Genesis 43

1And the famine was sore in the land. 2And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little 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. 4If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: 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. 6And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a 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? 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. 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: 10for except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a second time.

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

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. 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. 17And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. 18And the men were afraid, because they were brought into 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. 19And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they spake unto him at the door of the house, 20and said, Oh my lord, we came indeed down at the first time 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. 22And other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food: we know not 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. 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. 25And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread 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. 27And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? 28And they said, Thy servant our father is well, he is yet alive. And they bowed the head, and made obeisance. 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. 30And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. 31And he washed his face, and came out; and he refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. 32And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. 33And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marveled one with another. 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.

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Genesis 43

Joseph’s Brothers Return to Egypt

1Now the famine was #ch. 41:54, 57severe in the land. 2And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” 3But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your #ch. 42:20; 44:23brother is with you.’ 4If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 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.’” 6Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?” 7They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may #ch. 42:2live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. #ch. 42:37; 44:32If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”

11Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little #See ch. 37:25balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money #ch. 42:25, 27, 35that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. 13Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. 14May #See ch. 17:1 God Almighty#43:14 Hebrew El Shaddai #[Neh. 1:11] grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, #ch. 42:36if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

15So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the #ver. 19; ch. 44:1, 4; [ch. 24:2; 39:4]steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.” 17The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph’s house. 18And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house, and they said, “It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys.” 19So they went up to the steward of Joseph’s house and spoke with him at the door of the house, 20and said, #ch. 44:18 “Oh, my lord, #ch. 42:3, 10we came down the first time to buy food. 21And #ch. 42:27when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us, 22and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23He replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. 24And when the man had brought the men into Joseph’s house and #See ch. 18:4given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder, 25they prepared #ver. 11the present for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.

26When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and #ch. 42:6; See ch. 37:5-11bowed down to him to the ground. 27And he inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man #ch. 42:11, 13of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they #ver. 26bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. 29And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, #ch. 35:18 his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, #[See ver. 27 above]of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!” 30Then Joseph hurried out, for #1 Kgs. 3:26; [Jer. 31:20] his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and #ch. 42:24wept there. 31Then he washed his face and came out. And #ch. 45:1controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.” 32They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is #ch. 46:34; Ex. 8:26an abomination to the Egyptians. 33And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement. 34#[2 Sam. 11:8] Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was #[ch. 45:22]five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry#43:34 Hebrew and became intoxicated with him.

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