Genesi 42
1 Or Giacobbe, vedendo che c’era del grano in Egitto, disse ai suoi figliuoli: “Perché vi state a guardare l’un l’altro?”
When someone told Jacob that there was grain in Egypt that people could buy, he said to his sons, “(Why do you just sit there looking at each other?/Do not just sit there looking at each other!) [RHQ] We need some grain!”
2 Poi disse: “Ecco, ho sentito dire che c’è del grano in Egitto; scendete colà per comprarcene, onde possiam vivere e non abbiamo a morire”.
He said to them, “Someone told me that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, in order that we will not die!”
3 E dieci de’ fratelli di Giuseppe scesero in Egitto per comprarvi del grano.
So Joseph’s ten [older] brothers went down to Egypt to buy some grain.
4 Ma Giacobbe non mandò Beniamino, fratello di Giuseppe, coi suoi fratelli, perché diceva: “Che non gli abbia a succedere qualche disgrazia!”
But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s [younger] brother, to go with the others, because he was afraid/worried that something terrible might happen to him like what happened to Joseph.
5 E i figliuoli d’Israele giunsero per comprare del grano in mezzo agli altri, che pur venivano; poiché nel paese di Canaan c’era la carestia.
So Jacob’s other sons went down from Canaan to Egypt to buy grain, and others from there went too, because there was a famine in Canaan also.
6 Or Giuseppe era colui che comandava nel paese; era lui che vendeva il grano a tutta la gente del paese; e i fratelli di Giuseppe vennero, e si prostrarono dinanzi a lui con la faccia a terra.
At that time Joseph was the governor of Egypt. He was the one who sold grain to people who came from all over Egypt and from many other countries [HYP] to buy grain. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, [they were told that it was necessary for them to talk with Joseph. So they went to him and] prostrated themselves before him with their faces to the ground.
7 E Giuseppe vide i suoi fratelli e li riconobbe, ma fece lo straniero davanti a loro, e parlò loro aspramente e disse loro: “Donde venite?” Ed essi risposero: “Dal paese di Canaan per comprar de’ viveri”.
As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he pretended that he did not know them. He spoke harshly to them, saying, “Where do you come from?” One of them replied, “We have come from Canaan, to buy some grain.”
8 E Giuseppe riconobbe i suoi fratelli, ma essi non riconobbero lui.
Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.
9 E Giuseppe si ricordò de’ sogni che aveva avuti intorno a loro, e disse: “Voi siete delle spie! Siete venuti per vedere i luoghi sforniti del paese!”
And then Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about them many years previously. [But he decided not to tell them yet that he was their younger brother]. He said to them, “You are spies! You have come to find out whether we will be able to defend ourselves [if you attack us]!”
10 Ed essi a lui: “No, signor mio; i tuoi servitori son venuti a comprar de’ viveri.
One of them replied, “No, sir! We have come to buy grain.
11 Siamo tutti figliuoli d’uno stesso uomo; siamo gente sincera; i tuoi servitori non son delle spie”.
We are all sons of one man. We are honest men, not spies.”
12 Ed egli disse loro: “No, siete venuti per vedere i luoghi sforniti del paese!”
He said to them, “[I do not believe you]. You have come just to see whether we would be able to defend ourselves if we were attacked!”
13 E quelli risposero: “Noi, tuoi servitori, siamo dodici fratelli, figliuoli d’uno stesso uomo, nel paese di Canaan. Ed ecco, il più giovane è oggi con nostro padre, e uno non è più”.
But one of them replied, “No, that is not true! Originally there were twelve of us who were brothers, the sons of one man. Our younger brother is with our father. One [younger] brother has died. [EUP]”
14 E Giuseppe disse loro: “La cosa è come v’ho detto; siete delle spie!
Joseph replied, “[You are lying! I think] it is just as I told you. You are spies!
15 Ecco come sarete messi alla prova: Per la vita di Faraone, non uscirete di qui prima che il vostro fratello più giovine sia venuto qua.
