Genesis 43
New International Version
The Second Journey to Egypt
43 Now the famine was still severe in the land.(A) 2 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)
3 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) 4 If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you.(F) 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.(G)’”
6 Israel(H) asked, “Why did you bring this trouble(I) 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?’(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)
8 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) 9 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
- Genesis 43:14 Hebrew El-Shaddai
Genesis 43
Wycliffe Bible
43 In the meantime hunger oppressed greatly all the land, (In the meantime the famine greatly oppressed all the land,)
2 and when the meats were wasted, which they [had] brought from Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, Turn ye again, and buy ye a little of meats to us. (and when all the corn, or all the grain. which they had brought from Egypt, had been eaten, Jacob said to his sons, Return ye, and buy ye a little food for us.)
3 (And) Judah answered, That man announced to us, under witnessing of an oath, and said, Ye shall not see my face, if ye shall not bring with you your least brother (if ye do not bring your youngest brother with you);
4 therefore if thou wilt send him with us, we shall go (down) together, and we shall buy necessaries to thee (and we shall buy all the necessities for thee);
5 else if thou wilt not, we shall not go (down); for as we said oft, the man announced to us, and said, Ye shall not see my face without your least brother (for as we have often said to you, the man announced to us, Ye shall not see my face without your youngest brother).
6 Forsooth Israel said to them, Ye did this into my wretchedness, that ye showed to him, that ye had also another brother. (And Israel, that is, Jacob, said to them, Ye did this unto my wretchedness, that ye told him that ye also had another brother.)
7 And they answered, The man asked us by order our generation, (and) if our father lived, (and) if we had another brother; and we answered followingly to him, by that that he asked (and we answered accordingly to him, by what he asked us); whether we might know that he would say, Bring ye (down) your brother with you?
8 And Judah said to his father, Send the child[a] with me, that we go, and may live, lest we die, (and thou,) and our little children; (And Judah said to his father, I pray thee, send our youngest brother with me, so that we can go, and we can live, otherwise we, and thou, and our little children shall die;)
9 I (shall) take the child, require thou him (again) of mine hand; if I shall not bring him again, and betake him to thee, I shall be guilty of sin against thee in all time; (I shall take our youngest brother, and thou shalt require him again from my hand; and if I shall not bring him back again, and give him to thee, I shall be guilty of sin against thee for all time;)
10 if this delay, or tarrying, had not been, we had come thence now another time. (yea, if this delay had not happened, we could already have gone there, and had come back by now, another time.)
11 Therefore Israel, their father, said to them, If it is need so to be (done), do ye that that ye will (And so their father Israel said to them, If it is so needed to be done, then do ye what ye must); (and) take ye (some) of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and bear ye gifts to the man, a little of gum, and of honey, and of storax, that is, (a) precious gum, and of myrrh, that is, a bitter gum, and of terebinth, that is, (the) best resins, and of almonds;
12 and bear ye with you double (the) money, and bear ye again that money which ye found in [the] bags, lest peradventure it be done by error, or unwitting(ly)/or (by) negligence;
13 but also take ye your brother, and go ye to the man; (and also take ye your brother, and so go ye now to the man;)
14 forsooth my God Almighty make him peaceable to you/make him pleasable, or quemeful, to you, and send he again your brother, whom he holdeth in bonds, and also this Benjamin; forsooth I shall be now as (if) made bare (and) without sons. (and may my Almighty God make him kindly disposed toward you, and send he again your brother, whom he now holdeth in prison, and also this Benjamin; but for now I shall be as if made barren, and without my sons.)
15 Therefore the men took gifts (And so the men took the gifts), and double (the) money, and Benjamin; and they went down into Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
16 And when he had seen them and Benjamin together, he commanded the dispenser of his house, and said (And when he had seen Benjamin together with them, he commanded to the steward of his house, and said), Lead these men into the house, and slay (some) beasts, and make a feast; for they shall eat with me today.
17 He did as it was commanded/as it was bidden him (He did as he was commanded), and he led the men into the house;
18 and there they were afeared, and they said together, We be brought in for the money which we bare again before in our sacks, that he put challenge against us, and make subject by violence to servage both us and our asses. (and they were afraid there, and they said together, We be brought in here for the money which we found put back in our sacks, and he shall soon challenge us about it, and by force make both us and our donkeys subject to servitude, or to slavery.)
19 Wherefore they nighed in the gates, and spake to the dispenser, (And so they went to the door, and spoke to the steward,)
20 Lord, we pray, that thou hear us; we came down now before that we should buy meats; (and said, My lord, we pray thee, that thou hear us; we came down before so that we could buy some food;)
21 (and) when those were bought, (and we headed home,) when we came to the inn, we opened our bags, and we found the money in the mouth(s) of our sacks, which money we have brought again now in the same weight (which money in the same amount we have now brought back);
22 but also we have brought other silver, (so) that we (can) buy those things that be needful to us; it is not in our knowing who put the money in our purses.
23 And he answered, Peace be to you, do not ye dread; your God, and [the] God of your father, gave to you (the) treasures in your bags; for I have the money proved, which ye gave to me (for I have the approved money, which ye gave to me). And he led out Simeon to them;
24 and when they were brought into the house, he brought (them) water, and they washed their feet, and he gave their asses meats (and he gave some food to their donkeys).
