Old/New Testament
The Brothers Return to Egypt
43 (A)Now the famine was heavy in the land. 2 And it happened 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.” 3 Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “(B)The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 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.’” 6 Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly [a]by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” 7 But they said, “The man questioned particularly about us and our kin, saying, ‘(C)Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we told him concerning these things. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, (D)that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. 9 (E)I myself will be the guarantee for him; from my hand you may require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then [b]I shall bear the sin before you all my days. 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 [c]bags, and bring them down to the man (F)as a present, a little [d](G)balm and a little honey, [e]aromatic gum and [f]myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Now take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand (H)the money that was put back in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake. 13 And take your brother also, and arise, return to the man; 14 and may [g](I)God Almighty (J)grant you compassion before 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 children, I am bereaved.” 15 So the men took (M)this present, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; and they arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
Joseph Sees Benjamin
16 Then Joseph saw Benjamin with them and said to his (N)house steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slay an animal and prepare it; for the men are to eat with me at noon.” 17 So the man did as Joseph said and [h]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 that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, that he may [i]seek occasion against us and fall upon us and take us for slaves with our donkeys.” 19 So they came near to Joseph’s house steward and spoke to him at the entrance of the house, 20 and they said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food, 21 and it happened when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and behold, (O)each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in [j]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 And he said, “[k]Be well, do not be afraid. (Q)Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; your money has come to me.” 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 fodder. 25 So they prepared (U)the present [l]for Joseph’s coming at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat [m]a meal there.
26 Then Joseph came home, and they brought into the house to him the present which was in their hand and (V)bowed to the ground before him. 27 And he asked them about their [n]well-being and said, “(W)Is your old father [o]well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 And they said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” (X)They bowed down and prostrated themselves. 29 Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son. And he said, “Is this (Y)your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “(Z)May God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 And Joseph hurried out for [p](AA)he was deeply stirred with compassion over his brother, and he sought a place to weep; and he entered his chamber and (AB)wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he (AC)restrained himself and said, “Set the [q]meal.” 32 So they set the meal for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is (AD)an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they [r]were seated before him, (AE)the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. 34 And he took portions to them from [s]his own table, (AF)but Benjamin’s portion was five times greater than any of theirs. So they feasted and drank freely with him.
The Brothers Fall Before Joseph
44 (AG)Then he commanded his house steward, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. 2 Now put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.” And he did [t]as Joseph had told him. 3 [u]As the morning light broke, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys. 4 Now they had just gone out of (AH)the city and were not far off when Joseph said to his house steward, “Arise, pursue the men; you shall overtake them and say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? 5 Is not this the one from which my lord drinks and which he indeed uses to interpret (AI)omens? You have done evil in doing this.’”
6 So he overtook them and spoke these words to them. 7 And they said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing. 8 Behold, (AJ)the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? 9 (AK)With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s (AL)slaves.” 10 So he said, “Now let it also be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, but the rest of you shall be innocent.” 11 Then they hurried, each man brought his sack down to the ground, and each man opened his sack. 12 So he searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and (AM)the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 Then they (AN)tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to (AO)the city.
14 Then Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there. So (AP)they fell to the ground before him. 15 And Joseph said to them, “What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed interpret (AQ)omens?” 16 So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s (AR)slaves, both we and the one in whose [v]possession the cup has been found.” 17 But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose [w]possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
Judah Remains Instead of Benjamin
18 Then Judah came near to him and said, “O my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and [x](AS)do not be angry with your servant; for (AT)you are equal to Pharaoh. 19 (AU)My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ 20 And we said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and (AV)a little child of his old age. Now (AW)his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’ 21 Then you said to your servants, ‘(AX)Bring him down to me that I may set my eyes on him.’ 22 And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he should leave his father, [y]his father would die.’ 23 You said to your servants, however, ‘(AY)If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 24 Thus it happened that when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25 (AZ)And our father said, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’ 26 But we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we cannot see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’ 27 And your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that (BA)my wife bore me two sons; 28 and the one went out from me, and (BB)I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since. 29 If you take this one also from [z]me and harm befalls him, you will (BC)bring my gray hair down to Sheol in [aa]evil.’ 30 So now, when I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us—[ab](BD)and his life is bound up in the boy’s life— 31 so it will be that when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. Thus your servants will (BE)bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow. 32 For your servant (BF)became a guarantee for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, [ac]then I shall bear the sin before my father all my days.’ 33 So now, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a slave to my lord, and let the boy go up with his brothers. 34 For how shall I go up to my father if the boy is not with me, lest I see the evil that would [ad]overtake my father?”
Joseph Sends for Jacob
45 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he called out, “Have everyone go out from me.” So there [ae]was no man with him (BG)when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 (BH)Then he [af]wept loudly. And the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “(BI)I am Joseph! (BJ)Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for (BK)they were terrified at his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” And they came near. And he said, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you (BL)sold into Egypt. 5 So now do not be grieved or angry [ag]with yourselves because (BM)you sold me here, for (BN)God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land (BO)these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 (BP)So God sent me before you to establish for you a remnant in the earth and to keep you alive for a great remnant of survivors. 8 So now, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has set me as a (BQ)father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father, and (BR)say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, “God has set me as lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10 And you shall [ah]live in the land of (BS)Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. 11 There I will also (BT)provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, lest you and your household and all that you have be impoverished.”’ 12 And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you. 13 So you must tell my father of all my glory in Egypt and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and (BU)bring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and (BV)wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.
16 Now (BW)the [ai]news was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” And it was good in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. 17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and [aj]go to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households and come to me, and (BX)I will give you the [ak]best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’ 19 Now you are commanded, ‘Do this: [al]take (BY)wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come. 20 Now do not [am]concern yourselves with your goods, for the [an]best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”
21 Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them (BZ)wagons according to the [ao]command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To [ap]each of them he gave (CA)changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and (CB)five changes of garments. 23 Now to his father he sent [aq]as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the [ar]best things of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and sustenance for his father [as]on the journey.
24 So he sent his brothers away, and they departed. And he said to them, “Do not be stirred up on the journey.” 25 Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But [at]his heart was stunned, for (CC)he did not believe them. 27 Yet they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and he saw the (CD)wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him. Then the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “It is enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man does not (A)cast out demons except by [a]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
25 (B)And (C)knowing their thoughts He said to them, “[b]Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and [c]any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 And if (D)Satan casts out Satan, he [d]is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I (E)by [e]Beelzebul cast out demons, (F)by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But (G)if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
30 (H)He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31 “(I)Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 (J)And whoever [f]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever [g]speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in (K)this age or in the age to come.
The Heart Is Revealed by Words
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for (L)the tree is known by its fruit. 34 (M)You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak [h]what is good? (N)For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 (O)The good man brings out of his good treasure [i]what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure [j]what is evil. 36 But I tell you that every [k]careless word that people [l]speak, they shall give an accounting for it in (P)the day of judgment. 37 For [m]by your words you will be justified, and [n]by your words you will be condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered and said to Him, “Teacher, (Q)we want to see [o]a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “(R)An evil and adulterous generation eagerly seeks for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as (S)Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will (T)the Son of Man be (U)three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 (V)The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because (W)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, (X)something greater than Jonah is here. 42 (Y)The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, (Z)something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “(AA)Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and (AB)the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
46 (AC)While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His (AD)mother and (AE)brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 [p]Now someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” 48 But [q]Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
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