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Genesis 43

Joseph's Brothers Return to Egypt with Benjamin

    ^3-5Judah replied, "The governor strictly warned us that we would not be allowed to see him unless we brought our youngest brother with us. If you let us take Benjamin along, we will go and buy grain. But we won't go without him!"

    ⁶Jacob asked, "Why did you cause me so much trouble by telling the governor you had another brother?"

    ⁷They answered, "He asked a lot of questions about us and our family. He wanted to know if you were still alive and if we had any more brothers. All we could do was answer his questions. How could we know he would tell us to bring along our brother?"

    ⁸Then Judah said to his father, "Let Benjamin go with me, and we will leave right away, so that none of us will starve to death. ⁹I promise to bring him back safely, and if I don't, you can blame me as long as I live. ¹⁰If we had not wasted all this time, we could already have been there and back twice."

    ¹¹Their father said:

   If Benjamin must go with you, take the governor a gift of some of the best things from our own country, such as perfume, honey, spices, pistachio nuts, and almonds. ^{[a] 12}Also take along twice the amount of money for the grain, because there must have been some mistake when the money was put back in your sacks. ¹³Take Benjamin with you and leave right away. ¹⁴When you go in to see the governor, I pray that God All-Powerful will be good to you and that the governor will let your other brother and Benjamin come back home with you. If I must lose my children, I suppose I must.

    ¹⁵The brothers took the gifts, twice the amount of money, and Benjamin. Then they hurried off to Egypt. When they stood in front of Joseph, ¹⁶he saw Benjamin and told the servant in charge of his house, "Take these men to my house. Slaughter an animal and cook it, so they can eat with me at noon."

    ¹⁷The servant did as he was told and took the brothers to Joseph's house. ¹⁸But on the way they got worried and started thinking, "We are being taken there because of the money that was put back in our sacks last time. He will arrest us, make us his slaves, and take our donkeys."

    ¹⁹So when they arrived at Joseph's house, they said to the servant in charge, ²⁰"Sir, we came to Egypt once before to buy grain. ²¹But when we stopped for the night, we each found in our grain sacks the exact amount we had paid. We have brought that money back, ²²together with enough money to buy more grain. We don't know who put the money in our sacks."

    ²³"It's all right," the servant replied. "Don't worry. The God you and your father worship must have put the money there, because I received your payment in full." Then he brought Simeon out to them.

    ²⁴The servant took them into Joseph's house and gave them water to wash their feet. He also tended their donkeys. ²⁵The brothers got their gifts ready to give to Joseph at noon, since they had heard they were going to eat there.

    ²⁶When Joseph came home, they gave him the gifts they had brought, and they bowed down to him. ²⁷After Joseph had asked how they were, he said, "What about your elderly father? Is he still alive?"

    ²⁸They answered, "Your servant our father is still alive and well." And again they bowed down to Joseph.

    ²⁹When Joseph looked around and saw his brother Benjamin, he said, "This must be your youngest brother, the one you told me about. God bless you, my son."

    ³⁰Right away he rushed off to his room and cried because of his love for Benjamin. ³¹After washing his face and returning, he was able to control himself and said, "Serve the meal!"

    ³²Joseph was served at a table by himself, and his brothers were served at another. The Egyptians sat at yet another table, because Egyptians felt it was disgusting to eat with Hebrews. ³³To the surprise of Joseph's brothers, they were seated in front of him according to their ages, from the oldest to the youngest. ³⁴They were served food from Joseph's table, and Benjamin was given five times as much as each of the others. So Joseph's brothers drank with him and had a good time.

Genesis 44

The Missing Cup

    ³Early the next morning, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. ⁴But they had not gone far from the city when Joseph told the servant, "Go after those men! When you catch them, say, `My master has been good to you. So why have you stolen his silver cup? ⁵Not only does he drink from his cup, but he also uses it to learn about the future. You have done a terrible thing.' "

    ⁶When the servant caught up with them, he said exactly what Joseph had told him to say. ⁷But they replied, "Sir, why do you say such things? We would never do anything like that! ⁸We even returned the money we found in our grain sacks when we got back to Canaan. So why would we want to steal any silver or gold from your master's house? ⁹If you find that one of us has the cup, then kill him, and the rest of us will become your slaves."

    ¹⁰"Good!" the man replied, "I'll do what you have said. But only the one who has the cup will become my slave. The rest of you can go free."

    ¹¹Each of the brothers quickly put his sack on the ground and opened it. ¹²Joseph's servant started searching the sacks, beginning with the one that belonged to the oldest brother. When he came to Benjamin's sack, he found the cup. ¹³This upset the brothers so much that they began tearing their clothes in sorrow. Then they loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.

    ¹⁴When Judah and his brothers got there, Joseph was still at home. So they bowed down to Joseph, ¹⁵who asked them, "What have you done? Didn't you know I could find out?"

    ¹⁶"Sir, what can we say?" Judah replied. "How can we prove we are innocent? God has shown that we are guilty. And now all of us are your slaves, especially the one who had the cup."

    ¹⁷Joseph told them, "I would never punish all of you. Only the one who was caught with the cup will become my slave. The rest of you are free to go home to your father."

Judah Pleads for Benjamin

   Sir, you have as much power as the king ^[b] himself, and I am only your slave. Please don't get angry if I speak. ¹⁹You asked us if our father was still alive and if we had any more brothers. ²⁰So we told you, "Our father is a very old man. In fact, he was already old when Benjamin was born. Benjamin's brother is dead. Now Benjamin is the only one of the two brothers who is still alive, and our father loves him very much." ²¹You ordered us to bring him here, so you could see him for yourself. ²²We told you that our father would die if Benjamin left him. ²³But you warned us that we could never see you again, unless our youngest brother came with us. ²⁴So we returned to our father and reported what you had said.

    ²⁵Later our father told us to come back here and buy more grain. ²⁶But we answered, "We can't go back to Egypt without our youngest brother. We will never be let in to see the governor, unless he is with us."

    ²⁷Sir, our father then reminded us that his favorite wife had given birth to two sons. ²⁸One of them was already missing and had not been seen for a long time. My father thinks the boy was torn to pieces by some wild animal, ²⁹and he said, "I am an old man. If you take Benjamin from me, and something happens to him, I will die of a broken heart."

    ³⁰That's why Benjamin must be with us when I go back to my father. He loves him so much ³¹that he will die if Benjamin doesn't come back with me. ³²I promised my father that I would bring him safely home. If I don't, I told my father he could blame me the rest of my life.

    ³³Sir, I am your slave. Please let me stay here in place of Benjamin and let him return home with his brothers. ³⁴How can I face my father if Benjamin isn't with me? I couldn't bear to see my father in such sorrow.

Genesis 45

Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is

   Yes, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. ⁵Don't worry or blame yourselves for what you did. God is the one who sent me ahead of you to save lives.

    ⁶There has already been a famine for two years, and for five more years no one will plow fields or harvest grain. ⁷But God sent me on ahead of you to keep your families alive and to save you in this wonderful way. ⁸After all, you weren't really the ones who sent me here--it was God. He made me the highest official in the king's court and placed me over all Egypt.

    ⁹Now hurry back and tell my father that his son Joseph says, "God has made me ruler of Egypt. Come here as quickly as you can. ¹⁰You will live near me in the region of Goshen with your children and grandchildren, as well as with your sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else you own. ¹¹I will take care of you there during the next five years of famine. But if you don't come, you and your family and your animals will starve to death."

    ¹²All of you, including my brother Benjamin, can tell by what I have said that I really am Joseph. ¹³Tell my father about my great power here in Egypt and about everything you have seen. Hurry and bring him here.

    ¹⁴Joseph and Benjamin hugged each other and started crying. ¹⁵Joseph was still crying as he kissed each of his other brothers. After this, they started talking with Joseph.

    ¹⁶When it was told in the palace that Joseph's brothers had come, the king and his officials were happy. ¹⁷So the king said to Joseph:

   Tell your brothers to load their donkeys and return to Canaan. ¹⁸Have them bring their father and their families here. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they can eat and enjoy everything that grows on it. ¹⁹Also tell your brothers to take some wagons from Egypt for their wives and children to ride in. And be sure to have them bring their father. ²⁰They can leave their possessions behind, because they will be given the best of everything in Egypt.

    ²¹Jacob's sons agreed to do what the king had said. And Joseph gave them wagons and food for their trip home, just as the king had ordered. ²²Joseph gave some new clothes to each of his brothers, but to Benjamin he gave five new outfits and three hundred pieces of silver. ²³To his father he sent ten donkeys loaded with the best things in Egypt, and ten other donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other food for the return trip. ²⁴Then he sent his brothers off and told them, "Don't argue on the way home!"

    ²⁵Joseph's brothers left Egypt, and when they arrived in Canaan, ²⁶they told their father that Joseph was still alive and was the ruler of Egypt. But their father was so surprised that he could not believe them. ²⁷Then they told him everything Joseph had said. When he saw the wagons Joseph had sent, he felt much better ²⁸and said, "Now I can believe you! My son Joseph must really be alive, and I will get to see him before I die."

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²⁴When the Pharisees heard this, they said, "He forces out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!"

    ²⁵Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said to them:

   Any kingdom where people fight each other will end up ruined. And a town or family that fights will soon destroy itself. ²⁶So if Satan fights against himself, how can his kingdom last? ²⁷If I use the power of Beelzebul to force out demons, whose power do your own followers use to force them out? Your followers are the ones who will judge you. ²⁸But when I force out demons by the power of God's Spirit, it proves that God's kingdom has already come to you. ²⁹How can anyone break into a strong man's house and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything.

    ³⁰If you are not on my side, you are against me. If you don't gather in the harvest with me, you scatter it. ^31-32I tell you that any sinful thing you do or say can be forgiven. Even if you speak against the Son of Man, you can be forgiven. But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven, either in this life or in the life to come.

A Tree and Its Fruit

(Luke 6.43-45)

A Sign from Heaven

(Mark 8.11,12; Luke 11.29-32)

    ³⁹But Jesus replied:

   You want a sign because you are evil and won't believe! But the only sign you will get is the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰He was in the stomach of a big fish for three days and nights, just as the Son of Man will be deep in the earth for three days and nights. ⁴¹On the day of judgment the people of Nineveh ^[a] will stand there with you and condemn you. They turned to God when Jonah preached, and yet here is something far greater than Jonah. ⁴²The Queen of the South ^[b] will also stand there with you and condemn you. She traveled a long way to hear Solomon's wisdom, and yet here is something much greater than Solomon.

Return of an Evil Spirit

(Luke 11.24-26)

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

(Mark 3.31-35; Luke 8.19-21)