Genesis:42-45
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Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt ,
Jacob said unto his sons ,
Why do ye look one upon another ?
*
And he said ,
Behold ,
I have heard that there is corn in Egypt :
get you down thither ,
and buy for us from thence ;
that we may live ,
and not die .
*
And Joseph '
s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt .
*
But Benjamin ,
Joseph '
s brother ,
Jacob sent not with his brethren ;
for he said ,
Lest peradventure mischief befall him .
*
And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came :
for the famine was in the land of Canaan .
*
And Joseph was the governor over the land ,
and he it was that sold to all the people of the land :
and Joseph '
s brethren came ,
and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth .
*
And Joseph saw his brethren ,
and he knew them ,
but made himself strange unto them ,
and spake roughly unto them ;
and he said unto them ,
Whence come ye ?
And they said ,
From the land of Canaan to buy food .
*
And Joseph knew his brethren ,
but they knew not him .
*
And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them ,
and said unto them ,
Ye are spies ;
to see the nakedness of the land ye are come .
*
And they said unto him ,
Nay ,
my lord ,
but to buy food are thy servants come .
*
We are all one man '
s sons ;
we are true men ,
thy servants are no spies .
*
And he said unto them ,
Nay ,
but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come .
*
And they said ,
Thy servants are twelve brethren ,
the sons of one man in the land of Canaan ;
and ,
behold ,
the youngest is this day with our father ,
and one is not .
*
And Joseph said unto them ,
That is it that I spake unto you ,
saying ,
Ye are spies :
*
Hereby ye shall be proved :
By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence ,
except your youngest brother come hither .
*
Send one of you ,
and let him fetch your brother ,
and ye shall be kept in prison ,
that your words may be proved ,
whether there be any truth in you :
or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies .
*
And he put them all together into ward three days .
*
And Joseph said unto them the third day ,
This do ,
and live ;
for I fear God :
*
If ye be true men ,
let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison :
go ye ,
carry corn for the famine of your houses :
*
But bring your youngest brother unto me ;
so shall your words be verified ,
and ye shall not die .
And they did so .
*
And they said one to another ,
We are verily guilty concerning our brother ,
in that we saw the anguish of his soul ,
when he besought us ,
and we would not hear ;
therefore is this distress come upon us .
*
And Reuben answered them ,
saying ,
Spake I not unto you ,
saying ,
Do not sin against the child ;
and ye would not hear ?
therefore ,
behold ,
also his blood is required .
*
And they knew not that Joseph understood them ;
for he spake unto them by an interpreter .
*
And he turned himself about from them ,
and wept ;
and returned to them again ,
and communed with them ,
and took from them Simeon ,
and bound him before their eyes .
*
Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn ,
and to restore every man '
s money into his sack ,
and to give them provision for the way :
and thus did he unto them .
*
And they laded their asses with the corn ,
and departed thence .
*
And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn ,
he espied his money ;
for ,
behold ,
it was in his sack '
s mouth .
*
And he said unto his brethren ,
My money is restored ;
and ,
lo ,
it is even in my sack :
and their heart failed them ,
and they were afraid ,
saying one to another ,
What is this that God hath done unto us ?
*
And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan ,
and told him all that befell unto them ;
saying ,
*
The man ,
who is the lord of the land ,
spake roughly to us ,
and took us for spies of the country .
*
And we said unto him ,
We are true men ;
we are no spies :
*
We be twelve brethren ,
sons of our father ;
one is not ,
and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan .
*
And the man ,
the lord of the country ,
said unto us ,
Hereby shall I know that ye are true men ;
leave one of your brethren here with me ,
and take food for the famine of your households ,
and be gone :
*
And bring your youngest brother unto me :
then shall I know that ye are no spies ,
but that ye are true men :
so will I deliver you your brother ,
and ye shall traffick in the land .
*
And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks ,
that ,
behold ,
every man '
s bundle of money was in his sack :
and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money ,
they were afraid .
