Joseph Has Two Dreams

37 Jacob lived in the land of Canaan. It’s the land where his father had stayed.

² Here is the story of the family line of Jacob.

Joseph was a young man. He was 17 years old. He was taking care of the flocks with some of his brothers. They were the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father Jacob. Joseph brought their father a bad report about his brothers.

³ Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons. That’s because Joseph had been born to him when he was old. Israel made him a beautiful robe. ⁴ Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them. So they hated Joseph. They couldn’t even speak one kind word to him.

⁵ Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, “Listen to the dream I had. ⁷ We were tying up bundles of grain out in the field. Suddenly my bundle stood up straight. Your bundles gathered around my bundle and bowed down to it.”

⁸ His brothers said to him, “Do you plan to be king over us? Will you really rule over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream. They didn’t like what he had said.

⁹ Then Joseph had another dream. He told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said. “I had another dream. This time the sun and moon and 11 stars were bowing down to me.”

¹⁰ He told his father as well as his brothers. Then his father rebuked him. He said, “What about this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers really do that? Will we really come and bow down to the ground in front of you?” ¹¹ His brothers were jealous of him. But his father kept the dreams in mind.

Joseph Is Sold by His Brothers

¹² Joseph’s brothers had gone to take care of their father’s flocks near Shechem. ¹³ Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are taking care of the flocks near Shechem. Come. I’m going to send you to them.”

“All right,” Joseph replied.

¹⁴ So Israel said to him, “Go to your brothers. See how they are doing. Also see how the flocks are doing. Then come back and tell me.” So he sent him away from the Hebron Valley.

Joseph arrived at Shechem. ¹⁵ A man found him wandering around in the fields. He asked Joseph, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are taking care of their flocks?”

¹⁷ “They’ve moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ”

So Joseph went to look for his brothers. He found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him a long way off. Before he reached them, they made plans to kill him.

¹⁹ “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another. ²⁰ “Come. Let’s kill him. Let’s throw him into one of these empty wells. Let’s say that a wild animal ate him up. Then we’ll see whether his dreams will come true.”

²¹ Reuben heard them talking. He tried to save Joseph from them. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. ²² “Don’t spill any of his blood. Throw him into this empty well here in the desert. But don’t harm him yourselves.” Reuben said that to save Joseph from them. He was hoping he could take him back to his father.

²³ When Joseph came to his brothers, he was wearing his beautiful robe. They took it away from him. ²⁴ And they threw him into the well. The well was empty. There wasn’t any water in it.

²⁵ Then they sat down to eat their meal. As they did, they saw some Ishmaelite traders coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, lotion and myrrh. They were on their way to take them down to Egypt.

²⁶ Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and try to cover up what we’ve done? ²⁷ Come. Let’s sell him to these traders. Let’s not harm him ourselves. After all, he’s our brother. He’s our own flesh and blood.” Judah’s brothers agreed with him.

²⁸ The traders from Midian came by. Joseph’s brothers pulled him up out of the well. They sold him to the Ishmaelite traders for eight ounces of silver. Then the traders took him to Egypt.

²⁹ Later, Reuben came back to the empty well. He saw that Joseph wasn’t there. He was so upset that he tore his clothes. ³⁰ He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Now what should I do?”

³¹ Then they got Joseph’s beautiful robe. They killed a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. ³² They took the robe back to their father. They said, “We found this. Take a look at it. See if it’s your son’s robe.”

³³ Jacob recognized it. He said, “It’s my son’s robe! A wild animal has eaten him up. Joseph must have been torn to pieces.”

³⁴ Jacob tore his clothes. He put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. Then he mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ All Jacob’s other sons and daughters came to comfort him. But they weren’t able to. He said, “I will continue to mourn until I go down into the grave to be with my son.” So Joseph’s father mourned for him.

³⁶ But the traders from Midian sold Joseph to Potiphar in Egypt. Potiphar was one of Pharaoh’s officials. He was the captain of the palace guard.

