς ἐν φυλακῇ ὡς κατασκοπεύοντας τὴν γῆν
“The man who is the country's governor spoke to us in a severe way, and accused us of spying on the land,” they explained.
31 εἴπαμεν δὲ αὐτῷ εἰρηνικοί ἐσμεν οὔκ ἐσμεν κατάσκοποι
“We told him, ‘We are honest men. We're not spies!
32 δώδεκα ἀδελφοί ἐσμεν υἱοὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν ὁ εἷς οὐχ ὑπάρχει ὁ δὲ μικρότερος μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν σήμερον ἐν γῇ Χανααν
We are twelve brothers, the sons of one father. One has passed away and the youngest is right now with our father in the country of Canaan.’
33 εἶπεν δὲ ἡμῖν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ κύριος τῆς γῆς ἐν τούτῳ γνώσομαι ὅτι εἰρηνικοί ἐστε ἀδελφὸν ἕνα ἄφετε ὧδε μετ’ ἐμοῦ τὸν δὲ ἀγορασμὸν τῆς σιτοδοσίας τοῦ οἴκου ὑμῶν λαβόντες ἀπέλθατε
Then the man who is the country's governor said to us, ‘This is how I'll find out if you're telling the truth: you are to leave one of your brothers here with me while the rest take grain home for your hungry families.
34 καὶ ἀγάγετε πρός με τὸν ἀδελφὸν ὑμῶν τὸν νεώτερον καὶ γνώσομαι ὅτι οὐ κατάσκοποί ἐστε ἀλλ’ ὅτι εἰρηνικοί ἐστε καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ὑμῶν ἀποδώσω ὑμῖν καὶ τῇ γῇ ἐμπορεύεσθε
Then bring your youngest brother to me. That way I'll know you're not spies but you're telling the truth. I'll release your brother to you, and you can stay in the country and trade.’”
35 ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ κατακενοῦν αὐτοὺς τοὺς σάκκους αὐτῶν καὶ ἦν ἑκάστου ὁ δεσμὸς τοῦ ἀργυρίου ἐν τῷ σάκκῳ αὐτῶν καὶ εἶδον τοὺς δεσμοὺς τοῦ ἀργυρίου αὐτῶν αὐτοὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν
As they emptied their sacks, each one's money bag was there in his sack! When they and their father saw the money bags, they were horrified.
36 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς Ιακωβ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῶν ἐμὲ ἠτεκνώσατε Ιωσηφ οὐκ ἔστιν Συμεων οὐκ ἔστιν καὶ τὸν Βενιαμιν λήμψεσθε ἐπ’ ἐμὲ ἐγένετο πάντα ταῦτα
Jacob their father accused them, “You have taken Joseph from me—he's gone! Simeon is gone too! Now you want to take Benjamin away! I'm the one who's suffering from all of this!”
37 εἶπεν δὲ Ρουβην τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ λέγων τοὺς δύο υἱούς μου ἀπόκτεινον ἐὰν μὴ ἀγάγω αὐτὸν πρὸς σέ δὸς αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν χεῖρά μου κἀγὼ ἀνάξω αὐτὸν πρὸς σέ
“You can kill my two sons if I don't bring him back to you,” Reuben assured him. “Trust me with him, and I will bring him home to you myself.”
38 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν οὐ καταβήσεται ὁ υἱός μου μεθ’ ὑμῶν ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ ἀπέθανεν καὶ αὐτὸς μόνος καταλέλειπται καὶ συμβήσεται αὐτὸν μαλακισθῆναι ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἂν πορεύησθε καὶ κατάξετέ μου τὸ γῆρας μετὰ λύπης εἰς ᾅδου (Sheol h7585)
“My son won't go there with you!” Jacob declared. “His brother is dead, and he's the only one I have left. If anything bad happens to him on the journey you're planning, you'll send this old man to his grave in grief.” (Sheol h7585)