But this is how I will determine whether what you are saying is true. I think that as surely as the king lives, you are spies. And you will not leave this place until your youngest brother comes here!
16 Mandate uno di voi a prendere il vostro fratello; e voi resterete qui in carcere, perché le vostre parole siano messe alla prova, e si vegga se c’è del vero in voi; se no, per la vita di Faraone, siete delle spie!”
Send one of your group to go and get your younger brother and bring him here. I will put the rest of you in prison, in order that I may test what you have said to find out whether what you are telling me is true. If the one who goes does not bring your younger brother here, then, just as surely as the king lives, it will be clear that you are lying and that you are spies.”
17 E li mise assieme in prigione per tre giorni.
Then Joseph put them all in prison for three days.
18 Il terzo giorno, Giuseppe disse loro: “Fate questo, e vivrete; io temo Iddio!
On the third day, Joseph went to the prison and said to them, “I am a man who fears that God [will punish me if I do not do what I promise]. So do what I tell you, and I will spare your lives.
19 Se siete gente sincera, uno di voi fratelli resti qui incatenato nella vostra prigione; e voi, andate, portate del grano per la necessità delle vostre famiglie;
If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, and the rest of you can take some grain back to your families who are very hungry because of the famine.
20 e menatemi il vostro fratello più giovine; così le vostre parole saranno verificate, e voi non morrete”. Ed essi fecero così.
But if you come back here again, you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that you can prove that what you told me is true, and as a result I will not have you executed.” So they agreed to do that.
21 E si dicevano l’uno all’altro: “Sì, noi fummo colpevoli verso il nostro fratello, giacché vedemmo l’angoscia dell’anima sua quando egli ci supplicava, e noi non gli demmo ascolto! Ecco perché ci viene addosso quest’angoscia”.
They said to each other, “It is surely because of what we did to our [younger] brother that (we are being punished/God is punishing us)! We saw that he [SYN] was very distressed when he pleaded with us not to harm him. But we did not pay any attention to him, and that is why we are having this trouble!”
22 E Ruben rispose loro, dicendo: “Non ve lo dicevo io: Non commettete questo peccato contro il fanciullo? Ma voi non mi voleste dare ascolto. Perciò ecco, che il suo sangue ci è ridomandato”.
Reuben said to them, “I told you not to harm the boy [RHQ], but you did not pay attention to what I said! Now we are being (paid back/punished) for killing him [MTY]!”
23 Or quelli non sapevano che Giuseppe li capiva, perché fra lui e loro c’era un interprete.
While they were talking with Joseph, they were speaking through (an interpreter/someone who knew their language and the Egyptian language), but when they said these things among themselves, they were speaking in their own language, and they did not know that Joseph could understand their language, and that he could understand what they were saying.
24 Ed egli s’allontanò da essi, e pianse. Poi tornò, parlò loro, e prese di fra loro Simeone, che fece incatenare sotto i loro occhi.
[Because of what they said, Joseph realized that they admitted that what they had done to him many years previously was wrong]. He could not keep from crying, [and he did not want them to see him crying], so he left them and went outside the room and began to cry. But then he returned to them and talked to them again. Then he took Simeon, and while they were watching, he told his servants to tie him up. He left Simeon in the prison and told the others that they could go.
25 Poi Giuseppe ordinò che s’empissero di grano i loro sacchi, che si rimettesse il danaro di ciascuno nel suo sacco, e che si dessero loro delle provvisioni per il viaggio. E così fu fatto.
Joseph told his servants to fill the men’s sacks with grain, but he also told them to put the money that each one had paid for the grain in the top of his sack. He also told them to give them food to eat along the way. After the servants did those things for Joseph’s older brothers,
26 Ed essi caricarono il loro grano sui loro asini, e se ne andarono.
his older brothers loaded the sacks of grain on their donkeys and left.
