| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now the famine was severe in the land. | 1Now the famine was severe in the land. |
| 2And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” | 2When they finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Return, buy us a little more food." |
| 3But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ | 3But Judah said to him, "The man solemnly warned us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.' |
| 4If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. | 4If you send our brother with us, we'll go down and buy food for you. |
| 5But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ” | 5But if you will not send him, we won't go down there because the man said to us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.'" |
| 6And Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?” | 6Israel said, "Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had one more brother?" |
| 7But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” | 7They replied, "The man questioned us thoroughly about ourselves and our family, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' So we answered him in this way. How could we possibly know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?" |
| 8Then 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 you and also our little ones. | 8Then Judah said to his father Israel, "Send the boy with me and we will go immediately. Then we will live and not die--we and you and our little ones. |
| 9I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. | 9I myself pledge security for him; you may hold me liable. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. |
| 10For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.” | 10But if we had not delayed, we could have traveled there and back twice by now!" |
| 11And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. | 11Then 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 bags, and take a gift down to the man--a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. |
| 12Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. | 12Take double the money with you; you must take back the money that was returned in the mouths of your sacks--perhaps it was an oversight. |
| 13Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. | 13Take your brother too, and go right away to the man. |
| 14And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!” | 14May the sovereign God grant you mercy before the man so that he may release your other brother and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them." |
| 15So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. | 15So the men took these gifts, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. |
| 16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” | 16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant who was over his household, "Bring the men to the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon." |
| 17Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. | 17The man did just as Joseph said; he brought the men into Joseph's house. |
| 18Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.” | 18But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph's house. They said, "We are being brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks last time. He wants to capture us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys!" |
| 19When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house, | 19So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph's household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. |
| 20and said, “O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food; | 20They said, "My lord, we did indeed come down the first time to buy food. |
| 21but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. | 21But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money--the full amount--in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it. |
| 22And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” | 22We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We do not know who put the money in our sacks!" |
| 23But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. | 23"Everything is fine," the man in charge of Joseph's household told them. "Don't be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. I had your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them. |
| 24So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. | 24The servant in charge brought the men into Joseph's house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave food to their donkeys. |
| 25Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there. | 25They got their gifts ready for Joseph's arrival at noon, for they had heard that they were to have a meal there. |
| 26And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth. | 26When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, and they bowed down to the ground before him. |
| 27Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” | 27He asked them how they were doing. Then he said, "Is your aging father well, the one you spoke about? Is he still alive?" |
| 28And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves. | 28"Your servant our father is well," they replied. "He is still alive." They bowed down in humility. |
| 29Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” | 29When Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, he said, "Is this your youngest brother, whom you told me about?" Then he said, "May God be gracious to you, my son." |
| 30Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there. | 30Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome by affection for his brother and was at the point of tears. So he went to his room and wept there. |
| 31Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.” | 31Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said, "Set out the food." |
| 32So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. | 32They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers, and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting to do so.) |
| 33And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another. | 33They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest. The men looked at each other in astonishment. |
| 34Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him. | 34He gave them portions of the food set before him, but the portion for Benjamin was five times greater than the portions for any of the others. They drank with Joseph until they all became drunk. |
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