Genesis — Chapter 43

1And the famine was sore in the land.

2And 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.

3And 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.

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

5But 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.

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

7And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of 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 certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?

8And 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.

9I 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:

10For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.

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

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

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

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

15And 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.

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

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

18And 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.

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

20And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

21And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, 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.

22And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.

23And 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.

24And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.

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

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

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

28And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.

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

30And 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.

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

32And 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.

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

34And 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.

1And the famine was sore in the land.

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

3And 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.

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

5but 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.

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

7And 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?

8And 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.

9I 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:

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

11And 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;

12and 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:

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

14and 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.

15And 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.

16And 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.

17And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men to Joseph`s house.

18And the men were afraid, because they were brought to 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.

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

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

21and 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.

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

23And 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.

24And the man brought the men into Joseph`s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet. And he gave their asses provender.

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

26And 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.

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

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

29And 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.

30And Joseph made haste; for his heart yearned over his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

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

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

33And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one with another.

34And 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.

1Now the famine was severe in the land.

2When they finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Return, buy us a little more food.”

3But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’

4If you send our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy food for you.

5But if you will not send him, we won’t go down there because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”

6Israel said, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had one more brother?”

7They replied, “The man questioned us thoroughly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered him in this way. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

8Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will go immediately. Then we will live and not die—we and you and our little ones.

9I myself pledge security for him; you may hold me liable. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.

10But if we had not delayed, we could have traveled there and back twice by now!”

11Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and take a gift down to the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds.

12Take double the money with you; you must take back the money that was returned in the mouths of your sacks—perhaps it was an oversight.

13Take your brother too, and go right away to the man.

14May the Sovereign God grant you mercy before the man so that he may release your other brother and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them.”

15So the men took these gifts, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant who was over his household, “Bring the men to the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon.”

17The man did just as Joseph said; he brought the men into Joseph’s house.

18But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph’s house. They said, “We are being brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks last time. He wants to capture us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys!”

19So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house.

20They said, “My lord, we did indeed come down the first time to buy food.

21But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money—the full amount—in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it.

22We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We do not know who put the money in our sacks!”

23“Everything is fine,” the man in charge of Joseph’s household told them. “Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

24The servant in charge brought the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave food to their donkeys.

25They got their gifts ready for Joseph’s arrival at noon, for they had heard that they were to have a meal there.

26When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, and they bowed down to the ground before him.

27He asked them how they were doing. Then he said, “Is your aging father well, the one you spoke about? Is he still alive?”

28“Your servant our father is well,” they replied. “He is still alive.” They bowed down in humility.

29When Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother, whom you told me about?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”

30Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome by affection for his brother and was at the point of tears. So he went to his room and wept there.

31Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said, “Set out the food.”

32They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers, and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting to do so.)

33They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest. The men looked at each other in astonishment.

34He gave them portions of the food set before him, but the portion for Benjamin was five times greater than the portions for any of the others. They drank with Joseph until they all became drunk.

1The famine was severe in the land.

2When they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little more food.”

3Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’

4If you’ll send our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy you food,

5but if you’ll not send him, we’ll not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’”

6Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly, telling the man that you had another brother?”

7They said, “The man asked directly concerning ourselves, and concerning our relatives, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ We just answered his questions. Is there any way we could know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down?’”

8Judah said to Israel, his father, “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.

9I’ll be collateral for him. From my hand will you require him. If I don’t bring him to you, and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever,

10for if we hadn’t delayed, surely we would have returned a second time by now.”

11Their father, Israel, said to them, “If it must be so, then do this. Take from the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry down a present for the man, a little balm, a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts, and almonds;

12and take double money in your hand, and take back the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight.

13Take your brother also, get up, and return to the man.

14May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

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

16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and butcher an animal, and prepare; for the men will dine with me at noon.”

17The man did as Joseph commanded, and the man brought the men to Joseph’s house.

18The men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, “Because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time, we’re brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, attack us, and seize us as slaves, along with our donkeys.”

19They came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they spoke to him at the door of the house,

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

21When we came to the lodging place, we opened our sacks, and behold, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. We have brought it back in our hand.

22We have brought down other money in our hand to buy food. We don’t know who put our money in our sacks.”

23He said, “Peace be to you. Don’t be afraid. Your God, and the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks. I received your money.” He brought Simeon out to them.

24The man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet. He gave their donkeys fodder.

25They prepared the present for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.

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

27He asked them of their welfare, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he yet alive?”

28They said, “Your servant, our father, is well. He is still alive.” They bowed down humbly.

29He lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin, his brother, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” He said, “God be gracious to you, my son.”

30Joseph hurried, for his heart yearned over his brother; and he sought a place to weep. He entered into his room, and wept there.

31He washed his face, and came out. He controlled himself, and said, “Serve the meal.”

32They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians, that ate with him, by themselves, because the Egyptians don’t eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.

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

34He sent portions to them from before him, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. They drank, and were merry with him.