27 Or l’un d’essi aprì il suo sacco per dare del foraggio al suo asino, nel luogo ove pernottavano, e vide il suo danaro ch’era alla bocca del sacco;
At the place where they stopped to sleep that night, one of them opened his sack to get some grain for his donkey. He was amazed to see his money in the top of the sack.
28 e disse ai suoi fratelli: “Il mio danaro m’è stato restituito, ed eccolo qui nel mio sacco”. Allora il cuore venne lor meno, e, tremando, dicevano l’uno all’altro: “Che è mai questo che Dio ci ha fatto?”
He exclaimed to his brothers, “Someone has returned my money! Here it is in my sack!” They started shaking with fear, and said to each other, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 E vennero a Giacobbe, loro padre, nel paese di Canaan, e gli raccontarono tutto quello ch’era loro accaduto, dicendo:
When they returned to their father in Canaan land, they told him all that had happened to them. One of them said,
30 “L’uomo ch’è il signor del paese, ci ha parlato aspramente e ci ha trattato da spie del paese.
“The man who governs the whole land of Egypt talked very harshly to us. He acted toward us as though we were spying on his country.
31 E noi gli abbiamo detto: Siamo gente sincera; non siamo delle spie;
But we told him, ‘We are honest men! We are not spies.
32 siamo dodici fratelli, figliuoli di nostro padre; uno non è più, e il più giovine è oggi con nostro padre nel paese di Canaan.
Originally there were twelve of us who were brothers, the sons of one father. One has died [EUP], and our youngest brother is with our father in Canaan.’
33 E quell’uomo, signore del paese, ci ha detto: Da questo conoscerò se siete gente sincera; lasciate presso di me uno dei vostri fratelli, prendete quel che vi necessita per le vostre famiglie, partite, e menatemi il vostro fratello più giovine.
The man who is the governor of the land [did not believe us], so he said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are truly honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me. Then the rest of you can take some grain for your families that are starving from hunger and go.
34 Allora conoscerò che non siete delle spie ma gente sincera; io vi renderò il vostro fratello, e voi potrete trafficare nel paese”.
But when you return, bring your youngest brother to me, in order that I will know that you are not spies, but instead, that you are honest men. Then I will release your brother for you. And then you can buy whatever you want in this country.’”
35 Or com’essi vuotavano i loro sacchi, ecco che l’involto del danaro di ciascuno era nel suo sacco; essi e il padre loro videro gl’involti del loro danaro, e furon presi da paura.
As they were emptying their sacks, they were surprised that in each man’s sack was his pouch of money! When they and their father saw all the pouches of money, they were frightened.
36 E Giacobbe, loro padre, disse: “Voi m’avete privato dei miei figliuoli! Giuseppe non è più, Simeone non è più, e mi volete togliere anche Beniamino! Tutto questo cade addosso a me!”
Their father Jacob said to them, “You have caused two of my children to be taken from me! Joseph is dead, and Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin from me! It is I who am suffering because of all these things that are happening!”
37 E Ruben disse a suo padre: “Se non te lo rimeno, fa’ morire i miei due figliuoli! Affidalo a me, io te lo ricondurrò”.
Reuben said to his father, “I will be responsible for Benjamin. [I will take him to Egypt and] bring him back to you. Let me take care of him. If I do not bring Benjamin back to you, you may kill both of my sons.”
38 Ma Giacobbe rispose: “Il mio figliuolo non scenderà con voi; poiché il suo fratello è morto, e questo solo è rimasto: se gli succedesse qualche disgrazia durante il vostro viaggio, fareste scendere con cordoglio la mia canizie nel soggiorno de’ morti”. (Sheol h7585)
But Jacob said, “No, I will not let my son go down there with you. His [older] brother is dead, and he is the only [one of my wife Rachel’s] sons who is left! If something harms him while you are traveling, you would cause me, a gray-haired old man, to die because of sorrow.” (Sheol h7585)
