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Genesis 42-43
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Genesis 42-43
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
42 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at one another?(A) 2 I have heard,” he said, “that there is grain in Egypt; go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.”(B) 3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he feared that harm might come to him.(C) 5 Thus the sons of Israel were among the people who came to buy grain, for the famine had reached the land of Canaan.(D)
6 Now Joseph was governor over the land; it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.(E) 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”(F) 8 Although Joseph had recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 Joseph also remembered the dreams that he had dreamed about them. He said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land!”(G) 10 They said to him, “No, my lord; your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man; we are honest men; your servants have never been spies.” 12 But he said to them, “No, you have come to see the nakedness of the land!” 13 They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of a certain man in the land of Canaan; the youngest, however, is now with our father, and one is no more.”(H) 14 But Joseph said to them, “It is just as I have said to you; you are spies! 15 Here is how you shall be tested: as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here! 16 Let one of you go and bring your brother, while the rest of you remain in prison, in order that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you, or else, as Pharaoh lives, surely you are spies.” 17 And he put them all together in prison for three days.
18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:(I) 19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here where you are imprisoned. The rest of you shall go and carry grain for the famine of your households 20 and bring your youngest brother to me. Thus your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they agreed to do so.(J) 21 They said to one another, “Alas, we are paying the penalty for what we did to our brother; we saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this anguish has come upon us.”(K) 22 Then Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to wrong the boy? But you would not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.”(L) 23 They did not know that Joseph understood them, since he spoke with them through an interpreter. 24 He turned away from them and wept; then he returned and spoke to them. And he picked out Simeon and had him bound before their eyes.(M) 25 Joseph then gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. This was done for them.(N)
Joseph’s Brothers Return to Canaan
26 They loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed.(O) 27 When one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money at the top of the sack. 28 He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in my sack!” At this they lost heart and turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and charged us with spying on the land.(P) 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies.(Q) 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way.(R) 34 Bring your youngest brother to me, and I shall know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will release your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ ”
35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each one’s sack was his bag of money. When they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were dismayed.(S) 36 And their father Jacob said to them, “I am the one you have bereaved of children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has happened to me!”(T) 37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” 38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should come to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”(U)
The Brothers Come Again, Bringing Benjamin
43 Now the famine was severe in the land.(V) 2 And when they had eaten up the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again; buy us a little more food.” 3 But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’(W) 4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food, 5 but if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’ ” 6 Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?” 7 They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”(X) 8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and let us be on our way, so that we may live and not die—you and we and also our little ones. 9 I myself will be surety for him; you can hold me accountable for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.(Y) 10 If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry them down as a present to the man: a little balm and a little honey, gum, resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds.(Z) 12 Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the top of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight.(AA) 13 Take your brother also, and be on your way again to the man; 14 may God Almighty[a] grant you mercy before the man, so that he may send back your other brother and Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”(AB) 15 So the men took the present, and they took double the money with them, as well as Benjamin. Then they went on their way down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.”(AC) 17 The man did as Joseph said and brought the men to Joseph’s house. 18 Now the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house, and they said, “It is because of the money, replaced in our sacks the first time, that we have been brought in, so that he may have an opportunity to fall upon us, to make slaves of us and take our donkeys.” 19 So they went up to the steward of Joseph’s house and spoke with him at the entrance to the house. 20 They said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food,(AD) 21 and when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each one’s money in the top of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it back with us.(AE) 22 Moreover, we have brought down with us additional money to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 He replied, “Rest assured; do not be afraid; your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your sacks for you; I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.(AF) 24 When the steward[b] had brought the men into Joseph’s house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder,(AG) 25 they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they had heard that they would dine there.
26 When Joseph came home, they brought him the present that they had carried into the house and bowed to the ground before him.(AH) 27 He inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”(AI) 28 They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and did obeisance.(AJ) 29 Then he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!”(AK) 30 With that, Joseph hurried out, because he was overcome with affection for his brother, and he was about to weep. So he went into a private room and wept there.(AL) 31 Then he washed his face and came out, and controlling himself he said, “Serve the meal.”(AM) 32 They served him by himself and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.(AN) 33 When they were seated before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, the men looked at one another in amazement. 34 Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.(AO)
Genesis 42-43
New International Version
Genesis 42-43
New International Version
Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
42 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt,(A) he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” 2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us,(B) so that we may live and not die.”(C)
3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain(D) from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin,(E) Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.(F) 5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain,(G) for there was famine in the land of Canaan(H) also.(I)
6 Now Joseph was the governor of the land,(J) the person who sold grain to all its people.(K) So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.(L) 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them.(M) “Where do you come from?”(N) he asked.
“From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”
8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.(O) 9 Then he remembered his dreams(P) about them and said to them, “You are spies!(Q) You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”(R)
10 “No, my lord,(S)” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food.(T) 11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servants(U) are honest men,(V) not spies.(W)”
12 “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”(X)
13 But they replied, “Your servants(Y) were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan.(Z) The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”(AA)
14 Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies!(AB) 15 And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives,(AC) you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.(AD) 16 Send one of your number to get your brother;(AE) the rest of you will be kept in prison,(AF) so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth.(AG) If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!(AH)” 17 And he put them all in custody(AI) for three days.
18 On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:(AJ) 19 If you are honest men,(AK) let one of your brothers stay here in prison,(AL) while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households.(AM) 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me,(AN) so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.
21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother.(AO) We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress(AP) has come on us.”
22 Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy?(AQ) But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting(AR) for his blood.”(AS) 23 They did not realize(AT) that Joseph could understand them,(AU) since he was using an interpreter.
24 He turned away from them and began to weep,(AV) but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.(AW)
25 Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain,(AX) to put each man’s silver back in his sack,(AY) and to give them provisions(AZ) for their journey.(BA) After this was done for them, 26 they loaded their grain on their donkeys(BB) and left.
27 At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey,(BC) and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack.(BD) 28 “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.”
Their hearts sank(BE) and they turned to each other trembling(BF) and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”(BG)
29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan,(BH) they told him all that had happened to them.(BI) They said, 30 “The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us(BJ) and treated us as though we were spying on the land.(BK) 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies.(BL) 32 We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’(BM)
33 “Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go.(BN) 34 But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men.(BO) Then I will give your brother back to you,(BP) and you can trade[a] in the land.(BQ)’”
35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver!(BR) When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened.(BS) 36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more,(BT) and now you want to take Benjamin.(BU) Everything is against me!(BV)”
37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care,(BW) and I will bring him back.”(BX)
38 But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead(BY) and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him(BZ) on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave(CA) in sorrow.(CB)”
The Second Journey to Egypt
43 Now the famine was still severe in the land.(CC) 2 So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt,(CD) their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”(CE)
3 But Judah(CF) said to him, “The man warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’(CG) 4 If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you.(CH) 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.(CI)’”
6 Israel(CJ) asked, “Why did you bring this trouble(CK) on me by telling the man you had another brother?”
7 They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’(CL) he asked us. ‘Do you have another brother?’(CM) We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”(CN)
8 Then Judah(CO) said to Israel(CP) his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die.(CQ) 9 I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him.(CR) If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame(CS) before you all my life.(CT) 10 As it is, if we had not delayed,(CU) we could have gone and returned twice.”
11 Then their father Israel(CV) said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products(CW) of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift(CX)—a little balm(CY) and a little honey, some spices(CZ) and myrrh,(DA) some pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double the amount(DB) of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks.(DC) Perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also and go back to the man at once.(DD) 14 And may God Almighty[b](DE) grant you mercy(DF) before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you.(DG) As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”(DH)
15 So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver,(DI) and Benjamin also. They hurried(DJ) down to Egypt and presented themselves(DK) to Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin(DL) with them, he said to the steward of his house,(DM) “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal;(DN) they are to eat with me at noon.”
17 The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house.(DO) 18 Now the men were frightened(DP) when they were taken to his house.(DQ) They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks(DR) the first time. He wants to attack us(DS) and overpower us and seize us as slaves(DT) and take our donkeys.(DU)”
19 So they went up to Joseph’s steward(DV) and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 20 “We beg your pardon, our lord,” they said, “we came down here the first time to buy food.(DW) 21 But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver—the exact weight—in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us.(DX) 22 We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in our sacks.”
23 “It’s all right,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father,(DY) has given you treasure in your sacks;(DZ) I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.(EA)
24 The steward took the men into Joseph’s house,(EB) gave them water to wash their feet(EC) and provided fodder for their donkeys. 25 They prepared their gifts(ED) for Joseph’s arrival at noon,(EE) because they had heard that they were to eat there.
26 When Joseph came home,(EF) they presented to him the gifts(EG) they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground.(EH) 27 He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father(EI) you told me about? Is he still living?”(EJ)
28 They replied, “Your servant our father(EK) is still alive and well.” And they bowed down,(EL) prostrating themselves before him.(EM)
29 As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son,(EN) he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?”(EO) And he said, “God be gracious to you,(EP) my son.” 30 Deeply moved(EQ) at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept(ER) there.
31 After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself,(ES) said, “Serve the food.”(ET)
32 They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews,(EU) for that is detestable to Egyptians.(EV) 33 The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn(EW) to the youngest;(EX) and they looked at each other in astonishment. 34 When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s.(EY) So they feasted(EZ) and drank freely with him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 42:34 Or move about freely
- Genesis 43:14 Hebrew El-Shaddai
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
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