Genesis 43

1 Now the land was in bitter need of food.

And the famine [was] severe in the land.

2 And when the grain which they had got in Egypt was all used up, their father said to them, Go again and get us a little food.

And it came to pass, when they had consumed the corn which they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, Go again, buy us a little food.

3 And Judah said to him, The man said to us with an oath, You are not to come before me again without your brother.

And Judah spoke to him, saying, The man did solemnly protest to us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother [be] with you.

4 If you will let our brother go with us, we will go down and get food:

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

5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down: for the man said to us, You are not to come before me if your brother is not with you.

But if thou wilt not send [him], we will not go down, for the man said to us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother [be] with you.

6 And Israel said, Why were you so cruel to me as to say to him that you had a brother?

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

7 And they said, The man put a number of questions to us about ourselves and our family, saying, Is your father still living? have you another brother? And we had to give him answers; how were we to have any idea that he would say, Come back with your brother?

And they said, The man asked us strictly concerning our state, and 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?

8 Then Judah said to Israel, his father, Send the boy with me, and let us be up and going, so that we and you and our little ones may not come to destruction.

And Judah said to 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.

9 Put him into my care and make me responsible for him: if I do not give him safely back to you, let mine be the sin for ever.

I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not to thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:

10 Truly, if we had not let the time go by, we might have come back again by now.

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

11 Then their father Israel said to them, If it has to be so, then do this: take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels to give the man, perfumes and honey and spices and nuts:

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

12 And take twice as much money with you; that is to say, take back the money which was put in your bags, for it may have been an error;

And take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks, carry [it] again in your hand; it may be it [was] an oversight:

13 And take your brother and go back to the man:

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

14 And may God, the Ruler of all, give you mercy before the man, so that he may give you back your other brother and Benjamin. If my children are to be taken from me; there is no help for it.

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

15 So they took what their father said for the man, and twice as much money in their hands, and Benjamin, and went on their journey to Egypt, and came before Joseph.

And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and arose, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin, he said to his chief servant, Take these men into my house, and make ready a meal, for they will take food with me in the middle of the day.

And 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.

17 And the servant did as Joseph said, and took the men into Joseph's house.

And the man did as Joseph commanded: and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.

18 Now the men were full of fear because they had been taken into Joseph's house and they said, It is because of the money which was put back in our bags the first time; he is looking for something against us, so that he may come down on us and take us and our asses for his use.

And 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 bond-men, and our asses.

19 So they went up to Joseph's chief servant at the door of the house,

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

20 And said, O my lord, we only came down the first time to get food;

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

21 And when we came to our night's resting-place, on opening our bags we saw that every man's money was in the mouth of his bag, all our money in full weight: and we have it with us to give it back;

And 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.

22 As well as more money, with which to get food: we have no idea who put our money in our bags.

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

23 Then the servant said, Peace be with you: have no fear: your God, even the God of your father, has put wealth in your bags for you: I had your money. Then he let Simeon come out to them.

And 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 to them.

24 And the servant took them into Joseph's house, and gave them water for washing their feet; and he gave their asses food.

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

25 And they got ready the things for Joseph before he came in the middle of the day: for word was given to them that they were to have a meal there.

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

26 And when Joseph came in, they gave him the things which they had for him, and went down to the earth before him.

And 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.

27 And he said, How are you? is your father well, the old man of whom you were talking to me? is he still living?

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

28 And they said, Your servant, our father, is well, he is still living. And they went down on their faces before him.

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

29 Then, lifting up his eyes, he saw Benjamin, his brother, his mother's son, and he said, Is this your youngest brother of whom you gave me word? And he said, God be good to you, my son.

And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, [Is] this your younger brother, of whom ye spoke to me? And he said, God be gracious to thee, my son.

30 Then Joseph's heart went out to his brother, and he went quickly into his room, for he was overcome with weeping.

And Joseph made haste; for his bowels yearned towards his brother: and he sought [where] to weep; and he entered into [his] chamber, and wept there.

31 Then, after washing his face, he came out, and controlling his feelings said, Put food before us.

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

32 And they put a meal ready for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who were with him by themselves; because the Egyptians may not take food with the Hebrews, for that would make them unclean.

And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who ate with him, by themselves; because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that [is] an abomination to the Egyptians.

33 And they were all given their seats before him in order of birth, from the oldest to the youngest: so that they were looking at one another in wonder.

And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birth-right, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men wondered one at another.

34 And Joseph sent food to them from his table, but he sent five times as much to Benjamin as to any of the others. And they took wine freely with him.

And he took [and sent] messes to 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.