Judah and Tamar

38 At that time, Judah left his brothers. He went down to stay with a man named Hirah from the town of Adullam. ² There Judah met the daughter of a man from Canaan. His name was Shua. Judah married her and slept with her. ³ She became pregnant and had a son. They named him Er. ⁴ She became pregnant again and had another son. She named him Onan. ⁵ She had still another son. She named him Shelah. He was born at Kezib.

⁶ Judah got a wife for his oldest son Er. Her name was Tamar. ⁷ But Judah’s oldest son Er was evil in the Lord’s eyes. So the Lord put him to death.

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. After all, you are her brother-in-law. So carry out your duty to her. Provide children for your brother.” ⁹ But Onan knew that the children wouldn’t belong to him. So every time he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground. He did it so he wouldn’t provide children for his brother. ¹⁰ What he did was evil in the Lord’s eyes. So the Lord put him to death also.

¹¹ Then Judah spoke to his daughter-in-law Tamar. He said, “Live as a widow in your father’s home. Wait there until my son Shelah grows up.” Judah was thinking, “Shelah might die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s home.

¹² After a long time Judah’s wife died. She was the daughter of Shua. When Judah got over his sadness, he went up to Timnah. His friend Hirah from Adullam went with him. Men were clipping the wool from Judah’s sheep at Timnah.

¹³ Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to clip the wool from his sheep.” ¹⁴ So she took off her widow’s clothes. She covered her face with a veil so people wouldn’t know who she was. Then she sat down at the entrance to Enaim. Enaim is on the road to Timnah. Tamar knew that Shelah had grown up. But she hadn’t been given to him as his wife.

¹⁵ Judah saw her. He thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face with a veil. ¹⁶ He didn’t realize that she was his daughter-in-law. He went over to her by the side of the road. He said, “Come. Let me sleep with you.”

“What will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked.

¹⁷ “I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” he said.

“Will you give me something that belongs to you?” she asked. “I’ll keep it until you send the goat.”

¹⁸ He said, “What should I give you?”

“Give me your official seal and the string that it hangs from,” she answered. “And give me your walking stick.” So he gave them to her. Then he slept with her. And she became pregnant by him. ¹⁹ After she left, she took off her veil. She put on her widow’s clothes again.

²⁰ Judah sent his friend Hirah with the young goat he had promised. He wanted to get back what he had given to the woman. But his friend Hirah couldn’t find her. ²¹ He asked the men who lived at Enaim, “Where’s the temple prostitute? She used to sit beside the road here.”

“There hasn’t been any temple prostitute here,” they said.

²² So Hirah went back to Judah. He said, “I couldn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there didn’t know anything about her. They said, ‘There hasn’t been any temple prostitute here.’ ”

²³ Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has. I don’t want people making fun of us. After all, I did send her this young goat. We can’t help it if you couldn’t find her.”

²⁴ About three months later people brought word to Judah. They said, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of being a prostitute. Now she’s pregnant.”

Judah said, “Bring her out! Have her burned to death!”

²⁵ As Tamar was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. She said, “I am pregnant by the man who owns these.” She continued, “Do you recognize this seal and string and walking stick? Do you know who they belong to?”

²⁶ Judah recognized them. He said, “She’s a better person than I am. I should have given her to my son Shelah, but I didn’t.” Judah never slept with Tamar again.

²⁷ The time came for Tamar to have her baby. There were twin boys inside her. ²⁸ As the babies were being born, one of them stuck out his hand. So the woman helping Tamar took a bright red thread. The woman tied it on the baby’s wrist. She said, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But he pulled his hand back, and his brother came out first instead. She said, “Just look at how you have forced your way out!” So he was called Perez. ³⁰ Then his brother, who had the red thread on his wrist, came out. So he was named Zerah.

Joseph and the Wife of Potiphar

39 Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar had bought him from the Ishmaelite traders who had taken him there. Potiphar was one of Pharaoh’s officials. He was the captain of the palace guard.

² The Lord was with Joseph. He gave him great success. Joseph lived in Potiphar’s house. ³ Joseph’s master saw that the Lord was with him. He saw that the Lord made Joseph successful in everything he did. ⁴ So Potiphar was pleased with Joseph and made him his attendant. He put Joseph in charge of his house. He trusted Joseph to take care of everything he owned. ⁵ From that time on, the Lord blessed Potiphar’s family and servants because of Joseph. He blessed everything Potiphar had in his house and field. ⁶ So Joseph took good care of everything Potiphar owned. With Joseph in charge, Potiphar didn’t have to worry about anything except the food he ate.

Joseph was strong and handsome. ⁷ After a while, his master’s wife noticed Joseph. She said to him, “Come to bed with me!”

⁸ But he refused. “My master has put me in charge,” he told her. “Now he doesn’t have to worry about anything in the house. He trusts me to take care of everything he owns. ⁹ No one in this house is in a higher position than I am. My master hasn’t held anything back from me, except you. You are his wife. So how could I do an evil thing like that? How could I sin against God?” ¹⁰ She spoke to Joseph day after day. But he told her he wouldn’t go to bed with her. He didn’t even want to be with her.

¹¹ One day Joseph went into the house to take care of his duties. None of the family servants was inside. ¹² Potiphar’s wife grabbed him by his coat. “Come to bed with me!” she said. But he left his coat in her hand. And he ran out of the house.

¹³ She saw that he had left his coat in her hand and had run out of the house. ¹⁴ So she called her servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew slave has been brought here to make fun of us! He came in here to force me to have sex with him. But I screamed for help. ¹⁵ He heard my scream. So he left his coat beside me and ran out of the house.”

¹⁶ She kept Joseph’s coat with her until Potiphar came home. ¹⁷ Then she told him her story. She said, “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to rape me. ¹⁸ But I screamed for help. So he left his coat beside me and ran out of the house.”

¹⁹ Potiphar’s wife told him, “That’s how your slave treated me.” When Joseph’s master heard her story, he became very angry. ²⁰ So he put Joseph in prison. It was the place where the king’s prisoners were kept.

While Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹ the Lord was with him. He was kind to him. So the man running the prison was pleased with Joseph. ²² He put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. He made him responsible for everything done there. ²³ The man who ran the prison didn’t pay attention to anything in Joseph’s care. That’s because the Lord was with Joseph. He gave Joseph success in everything he did.

The Wine Taster and the Baker

40 Some time later, the Egyptian king’s baker and wine taster did something their master didn’t like. ² So Pharaoh became angry with his two officials, the chief wine taster and the chief baker. ³ He put them in prison in the house of the captain of the palace guard. It was the same prison where Joseph was kept. ⁴ The captain put Joseph in charge of those men. So Joseph took care of them.

Some time passed while they were in prison. ⁵ Then each of the two men had a dream. The men were the Egyptian king’s baker and wine taster. They were being held in prison. Both of them had dreams the same night. Each of their dreams had its own meaning.

⁶ Joseph came to them the next morning. He saw that they were sad. ⁷ They were Pharaoh’s officials, and they were in prison with Joseph in his master’s house. So he asked them, “Why do you look so sad today?”

⁸ “We both had dreams,” they answered. “But no one can tell us what they mean.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Only God knows what dreams mean. Tell me your dreams.”

⁹ So the chief wine taster told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me. ¹⁰ There were three branches on the vine. As soon as it budded, it flowered. And bunches of ripe grapes grew on it. ¹¹ Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand. I took the grapes. I squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup. Then I put the cup in his hand.”

¹² “Here’s what your dream means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. ¹³ In three days Pharaoh will let you out of prison. He’ll give your job back to you. And you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand. That’s what you used to do when you were his wine taster. ¹⁴ But when everything is going well with you, remember me. Do me a favor. Speak to Pharaoh about me. Get me out of this prison. ¹⁵ I was taken away from the land of the Hebrews by force. Even here I haven’t done anything to be put in prison for.”

