Genesis 43
1599 Geneva Bible
43 13 Jacob suffereth Benjamin to depart with his children. 14 Simeon is delivered out of prison. 30 Joseph goeth aside and weepeth.
1 Now great [a]famine was in the land.
2 And when they had eaten up the vittles, which they had brought from Egypt, their father said unto them, Turn again and buy us a little food.
3 And Judah answered him, saying, The man charged us by an oath, saying, (A)Never see my face, except your brother be with you.
4 If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down, and buy thee food.
5 But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, (B)Look me not in the face, except your brother be with you.
6 And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so evil with me, as to tell the man, whether ye had yet a brother or no?
7 And they answered, The man asked straightly of [b]ourselves and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye any brother? And we told him according to [c]these words: could we know certainly that he would say, Bring your brother down?
8 Then said Judah to Israel his father, Send the boy with me, that we may rise and go, and that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and our children.
9 I will be surety for him: of mine hand shalt thou require him. (C)If I bring him not to thee, and set him before thee, [d]then let me bear the blame forever.
10 For except we had made this tarrying, doubtless by this we had returned the second time.
11 Then their father Israel said unto them, If it must needs be so now, do thus: take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and bring the man a present, a little rosin, and a little honey, [e]spices and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:
12 And take [f]double money in your hand, and the money, that was brought again in your sacks’ mouths carry it again in your hand, lest it were some oversight.
13 Take also your brother and arise, and go again to the man.
14 And [g]God Almighty give you mercy in the sight of the man, that he may deliver you your other brother, and Benjamin: but I shall be [h]robbed of my child, as I have been.
15 Thus the men took this present, and took twice so much money in their hand with Benjamin, and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said [i]to his steward, Bring these men home and kill meat, and make ready: for the men shall eat with me at noon.
17 And the men did as Joseph bade, and brought the men unto Joseph’s house.
18 Now when the men were brought into Joseph’s house, they were [j]afraid, and said, Because of the money, that came in our sack’s mouths at the first time, are we brought, that he may [k]pick a quarrel against us, and [l]lay something to our charge, and bring us in bondage and our asses.
19 Therefore came they to Joseph’s steward, and communed with him at the door of his house,
20 And said, O sir, (D)we came indeed down hither at the first time to buy food,
21 And as we came to an Inn and opened our sacks, behold, every man’s money was in his sack’s mouth, even our money in full weight, but we have brought it in our hands.
22 Also other money have we brought in our hands to buy food, but we cannot tell, who put our money in our sacks.
23 And he said, [m]Peace be to you, fear not: [n]your God, and the God of your father hath given you that treasure in your sacks, I had your money: and he brought forth Simeon to them.
24 So the man led them into Joseph’s house, and gave them water to wash their feet, and gave their asses provender.
25 And they made ready their present against Joseph came at noon, (for they heard say, that they should eat bread there.)
26 When Joseph came home, they brought the present into the house to him, which was in their hands, and bowed down to the ground before him.
27 And he asked them of their [o]prosperity, and said, Is your father the old man, of whom ye told me, in good health? is he yet alive?
28 Who answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive: and they bowed down, and made obeisance.
29 And he lifting up his eyes, beheld his brother Benjamin, his [p]mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother of whom ye told me? And he said, God be merciful unto thee, my son.
30 And Joseph made haste (for his [q]affection was inflamed toward his brother, and sought where to weep) and entered into his chamber and wept there.
31 Afterward he washed his face, and came out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on [r]meat.
32 And they [s]prepared 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 was an [t]abomination unto the Egyptians.
33 So they sat before him: the eldest according unto his age, and the youngest according unto his youth: and the men marveled among themselves.
34 And they took meats from before him, and sent to them: but Benjamin’s meat was five times so much as any of theirs: and they drank, [u]and had of the best drink with him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 43:1 This was a great tentation to Jacob to suffer so great famine in that land where God had promised to bless him.
- Genesis 43:7 Or, of our estate and condition.
- Genesis 43:7 Hebrew, to the mouth of these words: that is, that thing which he asked us.
- Genesis 43:9 Hebrew, I will sin to thee.
- Genesis 43:11 Or, sweet smells.
- Genesis 43:12 When we are in necessity or danger, God forbiddeth not to use all honest means to better our estate and condition.
- Genesis 43:14 Our chief trust ought to be in God, and not in worldly means.
- Genesis 43:14 He speaketh these words not so much of despair, as to make his sons more careful to bring again their brother.
- Genesis 43:16 Or, to the ruler of his house.
- Genesis 43:18 So the judgment of God pressed their conscience.
- Genesis 43:18 Hebrew, roll himself upon us.
- Genesis 43:18 Hebrew, cast himself upon us.
- Genesis 43:23 Or, you are well.
- Genesis 43:23 Notwithstanding the corruptions of Egypt, yet Joseph taught his family to fear God.
- Genesis 43:27 Hebrew, peace.
- Genesis 43:29 For they two only were born of Rachel.
- Genesis 43:30 Hebrew, bowels.
- Genesis 43:31 Hebrew, bread.
- Genesis 43:32 To signify his dignity.
- Genesis 43:32 The nature of the superstitious is to condemn all others in respect of themselves.
- Genesis 43:34 Sometimes this word signifieth to be drunken, but here it is meant, that they had enough, and drank of the best wine.
Genesis 43
Amplified Bible
The Return to Egypt
43 Now the famine was very severe in the land [of Canaan]. 2 And it happened that when the families of Jacob’s sons had finished eating [all of] the grain which they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” 3 But Judah said to him, “The man [representing Pharaoh] solemnly and sternly warned us, saying, ‘You will not see my face [again] unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down [to Egypt] and buy you food. 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down there; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” 6 And Israel (Jacob) said, “Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man that you had another brother?” 7 And they said, “The man asked us straightforward questions about ourselves and our relatives. He said, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we [a]answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down [here to Egypt]’?” 8 Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the young man with me and we will get up and go [buy food], so that we may live and not die [of starvation], we as well as you and our little ones. 9 I will be security (a guarantee) for him; [b]you may hold me [personally] responsible for him. If I do not bring him [back] to you and place him [safely] before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever. 10 For if we had not delayed like this, surely by now we would have returned the second time.”
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this; take some of the choicest products of the land in your sacks, and carry it as a present [of tribute] to the man [representing Pharaoh], a little balm and a little honey, aromatic spices or gum, resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take double the [amount of] money with you, and take back the money that was returned in the opening of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take your brother [Benjamin] also, and get up, and go to the man; 14 and may [c]God Almighty grant you compassion and favor before the man, so that he will release to you your other brother [Simeon] and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children [Joseph, Simeon, and Benjamin], I am bereaved.” 15 Then the men took the present, and they took double the [amount of] money with them, and Benjamin; then they left and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
Joseph Sees Benjamin
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and kill an animal and make [a meal] ready; for the men will dine with me at noon.” 17 So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph’s house. 18 The men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and [expecting the worst] they said, “It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time [we came] that we are being brought in, so that he may find a reason to accuse us and assail us, and take us as slaves, and seize our donkeys.” 19 So they approached the steward of Joseph’s house, and talked with him at the entrance of the house, 20 and said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down here the first time to buy food; 21 and when we arrived at the inn [after leaving here], we opened our sacks and there was each man’s money [with which he had paid for grain], in full, returned in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back [this time]. 22 We have also brought down with us additional money to buy food; we do not know who put our money [back] in our sacks [last time].” 23 But the steward [encouraged them and] said, “Peace be to you, do not be afraid; your God and the God of your father has [miraculously] given you treasure in your sacks. I [already] had your money [which you paid to us].” Then he brought Simeon out to them. 24 Then the steward brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed [the dust off] their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. 25 So they prepared the present [of tribute] for Joseph before his arrival at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat a meal there.
26 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present [of tribute] which they had with them and bowed to the ground before him. 27 He asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed down [their heads before Joseph] in respect. 29 And he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s [only other] son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” And Joseph said, “God be gracious to you and show you favor, my son.” 30 Then Joseph hurried out [of the room] because his heart was deeply touched over his brother, and he sought privacy to weep; so he entered his chamber and wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out, and, restraining himself, said, “Let the meal be served.” 32 So the servants served Joseph by himself [in honor of his rank], and his brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because [according to custom] the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is [d]loathsome to the Egyptians. 33 Now Joseph’s brothers were seated [by the steward] before him [in the order of their birth]—the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked at one another in astonishment [because so much was known about them]. 34 Joseph selected and sent portions to them from his own table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they feasted and drank freely and celebrated with him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 43:7 Lit told him upon the mouth of these words.
- Genesis 43:9 Lit from my hand you shall require him.
- Genesis 43:14 Heb El Shaddai.
- Genesis 43:32 I.e. an abomination, a violation of holiness or distinction.
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