*
And Jacob their father said unto them ,
Me have ye bereaved of my children :
Joseph is not ,
and Simeon is not ,
and ye will take Benjamin away :
all these things are against me .
*
And Reuben spake unto his father ,
saying ,
Slay my two sons ,
if I bring him not to thee :
deliver him into my hand ,
and I will bring him to thee again .
*
And he said ,
My son shall not go down with you ;
for his brother is dead ,
and he is left alone :
if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go ,
then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave .
*
And the famine was sore in the land .
*
And it came to pass ,
when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt ,
their father said unto them ,
Go again ,
buy us a little food .
*
And Judah spake unto him ,
saying ,
The man did solemnly protest unto us ,
saying ,
Ye shall not see my face ,
except your brother be with you .
*
If thou wilt send our brother with us ,
we will go down and buy thee food :
*
But if thou wilt not send him ,
we will not go down :
for the man said unto us ,
Ye shall not see my face ,
except your brother be with you .
*
And Israel said ,
Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me ,
as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother ?
*
And they said ,
The man asked us straitly of our state ,
and of our kindred ,
saying ,
Is your father yet alive ?
have ye another brother ?
and we told him according to the tenor of these words :
could we certainly know that he would say ,
Bring your brother down ?
*
And Judah said unto Israel his father ,
Send the lad with me ,
and we will arise and go ;
that we may live ,
and not die ,
both we ,
and thou ,
and also our little ones .
*
I will be surety for him ;
of my hand shalt thou require him :
if I bring him not unto thee ,
and set him before thee ,
then let me bear the blame for ever :
*
For except we had lingered ,
surely now we had returned this second time .
*
And their father Israel said unto them ,
If it must be so now ,
do this ;
take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels ,
and carry down the man a present ,
a little balm ,
and a little honey ,
spices ,
and myrrh ,
nuts ,
and almonds :
*
And take double money in your hand ;
and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks ,
carry it again in your hand ;
peradventure it was an oversight :
*
Take also your brother ,
and arise ,
go again unto the man :
*
And God Almighty give you mercy before the man ,
that he may send away your other brother ,
and Benjamin .
If I be bereaved of my children ,
I am bereaved .
*
And the men took that present ,
and they took double money in their hand ,
and Benjamin ;
and rose up ,
and went down to Egypt ,
and stood before Joseph .
*
And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them ,
he said to the ruler of his house ,
Bring these men home ,
and slay ,
and make ready ;
for these men shall dine with me at noon .
*
And the man did as Joseph bade ;
and the man brought the men into Joseph '
s house .
*
And the men were afraid ,
because they were brought into Joseph '
s house ;
and they said ,
Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in ;
that he may seek occasion against us ,
and fall upon us ,
and take us for bondmen ,
and our asses .
*
And they came near to the steward of Joseph '
s house ,
and they communed with him at the door of the house ,
*
And said ,
O sir ,
we came indeed down at the first time to buy food :
*
And it came to pass ,
when we came to the inn ,
that we opened our sacks ,
and ,
behold ,
every man '
s money was in the mouth of his sack ,
our money in full weight :
and we have brought it again in our hand .
*
And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food :
we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks .
*
And he said ,
Peace be to you ,
fear not :
your God ,
and the God of your father ,
hath given you treasure in your sacks :
I had your money .
And he brought Simeon out unto them .
*
And the man brought the men into Joseph '
s house ,
and gave them water ,
and they washed their feet ;
and he gave their asses provender .
*
And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon :
for they heard that they should eat bread there .
*
And when Joseph came home ,
they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house ,
and bowed themselves to him to the earth .
*
And he asked them of their welfare ,
and said ,
Is your father well ,
the old man of whom ye spake ?
Is he yet alive ?
*
And they answered ,
Thy servant our father is in good health ,
he is yet alive .
And they bowed down their heads ,
and made obeisance .
