The Return to Egypt with Benjamin

1Bvt the derth oppressed ye lande. 2And whan all the vytales that they had brought out of Egipte were spent, Iacob their father sayde vnto them: Go agayne, and bye vs a litle foode. 3The Iuda answered him, and sayde: The man sware vnto vs, and sayde: ye shal not se my face, excepte youre brother be with you. 4Yf so be now that thou wilt sende oure brother with vs, we wil go downe, and bye the foode. 5But yf thou wilt not sende him, we wyl not go downe. For the man sayde vnto vs: Ye shal not se my face, excepte youre brother be with you. 6Israel sayde: Wherfore haue ye done this euell vnto me, to tell ye man, that ye had yet a brother? 7They answered: The man enquered so strately of vs and of oure kynrede, & sayde: Is youre father yet a lyue? Haue ye yet a brother? Then tolde we him, as he axed vs. How coulde we knowe, that he wolde saye: brynge youre brother downe wt you? 8Then sayde Iuda vnto Israel his father: Let the lad go with me, that we maye get vs vp and take oure iourney, and lyue, and not dye, both we and thou, and oure childre. 9I wyll be suertye for him, of my handes shalt thou requyre him. Yf I brynge him not vnto the agayne, & set him before thine eyes, I wil beare ye blame my life longe. 10For yf we had not made this tarienge, we had now bene come agayne twyse.

11Then sayde Israel their father vnto the: Yf it must nedes be so, then do this: take of the best frutes of the lande in youre sackes, and brynge the man a present: a curtesy balme, and hony, and spyces, and myrre, and dates, and almondes. 12Take other money with you also, and the money that was brought agayne in youre sacke mouthes, cary it agayne with you: peraduenture it was an ouersight. 13And take youre brother, get you vp, & go agayne vnto the man. 14The Allmightie God geue you mercy in the sight of ye man, that he maye let you haue youre other brother, and Ben Iamin. As for me, I must be as one, that is robbed of his children. 15Then they toke the present, and other money with them, and Ben Iamin, gat the vp, and wente in to Egipte, and stode before Ioseph.

Joseph’s Hospitality to His Brothers

16Then Ioseph behelde them with Ben Iamin, and sayde vnto the ruler of his house: Bringe these men in, and sley, & make ready, for they shal dyne with me at noone. 17And the man dyd as Ioseph bad him, & brought the men in to Iosephs house. 18Whan they were brought in to Iosephs house, they were afrayed, and sayde: We are brought hither because of the money, that came agayne in oure sackes at the first, to pyke a quarell with vs, and to laye somethinge to oure charge, and to take vs for bonde seruauntes with oure Asses. 19Therfore came they to ye man, that was ruler of Iosephs house, and talked wt him at the doore, 20and sayde: Syr, we came downe at the first to bye foode, 21and whan we came in the Inne, and opened oure sackes, beholde, euery mans money was in his sack mouth with full weight: therfore haue we brought it with vs agayne, 22& haue brought other money with vs also, to bye foode: but we can not tell, who put oure money in oure sackes. 23He sayde: Be content, feare you not, youre God euen ye God of youre fathers hath geue you yt treasure in youre sackes, I had youre money. And he brought forth Simeon vnto them, 24and led them into Iosephs house, and gaue them water to wash their fete, & gaue their Asses prouender. 25And they made readye ye present, ageynst Ioseph came at noone: for they herde, yt they shulde dyne there.

26Now whan Ioseph wente in to the house, they brought him home ye present that they had, and fell downe to the grounde before him. 27But he welcomed them curteously, and sayde: Is youre father, (that olde man which ye tolde me of) in good health? Is he yet alyue? 28They answered: Thy seruaunt oure father is in good health, and is yet alyue. And they bowed them selues, and fell downe before him. 29And he lift vp his eyes, and sawe his brother Ben Iamin his mothers sonne, and saide: Is this youre yongest brother, that ye tolde me of? And he sayde morouer: God be mercifull vnto the my sonne. 30And Ioseph made haist (for the grounde of his hert was kyndled towarde his brother) and sought how he might wepe, & wente in to his chamber, and wepte there. 31And whan he had washed his face, he wente out, and refrayned him self, and sayde: set bred (on the table.) 32And they brought vnto him by him self, and vnto them by the selues, and to the Egipcians also that ate wt them, by them selues. (For the Egipcians darre not eate bred with the Ebrues, that is an abhominacion vnto them.) 33And they were set ouer agaynst him, the first borne acordinge to his first byrth, and the yongest after his youth. They marueled at it amonge them selues, 34and there were brought them sundrye meates from his table. But Ben Iamins parte was fyue tymes more then the other. And they dronke, and were mery with him.