Genesis 43
Legacy Standard Bible
The Brothers Return to Egypt
43 (A)Now the famine was heavy in the land. 2 And it happened 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 solemnly warned us, saying, ‘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 [a]by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” 7 But they said, “The man questioned particularly about us and our kin, saying, ‘(C)Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we told him concerning these things. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, (D)that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. 9 (E)I myself will be the guarantee for him; from my hand you may require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then [b]I shall bear the sin before you all my days. 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 [c]bags, and bring them down to the man (F)as a present, a little [d](G)balm and a little honey, [e]aromatic gum and [f]myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Now take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand (H)the money that was put back in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake. 13 And take your brother also, and arise, return to the man; 14 and may [g](I)God Almighty (J)grant you compassion before 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 children, I am bereaved.” 15 So the men took (M)this present, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; and they arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
Joseph Sees Benjamin
16 Then Joseph saw Benjamin with them and said to his (N)house steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slay an animal and prepare it; for the men are to eat with me at noon.” 17 So the man did as Joseph said and [h]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 that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, that he may [i]seek occasion against us and fall upon us and take us for slaves with our donkeys.” 19 So they came near to Joseph’s house steward and spoke to him at the entrance of the house, 20 and they said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food, 21 and it happened when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and behold, (O)each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in [j]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 And he said, “[k]Be well, do not be afraid. (Q)Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; your money has come to me.” 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 fodder. 25 So they prepared (U)the present [l]for Joseph’s coming at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat [m]a meal there.
26 Then Joseph came home, and they brought into the house to him the present which was in their hand and (V)bowed to the ground before him. 27 And he asked them about their [n]well-being and said, “(W)Is your old father [o]well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28 And they said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” (X)They bowed down and prostrated themselves. 29 Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son. And he said, “Is this (Y)your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “(Z)May God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 And Joseph hurried out for [p](AA)he was deeply stirred with compassion over his brother, and he sought a place to weep; and he entered his chamber and (AB)wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he (AC)restrained himself and said, “Set the [q]meal.” 32 So they set the meal for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is (AD)an abomination to the Egyptians. 33 And they [r]were seated before him, (AE)the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. 34 And he took portions to them from [s]his own table, (AF)but Benjamin’s portion was five times greater than any of theirs. So they feasted and drank freely with him.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 43:6 Lit to tell
- Genesis 43:9 Lit I shall have sinned before you all the days
- Genesis 43:11 Or vessels
- Genesis 43:11 Or mastic
- Genesis 43:11 Or ladanum spice
- 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 43:21 Lit its weight
- Genesis 43:23 Lit Peace be to you
- Genesis 43:25 Lit until
- Genesis 43:25 Lit bread
- Genesis 43:27 Lit peace, cf. 43:23
- Genesis 43:27 Lit peace, cf. 43:23
- Genesis 43:30 Lit his compassion grew warm
- Genesis 43:31 Lit bread
- Genesis 43:33 Lit sat
- