1And the famine continued in the land. 2And when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, Jacob said to them, “Go back and buy us a little food.” 3And Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us: ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’ 4If you will send our brother with us, we will go and buy you food. 5But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man told us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’” 6And Israel (Jacob) said, “Why did you bring all-this trouble on me, by telling the man you had yet another brother?” 7And they said, “The man inquired very pointedly about our family, asking, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we answered according to the tenor of his words. How were we to know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down?’” 8And Judah said to Israel, his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will go at once; so that we - you, we, and our little ones - may live, and not die. 9I will be responsible for him. If I do not return him, and set him before you, then let me bear the blame for ever: 10For if we had not procrastinated, by now we would have returned from the second trip.” 11And their father, Israel, said, “If it must be, then do this: take of the best fruits in the land in your baggage, and take a present of a little balm, a little honey, spices, myrrh, nuts, and almonds down the man. 12And take twice the money in your hand; plus the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Take it back again; perhaps it was an oversight. 13And take your brother, also; and return to the man. 14And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send back your other brother, Simeon, and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” 15And so they took that present, the double money, and Benjamin; and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. 16And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he told the steward of his house, “Bring these men to my home, slaughter an animal, and make preparations; for these men shall dine with me at noon.” 17And the steward did as Joseph said; and brought Jacob’s sons into Joseph's house. 18And they were apprehensive when they were taken into Joseph's house; and said, “Because of the money that was returned in our sacks on our first trip, we have been brought here so he can find something to charge us with; and take us for slaves, as well as our donkeys.” 19And they approached the steward, and told him at the entrance of the house, 20“Sir, we came down the first time to buy food: 21And were returning home and when we stopped at an inn, we opened our sacks, and discovered each man's money was in the mouth of his sack - our full amount of money. And we have brought it back again, 22Plus additional money that we have brought to buy more food. We do not know who put our money back in our sacks.” 23And he said, “Relax and have no fear: your God, the God of your fathers, has given you treasure in your sacks. I had received your money.” And then he brought Simeon out to them. 24And when the steward had brought the men into Joseph's house, and given them water, and washed their feet; he gave their donkeys fodder. 25And the brothers prepared the present for Joseph's coming at noon: for they heard that they would eat bread there. 26And when Joseph came home, they brought his present into the house, and bowed to him. 27And Joseph asked them of their welfare, and asked, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you; spoke? Is he still alive?” 28And they answered, “Your servant, our father, is yet alive and in good health.” And they bowed, and prostrated themselves before him. 29And he looked up, and saw his full brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, “Is this your younger brother, of whom you spoke?” And then Joseph said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” 30And Joseph hurried from the room; for his heart yearned over his brother: and he needed somewhere to weep; and so he went into his chamber, and wept there. 31Then he washed his face, regained his composure, returned, and said, “Set on food.” 32And they served him by himself, and his brothers by themselves, and for the Egyptians, who also ate by themselves: because the Egyptians would not eat with Hebrews; for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. 33And they had been seated before him, in the order of their birth - the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth. And the eleven brothers looked at one another in amazement. 34And Joseph sent messes (servings of food) to their table from his table; and Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they feasted and drank freely with Joseph. Reader-Friendly Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2024 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |