The Return to Egypt

43 Now the famine was very severe in the land [of Canaan]. ² And it happened that when the families of Jacob’s sons had finished eating [all of] the grain which they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” ³ But Judah said to him, “The man [representing Pharaoh] solemnly and sternly warned us, saying, ‘You will not see my face [again] unless your brother is with you.’ ⁴ If you will send our brother with us, we will go down [to Egypt] and buy you food. ⁵ But if you will not send him, we will not go down there; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” ⁶ And Israel (Jacob) said, “Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man that you had another brother?” ⁷ And they said, “The man asked us straightforward questions about ourselves and our relatives. He said, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we ^[a]answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down [here to Egypt]’?” ⁸ Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the young man with me and we will get up and go [buy food], so that we may live and not die [of starvation], we as well as you and our little ones. ⁹ I will be security (a guarantee) for him; ^[b]you may hold me [personally] responsible for him. If I do not bring him [back] to you and place him [safely] before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever. ¹⁰ For if we had not delayed like this, surely by now we would have returned the second time.”

¹¹ Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this; take some of the choicest products of the land in your sacks, and carry it as a present [of tribute] to the man [representing Pharaoh], a little balm and a little honey, aromatic spices or gum, resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds. ¹² Take double the [amount of] money with you, and take back the money that was returned in the opening of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. ¹³ Take your brother [Benjamin] also, and get up, and go to the man; ¹⁴ and may ^[c]God Almighty grant you compassion and favor before the man, so that he will release to you your other brother [Simeon] and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children [Joseph, Simeon, and Benjamin], I am bereaved.” ¹⁵ Then the men took the present, and they took double the [amount of] money with them, and Benjamin; then they left and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

Joseph Sees Benjamin

¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and kill an animal and make [a meal] ready; for the men will dine with me at noon.” ¹⁷ So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph’s house. ¹⁸ The men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and [expecting the worst] they said, “It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time [we came] that we are being brought in, so that he may find a reason to accuse us and assail us, and take us as slaves, and seize our donkeys.” ¹⁹ So they approached the steward of Joseph’s house, and talked with him at the entrance of the house, ²⁰ and said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down here the first time to buy food; ²¹ and when we arrived at the inn [after leaving here], we opened our sacks and there was each man’s money [with which he had paid for grain], in full, returned in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back [this time]. ²² We have also brought down with us additional money to buy food; we do not know who put our money [back] in our sacks [last time].” ²³ But the steward [encouraged them and] said, “Peace be to you, do not be afraid; your God and the God of your father has [miraculously] given you treasure in your sacks. I [already] had your money [which you paid to us].” Then he brought Simeon out to them. ²⁴ Then the steward brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed [the dust off] their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. ²⁵ So they prepared the present [of tribute] for Joseph before his arrival at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat a meal there.

²⁶ When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present [of tribute] which they had with them and bowed to the ground before him. ²⁷ He asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” ²⁸ And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed down [their heads before Joseph] in respect. ²⁹ And he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s [only other] son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” And Joseph said, “God be gracious to you and show you favor, my son.” ³⁰ Then Joseph hurried out [of the room] because his heart was deeply touched over his brother, and he sought privacy to weep; so he entered his chamber and wept there. ³¹ Then he washed his face and came out, and, restraining himself, said, “Let the meal be served.” ³² So the servants served Joseph by himself [in honor of his rank], and his brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because [according to custom] the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is ^[d]loathsome to the Egyptians. ³³ Now Joseph’s brothers were seated [by the steward] before him [in the order of their birth]—the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked at one another in astonishment [because so much was known about them]. ³⁴ Joseph selected and sent portions to them from his own table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they feasted and drank freely and celebrated with him.

The Brothers Are Brought Back

44 And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s [grain] money in the mouth of the sack. ² Put my [personal] cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his grain money.” And the steward did as Joseph had told him. ³ As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. ⁴ When they had left the city, and were not yet far away, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up, follow after the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil [to us] for good [paid to you]? ⁵ Is this not my lord’s drinking cup and the one which he uses for divination? You have done [a great and unforgivable] wrong in doing this.’”

⁶ So the steward overtook them and he said these words to them. ⁷ They said to him, “Why does my lord speak these things? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! ⁸ Please remember, the money which we found in the mouths of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Is it likely then that we would steal silver or gold from your master’s house? ⁹ With whomever of your servants your master’s cup is found, let him die, and the rest of us will be my lord’s slaves.” ¹⁰ And the steward said, “Now let it be as you say; he with whom the cup is found will be my slave, but the rest of you shall be blameless.” ¹¹ Then every man quickly lowered his sack to the ground and each man opened his sack [confident the cup would not be found among them]. ¹² The steward searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³ Then they tore their clothes [in grief]; and after each man had loaded his donkey again, they returned to the city.

¹⁴ When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there; and they fell to the ground before him. ¹⁵ Joseph spoke harshly to them, “What is this thing that you have done? Do you not realize that such a man as I can indeed practice divination and foretell [everything you do without outside knowledge of it]?” ¹⁶ So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we reply? Or how can we clear ourselves, since God has exposed the sin and guilt of your servants? Behold, we are my lord’s slaves, the rest of us as well as he with whom the cup is found.” ¹⁷ But Joseph said, “Far be it from me that I should do that; but the man in whose hand the cup has been found, he will be my servant; and as for [the rest of] you, get up and go in peace to your father.”

¹⁸ Then Judah approached him, and said, “O my lord, please let your servant say a word to you in private, and do not let your anger blaze against your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh [so I speak as if directly to him]. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ We said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a young [brother, Benjamin, the] child of his old age. Now his brother [Joseph] is dead, and he alone is left of [the two sons born of] his mother, and his father loves him.’ ²¹ Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me that I may actually see him.’ ²² But we said to my lord, ‘The ^[e]young man cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ ²³ You said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes with you, you shall not see my face again.’ ²⁴ So when we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said. ²⁵ Our father said, ‘Go back [to Egypt], and buy us a little food.’ ²⁶ But we said, ‘We cannot go down [to Egypt]. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down [there]; for we [were sternly told that we] cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ ²⁷ Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife [Rachel] bore me [only] two sons. ²⁸ And one [son] went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since. ²⁹ If you take this one also from me, and harm or an accident happens to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.’ ³⁰ Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the young man is not with us, since ^[f]his life is bound up in the young man’s life, ³¹ when he sees that the young man is not with us, he will die; and your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in [great] sorrow. ³² For your servant became security for the young man to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame before my father forever.’ ³³ Now, therefore, please let your servant (Judah) remain here instead of the youth [to be] a slave to my lord, and let the young man go home with his brothers. ³⁴ How can I go up to my father if the young man is not with me—for fear that I would see the tragedy that would overtake my [elderly] father [if Benjamin does not return]?”

Joseph Shows Kindness to His Brothers

45 Then Joseph could not control himself [any longer] in front of all those who attended him, and he called out, “Have everyone leave me.” So no man stood there when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. ² Joseph wept aloud, and the Egyptians [who had just left him] heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it. ³ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless, for they were stunned and dismayed by [the fact that they were in] Joseph’s presence.

⁴ And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they approached him. And he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ Now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to save life and preserve our family. ⁶ For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five more years in which there will be no plowing and harvesting. ⁷ God sent me [to Egypt] ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great escape. ⁸ So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. ⁹ Hurry and go up to my father, and tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says this to you: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. ¹⁰ You shall live in the land of Goshen [the best pasture land of Egypt], and you shall be close to me—you and your children and your grandchildren, your flocks and your herds and all you have. ¹¹ There I will provide for you and sustain you, so that you and your household and all that are yours may not become impoverished, for there are still five years of famine to come.”’ ¹² Look! Your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that I am speaking to you [personally in your language and not through an interpreter]. ¹³ Now you must tell my father of all my splendor and power in Egypt, and of everything that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down here.” ¹⁴ Then he embraced his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. ¹⁵ He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶ When the news was heard in Pharaoh’s house that Joseph’s brothers had come, it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. ¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: load your animals and return to the land of Canaan [without delay], ¹⁸ and get your father and your households and come to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat (the finest produce) of the land.’ ¹⁹ Now you [brothers of Joseph] are ordered [by Pharaoh], ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come. ²⁰ Do not be concerned with your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

²¹ Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. ²² To each of them Joseph gave changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. ²³ To his father he sent the following: ten male donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and provision for his father [to supply all who were with him] on the journey.

²⁴ So he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “See that you do not quarrel on the journey [about how to explain this to our father].” ²⁵ So they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father, ²⁶ and they said to him, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But Jacob was stunned and his heart almost stopped beating, because he did not believe them. ²⁷ When they told him everything that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. ²⁸ And Israel (Jacob) said, “It is enough! Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”