Genesis 43

1And the famine was sore in the land.

1The famine was very severe throughout the land.

2And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.

2When they had finished eating all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go back and buy us a little more food."

3And 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.

3But Judah said to him, "The man warned us strictly, saying, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.'

4If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:

4If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you.

5but 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.

5But if you will not send him, we will not go; for the man told us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.' "

6And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?

6Israel asked, "Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?"

7And they said, The man asked straitly concerning ourselves, and concerning 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 in any wise know that he would say, Bring your brother down?

7They replied, "The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. He asked, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' We only answered his questions. How could we possibly know he would say, 'Bring your brother down here'?"

8And 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.

8Then Judah said to his father Israel, "Send the boy with me and we will leave right away. We must go so that we, you, and our children may live and not die.

9I 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:

9I personally guarantee his safety; you can hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back and set him right here in front of you, then let me bear the blame forever.

10for except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a second time.

10If we hadn't wasted all this time, we could have been there and back twice by now."

11And their father Israel said unto them, If it be so now, do this: take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and myrrh, nuts, and almonds;

11Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of our land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm, a little honey, some spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.

12and take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:

12Take double the amount of money with you. Also, carry back the money that was returned in the mouths of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake.

13take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:

13Take your brother as well, and get ready to go back to the man.

14and God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release unto you your other brother and Benjamin. And if I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.

14May God Almighty cause the man to be merciful to you, so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I lose my children, I lose them."

15And 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.

15So the men took the gifts and double the money, and they took Benjamin. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph.

16And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, Bring the men into the house, and slay, and make ready; for the men shall dine with me at noon.

16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the manager of his house, "Take these men to my home. Slaughter an animal and prepare a meal, because these men are eating with me at noon."

17And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men to Joseph’s house.

17The manager did what Joseph ordered and took the men to Joseph’s house.

18And the men were afraid, because they were brought to 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.

18The men were terrified when they were taken to Joseph’s house. They thought, "We are being brought here because of the money that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us, overpower us, and take us as slaves along with our donkeys."

19And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they spake unto him at the door of the house,

19So they went up to Joseph’s house manager and spoke to him at the entrance of the house.

20and said, Oh, my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

20They said, "Please, sir, we really did come down here the first time just to buy food.

21and it came to pass, when we came to the lodging-place, 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.

21But when we stopped for the night and opened our sacks, every man’s money was right there at the top of his sack—the exact amount. We have brought it back with us.

22And other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food: we know not who put our money in our sacks.

22We have also brought more money to buy more food. We don't know who put our money in our sacks."

23And 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.

23"It’s okay," the manager replied. "Don't be afraid. Your God and the God of your father must have given you treasure in your sacks. I received your payment." Then he brought Simeon out to them.

24And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.

24The manager took the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water to wash their feet and provided food for their donkeys.

25And they made ready the present against Joseph’s coming at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.

25They prepared their gifts for Joseph’s arrival at noon, because they had heard they were going to eat a meal there.

26And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down themselves to him to the earth.

26When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought and bowed low to the ground before him.

27And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?

27He asked how they were doing and then said, "How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?"

28And they said, Thy servant our father is well, he is yet alive. And they bowed the head, and made obeisance.

28They answered, "Your servant, our father, is well; he is still alive." And they bowed down again to show him honor.

29And he lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin his brother, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your youngest brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.

29As Joseph looked around, he saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son. He asked, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?" Then he said, "God be gracious to you, my son."

30And Joseph made haste; for his heart yearned over his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

30Joseph hurried out because he was deeply moved at the sight of his brother and was about to cry. He went into his private room and wept there.

31And he washed his face, and came out; and he refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.

31After he had washed his face, he came back out. Controlling his emotions, he ordered, "Serve the food."

32And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, that did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

32They served Joseph by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who were there by themselves. This was because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, as they found it disgusting.

33And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one with another.

33The brothers were seated in front of him in order of their age, from the oldest to the youngest. They looked at each other in total amazement.

34And 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.

34Joseph had portions of food from his own table sent to them, but Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than anyone else’s. So they ate and drank freely with him.