The Return to Egypt

43 (A)Now the famine was severe in the land. So it came about, when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “(B)The man sternly warned [a]us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly, [b]by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” But they said, “The man specifically asked about us and our relatives, saying, ‘(C)Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we [c]answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” So Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will arise and go, (D)so that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. (E)I myself will take responsibility for him! You may demand him back from [d]me. If I do not bring him back to you and present him to you, then [e]you can let me take the blame forever. 10 For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”

11 Then 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 [f]bags, and carry down to the man (F)as a gift, a little (G)balsam and a little honey, labdanum resin and [g]myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 And take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand (H)the money that was returned in the opening of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man; 14 and may [h](I)God Almighty (J)grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you (K)your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, (L)if I am bereaved of my sons, I am bereaved!” 15 So the men took (M)this gift, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; then they set out and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

Joseph Sees Benjamin

16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his (N)house steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make preparations; for the men are to dine with me at noon.” 17 So the man did as Joseph said, and [i]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 that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, so that he may [j]attack us and [k]overpower us, and take us as slaves with our donkeys.” 19 So they approached Joseph’s house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house, 20 and said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food, 21 and it happened when we came to the campsite, that we opened our sacks, and behold, (O)each man’s money was in the opening of his sack, our money in [l]full. So (P)we have brought it back in our hand. 22 We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 But he said, “Peace be to you, do not be afraid. (Q)Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; your [m]money was in my possession.” Then (R)he brought Simeon out to them. 24 Then the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and (S)gave them water, and they (T)washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. 25 So they prepared (U)the gift [n]for Joseph’s arrival at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat [o]a meal there.

26 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the gift which was in their hand, and they (V)bowed down to the ground before him. 27 Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, “(W)Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 And they said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” Then (X)they bowed down again [p]in homage. 29 And as he raised his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this (Y)your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” Then he said, “(Z)May God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Joseph then hurried out, for [q](AA)he was deeply stirred over his brother, and he looked for a place to weep; so he entered his chamber and (AB)wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he (AC)controlled himself and said, “[r]Serve the meal.” 32 Then they served him by himself, and [s]Joseph’s brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an (AD)abomination to the Egyptians. 33 Now they [t]were seated before him, from (AE)the firstborn according to his birthright to the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. 34 Then he took portions to them from [u]his own table, (AF)but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank freely with him.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 43:3 Lit us, saying
  2. Genesis 43:6 Lit to tell
  3. Genesis 43:7 Lit told him according to these words
  4. Genesis 43:9 Lit my hand
  5. Genesis 43:9 Lit I will be culpable before you all the days
  6. Genesis 43:11 Or vessels
  7. Genesis 43:11 Or resinous bark
  8. Genesis 43:14 Heb El Shaddai
  9. Genesis 43:17 Lit the man brought
  10. Genesis 43:18 Lit roll himself upon us
  11. Genesis 43:18 Lit fall upon
  12. Genesis 43:21 Lit its weight
  13. Genesis 43:23 Lit your money had come to me
  14. Genesis 43:25 Lit until
  15. Genesis 43:25 Lit bread
  16. Genesis 43:28 I.e., great respect and honor to a superior
  17. Genesis 43:30 Lit his compassion grew warm
  18. Genesis 43:31 Lit Set on bread
  19. Genesis 43:32 Lit them
  20. Genesis 43:33 Lit sat
  21. Genesis 43:34 Lit his face

The Second Journey to Egypt

43 Now the famine was still severe in the land.(A) So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt,(B) their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”(C)

But Judah(D) said to him, “The man warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’(E) If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you.(F) 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.(G)’”

Israel(H) asked, “Why did you bring this trouble(I) on me by telling the man you had another brother?”

They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’(J) he asked us. ‘Do you have another brother?’(K) We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”(L)

Then Judah(M) said to Israel(N) 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.(O) I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him.(P) If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame(Q) before you all my life.(R) 10 As it is, if we had not delayed,(S) we could have gone and returned twice.”

11 Then their father Israel(T) said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products(U) of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift(V)—a little balm(W) and a little honey, some spices(X) and myrrh,(Y) some pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double the amount(Z) of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks.(AA) Perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also and go back to the man at once.(AB) 14 And may God Almighty[a](AC) grant you mercy(AD) before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you.(AE) As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”(AF)

15 So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver,(AG) and Benjamin also. They hurried(AH) down to Egypt and presented themselves(AI) to Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin(AJ) with them, he said to the steward of his house,(AK) “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal;(AL) they are to eat with me at noon.”

17 The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house.(AM) 18 Now the men were frightened(AN) when they were taken to his house.(AO) They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks(AP) the first time. He wants to attack us(AQ) and overpower us and seize us as slaves(AR) and take our donkeys.(AS)

19 So they went up to Joseph’s steward(AT) 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.(AU) 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.(AV) 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,(AW) has given you treasure in your sacks;(AX) I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.(AY)

24 The steward took the men into Joseph’s house,(AZ) gave them water to wash their feet(BA) and provided fodder for their donkeys. 25 They prepared their gifts(BB) for Joseph’s arrival at noon,(BC) because they had heard that they were to eat there.

26 When Joseph came home,(BD) they presented to him the gifts(BE) they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground.(BF) 27 He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father(BG) you told me about? Is he still living?”(BH)

28 They replied, “Your servant our father(BI) is still alive and well.” And they bowed down,(BJ) prostrating themselves before him.(BK)

29 As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son,(BL) he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?”(BM) And he said, “God be gracious to you,(BN) my son.” 30 Deeply moved(BO) at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept(BP) there.

31 After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself,(BQ) said, “Serve the food.”(BR)

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,(BS) for that is detestable to Egyptians.(BT) 33 The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn(BU) to the youngest;(BV) 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.(BW) So they feasted(BX) and drank freely with him.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 43:14 Hebrew El-Shaddai