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Genesis 43
New American Standard Bible
Genesis 43
New American Standard Bible
The Return to Egypt
43 (A)Now the famine was severe in the land. 2 So it came about, when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” 3 Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “(B)The man sternly warned [a]us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” 6 Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly, [b]by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” 7 But they said, “The man specifically asked about us and our relatives, saying, ‘(C)Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we [c]answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8 So Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will arise and go, (D)so that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. 9 (E)I myself will take responsibility for him! You may demand him back from [d]me. If I do not bring him back to you and present him to you, then [e]you can let me take the blame forever. 10 For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your [f]bags, and carry down to the man (F)as a gift, a little (G)balsam and a little honey, labdanum resin and [g]myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 And take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand (H)the money that was returned in the opening of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man; 14 and may [h](I)God Almighty (J)grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you (K)your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, (L)if I am bereaved of my sons, I am bereaved!” 15 So the men took (M)this gift, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; then they set out and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
Joseph Sees Benjamin
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his (N)house steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make preparations; for the men are to dine with me at noon.” 17 So the man did as Joseph said, and [i]brought the men to Joseph’s house. 18 Now the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, so that he may [j]attack us and [k]overpower us, and take us as slaves with our donkeys.” 19 So they approached Joseph’s house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house, 20 and said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food, 21 and it happened when we came to the campsite, that we opened our sacks, and behold, (O)each man’s money was in the opening of his sack, our money in [l]full. So (P)we have brought it back in our hand. 22 We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 But he said, “Peace be to you, do not be afraid. (Q)Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; your [m]money was in my possession.” Then (R)he brought Simeon out to them. 24 Then the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and (S)gave them water, and they (T)washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. 25 So they prepared (U)the gift [n]for Joseph’s arrival at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat [o]a meal there.
26 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the gift which was in their hand, and they (V)bowed down to the ground before him. 27 Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, “(W)Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 And they said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” Then (X)they bowed down again [p]in homage. 29 And as he raised his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this (Y)your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” Then he said, “(Z)May God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Joseph then hurried out, for [q](AA)he was deeply stirred over his brother, and he looked for a place to weep; so he entered his chamber and (AB)wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he (AC)controlled himself and said, “[r]Serve the meal.” 32 Then they served him by himself, and [s]Joseph’s brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an (AD)abomination to the Egyptians. 33 Now they [t]were seated before him, from (AE)the firstborn according to his birthright to the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. 34 Then he took portions to them from [u]his own table, (AF)but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank freely with him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 43:3 Lit us, saying
- Genesis 43:6 Lit to tell
- Genesis 43:7 Lit told him according to these words
- Genesis 43:9 Lit my hand
- Genesis 43:9 Lit I will be culpable before you all the days
- Genesis 43:11 Or vessels
- Genesis 43:11 Or resinous bark
- Genesis 43:14 Heb El Shaddai
- Genesis 43:17 Lit the man brought
- Genesis 43:18 Lit roll himself upon us
- Genesis 43:18 Lit fall upon
- Genesis 43:21 Lit its weight
- Genesis 43:23 Lit your money had come to me
- Genesis 43:25 Lit until
- Genesis 43:25 Lit bread
- Genesis 43:28 I.e., great respect and honor to a superior
- Genesis 43:30 Lit his compassion grew warm
- Genesis 43:31 Lit Set on bread
- Genesis 43:32 Lit them
- Genesis 43:33 Lit sat
- Genesis 43:34 Lit his face
Genesis 43
New International Version
Genesis 43
New International Version
The Second Journey to Egypt
43 Now the famine was still severe in the land.(A) 2 So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt,(B) their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”(C)
3 But Judah(D) said to him, “The man warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’(E) 4 If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you.(F) 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.(G)’”
6 Israel(H) asked, “Why did you bring this trouble(I) on me by telling the man you had another brother?”
7 They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’(J) he asked us. ‘Do you have another brother?’(K) We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”(L)
8 Then Judah(M) said to Israel(N) his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die.(O) 9 I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him.(P) If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame(Q) before you all my life.(R) 10 As it is, if we had not delayed,(S) we could have gone and returned twice.”
11 Then their father Israel(T) said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products(U) of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift(V)—a little balm(W) and a little honey, some spices(X) and myrrh,(Y) some pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double the amount(Z) of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks.(AA) Perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also and go back to the man at once.(AB) 14 And may God Almighty[a](AC) grant you mercy(AD) before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you.(AE) As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”(AF)
15 So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver,(AG) and Benjamin also. They hurried(AH) down to Egypt and presented themselves(AI) to Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin(AJ) with them, he said to the steward of his house,(AK) “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal;(AL) they are to eat with me at noon.”
17 The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house.(AM) 18 Now the men were frightened(AN) when they were taken to his house.(AO) They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks(AP) the first time. He wants to attack us(AQ) and overpower us and seize us as slaves(AR) and take our donkeys.(AS)”
19 So they went up to Joseph’s steward(AT) and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 20 “We beg your pardon, our lord,” they said, “we came down here the first time to buy food.(AU) 21 But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver—the exact weight—in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us.(AV) 22 We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in our sacks.”
23 “It’s all right,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father,(AW) has given you treasure in your sacks;(AX) I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.(AY)
24 The steward took the men into Joseph’s house,(AZ) gave them water to wash their feet(BA) and provided fodder for their donkeys. 25 They prepared their gifts(BB) for Joseph’s arrival at noon,(BC) because they had heard that they were to eat there.
26 When Joseph came home,(BD) they presented to him the gifts(BE) they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground.(BF) 27 He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father(BG) you told me about? Is he still living?”(BH)
28 They replied, “Your servant our father(BI) is still alive and well.” And they bowed down,(BJ) prostrating themselves before him.(BK)
29 As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son,(BL) he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?”(BM) And he said, “God be gracious to you,(BN) my son.” 30 Deeply moved(BO) at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept(BP) there.
31 After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself,(BQ) said, “Serve the food.”(BR)
32 They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews,(BS) for that is detestable to Egyptians.(BT) 33 The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn(BU) to the youngest;(BV) and they looked at each other in astonishment. 34 When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s.(BW) So they feasted(BX) and drank freely with him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 43:14 Hebrew El-Shaddai
Genesis 43
King James Version
Genesis 43
King James Version
43 And the famine was sore in the land.
2 And 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.
3 And 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.
4 If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:
5 But 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.
6 And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?
7 And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of 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 certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
8 And 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.
9 I 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:
10 For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.
11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:
12 And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:
13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:
14 And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
15 And 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.
16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.
17 And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
18 And 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.
19 And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,
20 And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
21 And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, 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.
22 And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.
23 And 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.
24 And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.
25 And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.
26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.
27 And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?
28 And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
30 And 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.
31 And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
32 And 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.
33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.
34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of their's. And they drank, and were merry with him.
Genesis 43
English Standard Version
Genesis 43
English Standard Version
Joseph's Brothers Return to Egypt
43 Now the famine was (A)severe in the land. 2 And when they had eaten the grain that 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 solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your (B)brother is with you.’ 4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But 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.’” 6 Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?” 7 They 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’?” 8 And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may (C)live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9 I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. (D)If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10 If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”
11 Then 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 (E)balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money (F)that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. 14 May (G)God Almighty[a] (H)grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, (I)if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”
15 So 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.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the (J)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.” 17 The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph's house. 18 And 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.” 19 So they went up to the steward of Joseph's house and spoke with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, (K)“Oh, my lord, (L)we came down the first time to buy food. 21 And (M)when 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, 22 and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” 23 He 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. 24 And when the man had brought the men into Joseph's house and (N)given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder, 25 they prepared (O)the present for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.
26 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and (P)bowed down to him to the ground. 27 And he inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man (Q)of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they (R)bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. 29 And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, (S)his mother's son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, (T)of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!” 30 Then Joseph hurried out, for (U)his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and (V)wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out. And (W)controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.” 32 They 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 (X)an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And 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 (Y)Portions were taken to them from Joseph's table, but Benjamin's portion was (Z)five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry[b] with him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 43:14 Hebrew El Shaddai
- Genesis 43:34 Hebrew and became intoxicated
Genesis 43
Contemporary English Version
Genesis 43
Contemporary English Version
Joseph's Brothers Return to Egypt with Benjamin
43 The famine in Canaan got worse, 2 until finally, Jacob's family had eaten all the grain they had bought in Egypt. So Jacob said to his sons, “Go back and buy some more grain.”
3-5 Judah 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!”
6 Jacob asked, “Why did you cause me so much trouble by telling the governor you had another brother?”
7 They 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?”
8 Then Judah said to his father, “Let Benjamin go with me, and we will leave at once, so that none of us will starve to death. 9 I promise to bring him back safely, and if I don't, you can blame me as long as I live. 10 If we had not wasted all this time, we could already have been there and back twice.”
11 Their 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. 13 Take Benjamin with you and leave at once.
14 When 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. But if I must lose my children, I suppose I must.
15 The brothers took the gifts, twice the amount of money, and Benjamin. Then they hurried off to Egypt. When they stood in front of Joseph, 16 he 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.”
17 The servant did as he was told and took the brothers to Joseph's house. 18 But 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.”
19 So 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. 21 But 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, 22 together 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.
24 The servant took them into Joseph's house and gave them water to wash their feet. He also tended their donkeys. 25 The brothers got their gifts ready to give to Joseph at noon, since they had heard they were going to eat there.
26 When Joseph came home, they gave him the gifts they had brought, and they bowed down to him. 27 After Joseph had asked how they were, he said, “What about your elderly father? Is he still alive?”
28 They answered, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And again they bowed down to Joseph.
29 When 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.”
30 Then, because of his love for Benjamin, he rushed off to his room and cried. 31 After washing his face and returning, he was able to control himself and said, “Serve the meal!”
32 Joseph 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. 33 To the surprise of Joseph's brothers, they were seated in front of him according to their ages, from the oldest to the youngest. 34 They were served food from Joseph's table, and Benjamin was given five times as much as each of the others. So Joseph's brothers ate and drank with him and had a good time.
Footnotes
- 43.11 honey, spices, pistachio nuts, and almonds: Some of these foods were still available in Canaan, but the main food was bread, and there was no grain to make bread.
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English Standard Version (ESV) 
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