25 Soothly they made ready the(ir) gifts till Joseph entered at midday, for they had heard that they should eat bread there.
26 Therefore Joseph entered into his house, and they offered gifts to him, and held them in their hands, and worshipped low to the earth. (And so Joseph entered into his house, and they offered him the gifts that they held in their hands, and they bowed low to the ground before him.)
27 And he greeted them again meekly; and he asked them, and said, Whether your father, the eld man, is safe, of whom ye said to me? liveth he yet? (And he meekly greeted them; and he asked them, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spoke to me? yet he liveth?)
28 Which answered, He is whole, thy servant our father liveth yet; and they were bowed, and worshipped him. (And they answered, He is well, yea, thy servant, our father, yet liveth; and they bowed low before him.)
29 Forsooth Joseph raised [up] his eyes, and saw Benjamin, his brother of the same womb, and he said, Is this your young(est) brother, of whom ye said to me? And again Joseph said, My son, God have mercy on thee. (And Joseph raised up his eyes, and saw Benjamin, his brother from the same womb, and he asked, Is this your youngest brother of whom ye spoke to me? And Joseph said to him, My son, may God have mercy on thee.)
30 And Joseph hasted into (another part of) the house, for his entrails were moved on his brother (for his feelings were stirred because of his brother), and tears burst out, and he entered into a closet, and wept.
31 And again when his face was washed (And then when he had washed his face), he went out, and refrained himself from weeping, and said, Set ye forth (the) loaves.
32 Which were set forth to Joseph by himself, and to his brethren by themselves, and to the Egyptians that ate together by themselves; for it is unleaveful to Egyptians to eat with Hebrews, and they guess such a feast unholy. (And they were set forth for Joseph by himself, and for his brothers by themselves, and for the Egyptians who ate together by themselves; for it is unlawful for Egyptians to eat with Hebrews, for they believe that such a feast, or that such a meal, would be unholy.)
33 Therefore they sat before him, the first begotten by right of the first begotten, and (so on down to) the youngest by his age; and they wondered greatly, (And so they sat down before him, the first-born by right of the first-born, and so on down to the youngest by his age; and they greatly wondered,)
34 when the parts were taken which they had received of him, and the more part came to Benjamin, so that it passed (the others) in five parts; and they drank, and were [ful]filled with him. (when they received their portions from him, and the greatest portion came to Benjamin, indeed it was five times more than what any of the others received; and so they drank, and were fulfilled with him.)
Footnotes
- Genesis 43:8 Benjamin would have been over 30 years old at this time.
Genesis 43
New King James Version
Joseph’s Brothers Return with Benjamin
43 Now the famine was (A)severe in the land. 2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go (B)back, buy us a little food.”
3 But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your (C)brother is with you.’ 4 If you 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 And Israel said, “Why did you deal so [a]wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?”
7 But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”
8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may (D)live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9 I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. (E)If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10 For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”
11 And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and (F)carry down a present for the man—a little (G)balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money (H)that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. 14 And may God (I)Almighty (J)give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. (K)If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”
15 So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went (L)down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the (M)steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter [b]an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” 17 Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.
18 Now the men were (N)afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may [c]make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.”
19 When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, “O sir, (O)we indeed came down the first time to buy food; 21 but (P)it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. 22 And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”
23 But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought (Q)Simeon out to them.
24 So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and (R)gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. 25 Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there.
26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and (S)bowed down before him to the earth. 27 Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man (T)of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”
28 And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” (U)And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.
29 Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, (V)his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother (W)of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Now (X)his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and (Y)wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the (Z)bread.”
32 So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the (AA)Hebrews, for that is (AB)an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his (AC)birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another. 34 Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was (AD)five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 43:6 Lit. wickedly
- Genesis 43:16 Lit. a slaughter
- Genesis 43:18 Lit. roll himself upon us
Genesis 43
English Standard Version
Joseph's Brothers Return to Egypt
43 Now the famine was (A)severe in the land. 2 And when they had eaten the grain that 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 solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your (B)brother is with you.’ 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? Do you have 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’?” 8 And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may (C)live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9 I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. (D)If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 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 a present down to the man, a little (E)balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money (F)that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. 14 May (G)God Almighty[a] (H)grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, (I)if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”
15 So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the (J)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.” 17 The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph's house. 18 And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house, and they said, “It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys.” 19 So they went up to the steward of Joseph's house and spoke with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, (K)“Oh, my lord, (L)we came down the first time to buy food. 21 And (M)when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man's money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us, 22 and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 He replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. 24 And when the man had brought the men into Joseph's house and (N)given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder, 25 they prepared (O)the present for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.
26 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and (P)bowed down to him to the ground. 27 And he inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man (Q)of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they (R)bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. 29 And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, (S)his mother's son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, (T)of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!” 30 Then Joseph hurried out, for (U)his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and (V)wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out. And (W)controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.” 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 (X)an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement. 34 (Y)Portions were taken to them from Joseph's table, but Benjamin's portion was (Z)five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry[b] with him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 43:14 Hebrew El Shaddai
- Genesis 43:34 Hebrew and became intoxicated
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