¹⁶ The chief baker saw that Joseph had given a positive meaning to the wine taster’s dream. So he said to Joseph, “I had a dream too. There were three baskets of bread on my head. ¹⁷ All kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh were in the top basket. But the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸ “Here’s what your dream means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ In three days Pharaoh will cut your head off. Then he will stick a pole through your body and set the pole up. The birds will eat your flesh.”

²⁰ The third day was Pharaoh’s birthday. He had a feast prepared for all his officials. He brought the chief wine taster and the chief baker out of prison. He did it in front of his officials. ²¹ He gave the chief wine taster’s job back to him. Once again the wine taster put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. ²² But Pharaoh had a pole stuck through the chief baker’s body. Then he had the pole set up. Everything happened just as Joseph had told them when he explained their dreams.

²³ But the chief wine taster didn’t remember Joseph. In fact, he forgot all about him.

Pharaoh Has Two Dreams

41 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream. In his dream, he was standing by the Nile River. ² Seven cows came up out of the river. They looked healthy and fat. They were eating some of the tall grass growing along the river. ³ After them, seven other cows came up out of the Nile. They looked ugly and skinny. They were standing beside the other cows on the riverbank. ⁴ The ugly, skinny cows ate up the seven cows that looked healthy and fat. Then Pharaoh woke up.

⁵ He fell asleep again and had a second dream. In that dream, seven heads of grain were growing on one stem. They were healthy and good. ⁶ After them, seven other heads of grain came up. They were thin and dried up by the east wind. ⁷ The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up. It had been a dream.

⁸ In the morning he was worried. So he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams. But no one could tell him what they meant.

⁹ Then the chief wine taster spoke up. He said to Pharaoh, “Now I remember that I’ve done something wrong. ¹⁰ Pharaoh was once angry with his servants. He put me and the chief baker in prison. We were in the house of the captain of the palace guard. ¹¹ Each of us had a dream the same night. Each dream had its own meaning. ¹² A young Hebrew servant was there with us. He was a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams. And he explained them to us. He told each of us the meaning of our dreams. ¹³ Things turned out exactly as he said they would. I was given back my job. The other man had a pole stuck through his body.”

¹⁴ So Pharaoh sent for Joseph. He was quickly brought out of the prison. Joseph shaved and changed his clothes. Then he came to Pharaoh.

¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream. No one can tell me what it means. But I’ve heard that when you hear a dream you can explain it.”

¹⁶ “I can’t do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh. “But God will give Pharaoh the answer he wants.”

¹⁷ Then Pharaoh told Joseph what he had dreamed. He said, “I was standing on the bank of the Nile River. ¹⁸ Seven cows came up out of the river. They were fat and looked healthy. They were eating the tall grass growing along the river. ¹⁹ After them, seven other cows came up. They were bony and very ugly and thin. I had never seen such ugly cows in the whole land of Egypt. ²⁰ The thin, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. ²¹ But no one could tell that the thin cows had eaten the fat cows. That’s because the thin cows looked just as ugly as they had before. Then I woke up.

²² “In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain. They were full and good. They were all growing on one stem. ²³ After them, seven other heads of grain came up. They were weak and thin and dried up by the east wind. ²⁴ The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told my dream to the magicians. But none of them could explain it to me.”

²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams have the same meaning. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years. And the seven good heads of grain are seven years. Both dreams mean the same thing. ²⁷ The seven thin, ugly cows that came up later are seven years. So are the seven worthless heads of grain dried up by the east wind. They are seven years when there won’t be enough food.

²⁸ “It’s just as I said to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he’s about to do. ²⁹ Seven years with plenty of food are coming to the whole land of Egypt. ³⁰ But seven years when there won’t be enough food will follow them. Then everyone will forget about all the food Egypt had. Terrible hunger will destroy the land. ³¹ There won’t be anything left to remind people of the years when there was plenty of food in the land. That’s how bad the hunger that follows will be. ³² God gave the dream to Pharaoh in two forms. That’s because the matter has been firmly decided by God. And it’s because God will do it soon.

³³ “So Pharaoh should look for a wise and understanding man. He should put him in charge of the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Pharaoh should appoint officials to be in charge of the land. They should take a fifth of the harvest in Egypt during the seven years when there’s plenty of food. ³⁵ They should collect all the extra food of the good years that are coming. Pharaoh should give them authority to store up the grain. They should keep it in the cities for food. ³⁶ The grain should be stored up for the country to use later. It will be needed during the seven years when there isn’t enough food in Egypt. Then the country won’t be destroyed just because it doesn’t have enough food.”

³⁷ The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and all his officials. ³⁸ So Pharaoh said to them, “The spirit of God is in this man. We can’t find anyone else like him, can we?”

³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “God has made all this known to you. No one is as wise and understanding as you are. ⁴⁰ You will be in charge of my palace. All my people must obey your orders. I will be greater than you only because I’m the one who sits on the throne.”

Joseph Is Put in Charge of Egypt

⁴¹ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I’m putting you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh took from his finger the ring he used to give his official stamp. He put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes made out of fine linen. He put a gold chain around Joseph’s neck. ⁴³ He also had him ride in a chariot. Joseph was now next in command after Pharaoh. People went in front of Joseph and shouted, “Get down on your knees!” By doing all these things, Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

⁴⁴ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh. But unless you give an order, no one will do anything in the whole land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He gave Joseph a wife. She was Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera. Potiphera was the priest of On. Joseph traveled all over the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He left Pharaoh’s palace and traveled all over Egypt. ⁴⁷ During the seven years there was plenty of food. The land produced more than the people needed. ⁴⁸ Joseph collected all the extra food produced in those seven years in Egypt. He stored it in the cities. In each city he stored up the food grown in the fields around it. ⁴⁹ Joseph stored up huge amounts of grain. There was as much of it as sand by the sea. There was so much grain it couldn’t be measured. So Joseph stopped keeping records of it.

⁵⁰ Before the years when there wasn’t enough food, two sons were born to Joseph. He had them by Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera. Potiphera was the priest of On. ⁵¹ Joseph named his first son Manasseh. That’s because he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and my father’s whole family.” ⁵² He named the second son Ephraim. That’s because he said, “God has given me children in the land where I’ve suffered so much.”

⁵³ The seven years when there was plenty of food in Egypt came to an end. ⁵⁴ Then the seven years when there wasn’t enough food began. It happened just as Joseph had said it would. There wasn’t enough food in any of the other lands. But in the whole land of Egypt there was food. ⁵⁵ When all the people of Egypt began to get hungry, they cried out to Pharaoh for food. He told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. Do what he tells you.”

⁵⁶ There wasn’t enough food anywhere in the country. So Joseph opened the storerooms. He sold grain to the Egyptians because people were very hungry all over Egypt. ⁵⁷ People from all over the world came to Egypt. They came to buy grain from Joseph. That’s because people were very hungry everywhere.

Joseph’s Brothers Go Down to Egypt

42 Jacob found out that there was grain in Egypt. So he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at one another?” ² He continued, “I’ve heard there’s grain in Egypt. Go down there. Buy some for us. Then we’ll live and not die.”

³ So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain there. ⁴ But Jacob didn’t send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with them. He was afraid Benjamin might be harmed. ⁵ Israel’s sons were among the people who went to buy grain. There wasn’t enough food in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Joseph was the governor of the land. He was the one who sold grain to all its people. When Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. ⁷ As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he pretended to be a stranger. He spoke to them in a mean way. “Where do you come from?” he asked.

“From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We’ve come to buy food.”

⁸ Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him. ⁹ Then Joseph remembered his dreams about them. So he said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the places where our land isn’t guarded very well.”

¹⁰ “No, sir,” they answered. “We’ve come to buy food. ¹¹ All of us are the sons of one man. We’re honest men. We aren’t spies.”

¹² “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see the places where our land isn’t guarded very well.”