*
And he lifted up his eyes ,
and saw his brother Benjamin ,
his mother '
s son ,
and said ,
Is this your younger brother ,
of whom ye spake unto me ?
And he said ,
God be gracious unto thee ,
my son .
*
And Joseph made haste ;
for his bowels did yearn upon his brother :
and he sought where to weep ;
and he entered into his chamber ,
and wept there .
*
And he washed his face ,
and went out ,
and refrained himself ,
and said ,
Set on bread .
*
And they set on 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 is an abomination unto the Egyptians .
*
And they sat before him ,
the firstborn according to his birthright ,
and the youngest according to his youth :
and the men marvelled one at another .
*
And he took and sent messes unto them from before him :
but Benjamin '
s mess was five times so much as any of theirs .
And they drank ,
and were merry with him .
*
And he commanded the steward of his house ,
saying ,
Fill the men '
s sacks with food ,
as much as they can carry ,
and put every man '
s money in his sack '
s mouth .
*
And put my cup ,
the silver cup ,
in the sack '
s mouth of the youngest ,
and his corn money .
And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken .
*
As soon as the morning was light ,
the men were sent away ,
they and their asses .
*
And when they were gone out of the city ,
and not yet far off ,
Joseph said unto his steward ,
Up ,
follow after the men ;
and when thou dost overtake them ,
say unto them ,
Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good ?
*
Is not this it in which my lord drinketh ,
and whereby indeed he divineth ?
ye have done evil in so doing .
*
And he overtook them ,
and he spake unto them these same words .
*
And they said unto him ,
Wherefore saith my lord these words ?
God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing :
*
Behold ,
the money ,
which we found in our sacks '
mouths ,
we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan :
how then should we steal out of thy lord '
s house silver or gold ?
*
With whomsoever of thy servants it be found ,
both let him die ,
and we also will be my lord '
s bondmen .
*
And he said ,
Now also let it be according unto your words :
he with whom it is found shall be my servant ;
and ye shall be blameless .
*
Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground ,
and opened every man his sack .
*
And he searched ,
and began at the eldest ,
and left at the youngest :
and the cup was found in Benjamin '
s sack .
*
Then they rent their clothes ,
and laded every man his ass ,
and returned to the city .
*
And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph '
s house ;
for he was yet there :
and they fell before him on the ground .
*
And Joseph said unto them ,
What deed is this that ye have done ?
wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine ?
*
And Judah said ,
What shall we say unto my lord ?
what shall we speak ?
or how shall we clear ourselves ?
God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants :
behold ,
we are my lord '
s servants ,
both we ,
and he also with whom the cup is found .
*
And he said ,
God forbid that I should do so :
but the man in whose hand the cup is found ,
he shall be my servant ;
and as for you ,
get you up in peace unto your father .
*
Then Judah came near unto him ,
and said ,
Oh my lord ,
let thy servant ,
I pray thee ,
speak a word in my lord '
s ears ,
and let not thine anger burn against thy servant :
for thou art even as Pharaoh .
*
My lord asked his servants ,
saying ,
Have ye a father ,
or a brother ?
*
And we said unto my lord ,
We have a father ,
an old man ,
and a child of his old age ,
a little one ;
and his brother is dead ,
and he alone is left of his mother ,
and his father loveth him .
*
And thou saidst unto thy servants ,
Bring him down unto me ,
that I may set mine eyes upon him .
*
And we said unto my lord ,
The lad cannot leave his father :
for if he should leave his father ,
his father would die .
*
And thou saidst unto thy servants ,
Except your youngest brother come down with you ,
ye shall see my face no more .
*
And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father ,
we told him the words of my lord .
*
And our father said ,
Go again ,
and buy us a little food .
*
And we said ,
We cannot go down :
if our youngest brother be with us ,
then will we go down :
for we may not see the man '
s face ,
except our youngest brother be with us .
*
And thy servant my father said unto us ,
Ye know that my wife bare me two sons :
*
And the one went out from me ,
and I said ,
Surely he is torn in pieces ;
and I saw him not since :
*
And if ye take this also from me ,
and mischief befall him ,
ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave .
*
Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father ,
and the lad be not with us ;
seeing that his life is bound up in the lad '
s life ;
*
It shall come to pass ,
when he seeth that the lad is not with us ,
that he will die :
and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave .
*
For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father ,
saying ,
If I bring him not unto thee ,
then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever .
*
Now therefore ,
I pray thee ,
let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord ;
and let the lad go up with his brethren .
*
For how shall I go up to my father ,
and the lad be not with me ?
lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father .
*
Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him ;
and he cried ,
Cause every man to go out from me .
And there stood no man with him ,
while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren .
*
And he wept aloud :
and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard .
*
And Joseph said unto his brethren ,
I am Joseph ;
doth my father yet live ?
And his brethren could not answer him ;
for they were troubled at his presence .
*
And Joseph said unto his brethren ,
Come near to me ,
I pray you .
And they came near .
And he said ,
I am Joseph your brother ,
whom ye sold into Egypt .
*
Now therefore be not grieved ,
nor angry with yourselves ,
that ye sold me hither :
for God did send me before you to preserve life .
*
For these two years hath the famine been in the land :
and yet there are five years ,
in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest .
*
And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth ,
and to save your lives by a great deliverance .
*
So now it was not you that sent me hither ,
but God :
and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh ,
and lord of all his house ,
and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt .
*
Haste ye ,
and go up to my father ,
and say unto him ,
Thus saith thy son Joseph ,
God hath made me lord of all Egypt :
come down unto me ,
tarry not :
*
And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen ,
and thou shalt be near unto me ,
thou ,
and thy children ,
and thy children '
s children ,
and thy flocks ,
and thy herds ,
and all that thou hast :
*
And there will I nourish thee ;
for yet there are five years of famine ;
lest thou ,
and thy household ,
and all that thou hast ,
come to poverty .
*
And ,
behold ,
your eyes see ,
and the eyes of my brother Benjamin ,
that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you .
*
And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt ,
and of all that ye have seen ;
and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither .
*
And he fell upon his brother Benjamin '
s neck ,
and wept ;
and Benjamin wept upon his neck .
*
Moreover he kissed all his brethren ,
and wept upon them :
and after that his brethren talked with him .
*
And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh '
s house ,
saying ,
Joseph '
s brethren are come :
and it pleased Pharaoh well ,
and his servants .
*
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph ,
Say unto thy brethren ,
This do ye ;
lade your beasts ,
and go ,
get you unto the land of Canaan ;
*
And take your father and your households ,
and come unto me :
and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt ,
and ye shall eat the fat of the land .
*
Now thou art commanded ,
this do ye ;
take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones ,
and for your wives ,
and bring your father ,
and come .
*
Also regard not your stuff ;
for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours .
*
And the children of Israel did so :
and Joseph gave them wagons ,
according to the commandment of Pharaoh ,
and gave them provision for the way .
*
To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment ;
but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver ,
and five changes of raiment .
*
And to his father he sent after this manner ;
ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt ,
and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way .
*
So he sent his brethren away ,
and they departed :
and he said unto them ,
See that ye fall not out by the way .
*
And they went up out of Egypt ,
and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father ,
*
And told him ,
saying ,
Joseph is yet alive ,
and he is governor over all the land of Egypt .
And Jacob '
s heart fainted ,
for he believed them not .
*
And they told him all the words of Joseph ,
which he had said unto them :
and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him ,
the spirit of Jacob their father revived :
*
And Israel said ,
It is enough ;
Joseph my son is yet alive :
I will go and see him before I die .
*
And Israel took his journey with all that he had ,
and came to Beersheba ,
and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac .