Genesis:42-45
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And Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt ,
and Jacob said to his sons ,
Why do ye look one upon another ?
*
And he said ,
Behold ,
I have heard that there is grain in Egypt ;
go down thither and buy [
grain ]
for us from thence ,
in order that we may live ,
and not die .
*
And Joseph '
s ten brethren went down to buy [
grain ]
out of Egypt .
*
But Benjamin ,
Joseph '
s brother ,
Jacob sent not with his brethren ;
for he said ,
Lest mischief may befall him .
*
So the sons of Israel came to buy [
grain ]
among those that came ;
for the famine was in the land of Canaan .
*
And Joseph ,
he was the governor over the land --
he it was that sold [
the corn ]
to all the people of the land .
And Joseph '
s brethren came and bowed down to him ,
the face to the earth .
*
And Joseph saw his brethren ,
and knew them ;
but he made himself strange to them ,
and spoke roughly to them ,
and said to them ,
Whence come ye ?
And they said ,
From the land of Canaan ,
to buy food .
*
And Joseph knew his brethren ,
but they did not know him .
*
And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamt of them ;
and he said to them ,
Ye are spies :
to see the exposed places of the land ye are come .
*
And they said to him ,
No ,
my lord ;
but to buy food are thy servants come .
*
We are all one man '
s sons ;
we are honest :
thy servants are not spies .
*
And he said to them ,
No ;
but to see the exposed places of the land are ye come .
*
And they said ,
Thy servants were twelve brethren ,
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 to them ,
That is it that I have spoken to you ,
saying ,
Ye are spies .
*
By this ye shall be put to the proof :
as Pharaoh lives ,
ye shall not go forth hence ,
unless your youngest brother come hither !
*
Send one of you ,
that he may fetch your brother ,
but ye shall be imprisoned ,
and your words shall be put to the proof ,
whether the truth is in you ;
and if not ,
as Pharaoh lives ,
ye are spies .
*
And he put them in custody three days .
*
And Joseph said to them the third day ,
This do ,
that ye may live :
I fear God .
*
If ye are honest ,
let one of your brethren remain bound in the house of your prison ,
but go ye ,
carry grain for the hunger of your households ;
*
and bring your youngest brother to me ,
in order that your words be verified ,
and that ye may not die .
And they did so .
*
Then they said one to another ,
We are indeed guilty concerning our brother ,
whose anguish of soul we saw when he besought us ,
and we did not hearken ;
therefore this distress is come upon us .
*
And Reuben answered them ,
saying ,
Did I not speak to you ,
saying ,
Do not sin against the lad ?
But ye did not hearken ;
and now behold ,
his blood also is required .
*
And they did not know that Joseph understood ,
for the interpreter was between them .
*
And he turned away from them ,
and wept .
And he returned to them ,
and spoke to them ,
and took Simeon from among them ,
and bound him before their eyes .
*
And Joseph gave orders to fill their vessels with corn ,
and to restore every man '
s money into his sack ,
and to give them provision for the way .
And thus did they to them .
*
And they loaded their asses with their grain ,
and departed thence .
*
And one of them opened his sack to give his ass food in the inn ,
and saw his money ,
and behold ,
it was in the mouth of his sack .
*
And he said to his brethren ,
My money is returned [
to me ],
and behold ,
it is even in my sack .
And their heart failed [
them ],
and they were afraid ,
saying one to another ,
What is this [
that ]
God has done to us ?
*
And they came into the land of Canaan ,
to Jacob their father ,
and told him all that had befallen them ,
saying ,
*
The man ,
the lord of the land ,
spoke roughly to us ,
and treated us as spies of the land .
*
And we said to him ,
We are honest ;
we are not spies :
*
we are 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 land ,
said to us ,
Hereby shall I know that ye are honest :
leave one of your brethren with me ,
and take [
for ]
the hunger of your households ,
and go ,
*
and bring your youngest brother to me ,
and I shall know that ye are not spies ,
but are honest .