¹³ But they replied, “We were 12 brothers. All of us were the sons of one man. He lives in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is now with our father. And one brother is gone.”

¹⁴ Joseph said to them, “I still say you are spies! ¹⁵ So I’m going to test you. And here’s the test. You can be sure that you won’t leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. You can be just as sure of this as you are sure that Pharaoh lives. I give you my word that you won’t leave here unless your brother comes. ¹⁶ Send one of you back to get your brother. The rest of you will be kept in prison. I’ll test your words. Then we’ll find out whether you are telling the truth. You can be sure that Pharaoh lives. And you can be just as sure that if you aren’t telling the truth, we’ll know that you are spies!” ¹⁷ So Joseph kept all of them under guard for three days.

¹⁸ On the third day, Joseph spoke to them again. He said, “Do what I say. Then you will live, because I have respect for God. ¹⁹ If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison. The rest of you may go and take grain back to your hungry families. ²⁰ But you must bring your youngest brother to me. That will prove that your words are true. Then you won’t die.” So they did what he said.

²¹ They said to one another, “God is surely punishing us because of our brother. We saw how upset he was when he begged us to let him live. But we wouldn’t listen. That’s why all this trouble has come to us.”

²² Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we’re being paid back for killing him.” ²³ They didn’t realize that Joseph could understand what they were saying. He was using someone else to explain their words to him in the Egyptian language.

²⁴ Joseph turned away from his brothers and began to weep. Then he came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken and tied up right there in front of them.

²⁵ Joseph gave orders to have their bags filled with grain. He had each man’s money put back into his sack. He also made sure they were given food for their journey. ²⁶ Then the brothers loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.

²⁷ When night came, they stopped. One of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey. He saw his money in the top of his sack. ²⁸ “My money has been given back,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.”

They had a sinking feeling in their hearts. They began to tremble. They turned to one another and said, “What has God done to us?”

²⁹ They came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. They told him everything that had happened to them. They said, ³⁰ “The man who is the governor of the land spoke to us in a mean way. He treated us as if we were spying on the land. ³¹ But we said to him, ‘We’re honest men. We aren’t spies. ³² We were 12 brothers. All of us were the sons of one father. But now one brother is gone. And our youngest brother is with our father in Canaan.’

³³ “Then the man who is the governor of the land spoke to us. He said, ‘Here’s how I will know whether you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers here with me. Take food for your hungry families and go. ³⁴ But bring your youngest brother to me. Then I’ll know that you are honest men and not spies. I’ll give your brother back to you. And you will be free to trade in the land.’ ”

³⁵ They began emptying their sacks. There in each man’s sack was his bag of money! When they and their father saw the money bags, they were scared to death. ³⁶ Their father Jacob said to them, “You have taken my children away from me. Joseph is gone. Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”

³⁷ Then Reuben spoke to his father. He said, “You can put both of my sons to death if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. Trust me to take care of him. I’ll bring him back.”

³⁸ But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you. His brother is dead. He’s the only one left here with me. Suppose he’s harmed on the journey you are taking. Then I would die as a sad old man.”

Joseph’s Brothers Go Down to Egypt Again

43 There still wasn’t enough food anywhere in the land. ² After a while Jacob’s family had eaten all the grain the brothers had brought from Egypt. So their father said to them, “Go back. Buy us a little more food.”

³ But Judah said to him, “The man gave us a strong warning. He said, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother Benjamin is with you.’ ⁴ So send our brother along with us. Then we’ll go down and buy food for you. ⁵ If you won’t send him, we won’t go down. The man said to us, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ ”

⁶ Israel asked, “Why did you bring this trouble to me? Why did you tell the man you had another brother?”

⁷ They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. He asked us, ‘Is your father still living? Do you have another brother?’ We just answered his questions. How could we possibly know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”

⁸ Judah spoke to Israel his father. “Send the boy along with me,” he said. “We’ll go right away. Then we and you and our children will live and not die. ⁹ I myself promise to keep Benjamin safe. You can blame me if I don’t bring him back to you. I’ll set him right here in front of you. If I don’t, you can put the blame on me for the rest of my life. ¹⁰ As it is, we’ve already waited too long. We could have made the trip to Egypt and back twice by now.”

¹¹ Then their father Israel spoke to them. He said, “If that’s the way it has to be, then do what I tell you. Put some of the best things from our land in your bags. Take them down to the man as a gift. Take some lotion and a little honey. Take some spices and myrrh. Take some pistachio nuts and almonds. ¹² Take twice the amount of money with you. You have to give back the money that was put in your sacks. Maybe it was a mistake. ¹³ Also take your brother. Go back to the man at once. ¹⁴ May the Mighty God cause him to show you mercy. May the man let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. And if I lose my sons, I lose them.”

¹⁵ So the men took the gifts. They took twice the amount of money. They also took Benjamin. They hurried down to Egypt and went to Joseph. ¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he spoke to the manager of his house. “Take these men to my house,” he said. “Kill an animal and prepare a meal. I want them to eat with me at noon.”

¹⁷ The manager did what Joseph told him to do. He took the men to Joseph’s house. ¹⁸ They were frightened when they were taken to Joseph’s house. They thought, “We were brought here because of the money that was put back in our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us. Then he can hold us as slaves and take our donkeys.”

¹⁹ So they went up to Joseph’s manager. They spoke to him at the entrance to the house. ²⁰ “Please, sir,” they said. “We came down here the first time to buy food. ²¹ We opened our sacks at the place where we stopped for the night. Each of us found in our sacks the exact amount of the money we had paid. So we’ve brought it back with us. ²² We’ve also brought more money with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our money in our sacks.”

²³ “It’s all right,” the manager said. “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you riches in your sacks. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

²⁴ The manager took the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water to wash their feet. He provided feed for their donkeys. ²⁵ The brothers prepared their gifts for Joseph. He was planning to arrive at noon. They had heard that they were going to eat there.

²⁶ When Joseph came home, they gave him the gifts they had brought into the house. They bowed down low in front of him. ²⁷ He asked them how they were. Then he said, “How is your old father you told me about? Is he still living?”

²⁸ They replied, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And they bowed down to show him honor.

²⁹ Joseph looked around. Then he saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son. He asked, “Is this your youngest brother? Is he the one you told me about?” He continued, “May God be gracious to you, my son.” ³⁰ It moved him deeply to see his brother. So Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to cry. He went into his own room and cried there.

³¹ Then he washed his face and came out. He calmed down and said, “Serve the food.”

³² They served Joseph by himself. They served the brothers by themselves. They also served the Egyptians who ate with Joseph by themselves. Because of their beliefs, Egyptians couldn’t eat with Hebrews. ³³ The brothers had been given places in front of Joseph. They had been seated in the order of their ages, from the oldest to the youngest. That made them look at each other in great surprise. ³⁴ While they were eating, some food was brought to them from Joseph’s table. Benjamin was given five times as much as anyone else. So all Joseph’s brothers ate and drank a lot with him.

A Silver Cup in a Sack

44 Joseph told the manager of his house what to do. “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry,” he said. “Put each man’s money in his sack. ² Then put my silver cup in the youngest one’s sack. Put it there along with the money he paid for his grain.” So the manager did what Joseph told him to do.

³ When morning came, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. ⁴ They hadn’t gone very far from the city when Joseph spoke to his manager. “Go after those men right away,” he said. “Catch up with them. Say to them, ‘My master was good to you. Why have you paid him back by doing evil? ⁵ Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from? Doesn’t he also use it to find things out? You have done an evil thing.’ ”

⁶ When the manager caught up with them, he told them what Joseph had said. ⁷ But they said to him, “Why do you say these things? We would never do anything like that! ⁸ We even brought back to you from Canaan the money we found in our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? ⁹ If you find out that any of us has the cup, he will die. And the rest of us will become your slaves.”