Your brother will I give up to you ;
and ye may trade in the land .
*
And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks ,
that behold ,
every man had his bundle of money in his sack ;
and they saw their bundles of money ,
they and their father ,
and were afraid .
*
And Jacob their father said to them ,
Ye have bereaved me of children :
Joseph is not ,
and Simeon is not ,
and ye will take Benjamin !
All these things are against me .
*
And Reuben spoke to his father ,
saying ,
Slay my two sons if I bring him not back to thee :
give him into my hand ,
and I will bring him to thee again .
*
But he said ,
My son shall not go down with you ,
for his brother is dead ,
and he alone is left ;
and if mischief should befall him by the way in which ye go ,
then would ye bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to Sheol .
*
And the famine was grievous in the land .
*
And it came to pass ,
when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt ,
that their father said to them ,
Go again ,
buy us a little food .
*
And Judah spoke to him ,
saying ,
The man did positively testify to us ,
saying ,
Ye shall not see my face ,
unless your brother be with you .
*
If thou wilt send our brother with us ,
we will go down and buy thee food ;
*
but if thou do not send [
him ],
we will not go down ,
for the man said to us ,
Ye shall not see my face ,
unless your brother be with you .
*
And Israel said ,
Why did ye deal [
so ]
ill with me [
as ]
to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother ?
*
And they said ,
The man asked very closely after us ,
and after our kindred ,
saying ,
Is your father yet alive ?
have ye a brother ?
And we told him according to the tenor of these words .
Could we at all know that he would say ,
Bring your brother down ?
*
And Judah said to 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 our little ones .
*
I will be surety for him :
of my hand shalt thou require him ;
if I bring him not to thee ,
and set him before thy face ,
then shall I be guilty toward thee for ever .
*
For had we not lingered ,
we should now certainly have returned already twice .
*
And their father Israel said to them ,
If it is then so ,
do this :
take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels ,
and carry down the man a gift :
a little balsam and a little honey ,
tragacanth and ladanum ,
pistacia-nuts and almonds .
*
And take other money in your hand ,
and the money that was returned to you in the mouth of your sacks ,
carry back in your hand :
perhaps it is an oversight .
*
And take your brother ,
and arise ,
go again to the man .
*
And the Almighty �
God give you mercy before the man ,
that he may send away your other brother and Benjamin !
And I ,
if I be bereaved of children ,
am bereaved .
*
And the men took that gift ,
and took double money in their hand ,
and Benjamin ,
and rose up ,
and went down to Egypt ,
and came before Joseph .
*
And Joseph saw Benjamin with them ,
and said to the [
man ]
who was over his house ,
Bring the men into the house ,
and slaughter cattle ,
and make ready ;
for the men shall eat with me at noon .
*
And the man did as Joseph had said ;
and the man brought the men into Joseph '
s house .
*
And the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph '
s house ,
and said ,
Because of the money that was returned to us in our sacks at the beginning are we brought in ,
that he may turn against us ,
and fall upon us and take us for bondmen ,
and our asses .
*
And they came up to the man that was over Joseph '
s house ,
and they spoke to him at the door of the house ,
*
and said ,
Ah !
my lord ,
we came indeed down at the first 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 according to its weight ;
and we have brought it again in our hand .
*
And other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food .
We do not know who put our money in our sacks .
*
And he said ,
Peace be to you ,
fear not :
your God ,
and the God of your father ,
has given you treasure in your sacks ;
your money came to me .
And he brought Simeon out to them .
*
And the man brought the men into Joseph '
s house ,
and gave water ,
and they washed their feet ;
and he gave their asses food .
*
And they made ready the gift for Joseph '
s coming at noon ;
for they had heard that they should eat bread there .
*
When Joseph came home ,
they brought him the gift that 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 spoke ?
Is he yet alive ?
*
And they said ,
Thy servant our father is well ;
he is yet alive .
And they bowed ,
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 spoke to me ?
And he said ,
God be gracious to thee ,
my son !
*
And Joseph made haste ,
for his bowels burned for his brother ;
and he sought [
a place ]
to weep ,
and he went into the chamber ,
and wept there .
*
And he washed his face ,
and came out ,
and controlled himself ,
and said ,
Set on bread .
*
And they set on for him by himself ,
and for them by themselves ,
and for the Egyptians who ate 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 had portions carried to them from before him .
And Benjamin '
s portion was five times greater than the portions of them all .
And they drank ,
and made merry with him .
*
And he commanded him who was over his house ,
saying ,
Fill the men '
s sacks with food ,
as much as they can carry ;
and put every man '
s money in the mouth of his sack .
*
And put my cup ,
the silver cup ,
in the mouth of the sack of the youngest ,
and his grain-money .
And he did according to the word of Joseph which he had spoken .
*
In the morning ,
when it was light ,
the men were sent away ,
they and their asses .
*
They were gone out of the city , [
and ]
not [
yet ]
far off ,
when Joseph said to him who was over his house ,
Up !
follow after the men ;
and when thou overtakest them ,
thou shalt say to them ,
Why have ye rewarded evil for good ?
*
Is not this [
it ]
in which my lord drinks ,
and in which indeed he divines ?
Ye have done evil [
in ]
what ye have done .
*
And he overtook them ,
and he spoke to them these words .
*
And they said to him ,
Why does my lord speak such words as these ?
Far be it from thy servants to do such a thing !
*
Behold ,
the money that we found in our sacks '
mouths we have brought again to thee from the land of Canaan ;
and how should we steal out of thy lord '
s house silver or gold ?
*
With whomsoever of thy servants it is found ,
let him die ;
and we also will be my lord '
s bondmen .
*
And he said ,
Now also [
let ]
it [
be ]
according to your words :
let him with whom it is found be my bondman ,
but ye shall be blameless .
*
And they hasted and laid down every man his sack on the ground ,
and opened every man his sack .
*
And he searched carefully :
he began at the eldest ,
and ended at the youngest ;
and the cup was found in Benjamin '
s sack .
*
Then they rent their clothes ,
and loaded every man his ass ,
and they returned to the city .
*
And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph '
s house ;
and he was still there ;
and they fell down before him to the ground .
*
And Joseph said to them ,
What deed is this which ye have done ?
Did ye not know that such a man as I can certainly divine ?
*
And Judah said ,
What shall we say to my lord ?
what shall we speak ,
and how justify ourselves ?
God has found out the iniquity of thy servants ;
behold ,
we are my lord '
s bondmen ,
both we ,
and he in whose hand the cup has been found .
*
And he said ,
Far be it from me to do so !
The man in whose hand the cup has been found ,
he shall be my bondman ;
but as for you ,
go up in peace to your father .
*
Then Judah came near to him ,
and said ,
Ah !
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 to my lord ,
We have an aged father ,
and a child born to him in his old age , [
yet ]
young ;
and his brother is dead ,
and he alone is left of his mother ;
and his father loves him .
*
And thou saidst unto thy servants ,
Bring him down to me ,
that I may set mine eye on him .
*
And we said to my lord ,
The youth cannot leave his father :
if he should leave his father , [
his father ]
would die .
*
And thou saidst to thy servants ,
Unless your youngest brother come down with you ,
ye shall see my face no more .
*
And it came to pass when we came up to thy servant my father ,
we told him the words of my lord .
*
And our father said ,
Go again ,
buy us a little food .
*
But we said ,
We cannot go down :
if our youngest brother be with us ,
then will we go down ;
for we cannot see the man '
s face unless our youngest brother is with us .
*
And thy servant my father said to us ,
Ye know that my wife bore me two [
sons ];
*
and the one went out from me ,
and I said ,
He must certainly have been torn in pieces ;
and I have not seen him [
again ]
hitherto .
*
And if ye take this one also from me ,
and mischief should befall him ,
ye will bring down my grey hairs with misery to Sheol .
*
And now ,
when I come to thy servant my father ,
and the lad is not with us , --
seeing that his life is bound up with his life ,
*
it will come to pass when he sees that the lad is not [
there ],
that he will die ;
and thy servants will bring down the grey hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to Sheol .
*
For thy servant became surety for the lad to my father ,
saying ,
If I bring him not to thee ,
then I shall be guilty toward my father all my days .
*
And now ,
let thy servant stay ,
I pray thee ,
instead of the lad a bondman to my lord ,
and let the lad go up with his brethren ;
*
for how should I go up to my father if the lad were not with me ? --
lest I see the evil that would come on my father .
*
And Joseph could not control himself before all them that stood by him ,
and he cried ,
Put every man out from me !
And no man stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brethren .
*
And he raised his voice in weeping ;
and the Egyptians heard ,
and the house of Pharaoh heard .
*
And Joseph said to his brethren ,
I am Joseph .
Does my father yet live ?
And his brethren could not answer him ,
for they were troubled at his presence .
*
And Joseph said to 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 .
*
And now ,
be not grieved ,
and be not angry with yourselves ,
that ye sold me hither ,
for God sent me before you to preserve life .
*
For the famine has been these two years in the land ;
and yet there are five years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest .
*
So God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth ,
and to save you alive by a great deliverance .
*
And now it was not you [
that ]
sent me here ,
but God ;
and he has made me a father to Pharaoh ,
and lord of all his house ,
and governor over all the land of Egypt .
*
Haste and go up to my father ,
and say to him ,
Thus says thy son Joseph :
God has made me lord of all Egypt ;
come down to me ,
tarry not .
*
And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen ,
and thou shalt be near to me ,
thou ,
and thy sons ,
and thy sons '
sons ,
and thy sheep ,
and thy cattle ,
and all that thou hast .
*
And there will I maintain thee ;
for yet there are five years of famine ;
in order that thou be not impoverished ,
thou ,
and thy household ,
and all that thou hast .
*
And behold ,
your eyes see ,
and the eyes of my brother Benjamin ,
that it is my mouth which speaks to you .
*
And tell my father of all my glory in Egypt ,
and of all that ye have seen ,
and haste and bring down my father hither .
*
And he fell on his brother Benjamin '
s neck ,
and wept ;
and Benjamin wept on his neck .
*
And he kissed all his brethren ,
and wept upon them ;
and after that his brethren talked with him .
*
And the report was heard in Pharaoh '
s house ,
saying ,
Joseph '
s brethren are come .
And it was good in the eyes of Pharaoh ,
and in the eyes of his bondmen .
*
And Pharaoh said to Joseph ,
Say to thy brethren ,
Do this :
load your beasts and depart ,
go into the land of Canaan ,
*
and take your father and your households ,
and come to me ;
and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt ,
and ye shall eat the fat of the land .
*
And thou art commanded --
this do :
take waggons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives ,
and take up your father ,
and come .
*
And let not your eye regret your stuff ;
for the good of all the land of Egypt shall be yours .
*
And the sons of Israel did so ;
and Joseph gave them waggons ,
according to the commandment of Pharaoh ,
and gave them provision for the way .
*
To each one of them all he gave changes of clothing ;
but to Benjamin he gave three hundred [
pieces ]
of silver and five changes of clothing .
*
And to his father he sent this :
ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt ,
and ten she-asses laden with corn and bread ,
and food for his father by the way .
*
And he sent his brethren away ,
and they departed .
And he said to them ,
Do not quarrel on the way .
*
And they went up out of Egypt ,
and came into the land of Canaan to Jacob their father .
*
And they told him ,
saying ,
Joseph is still alive ,
and he is governor over all the land of Egypt .
And his heart fainted ,
for he did not believe them .
*
And they spoke to him all the words of Joseph ,
which he had spoken to them .
And he saw the waggons that Joseph had sent to carry him .
And 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 Beer-sheba ;
and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac .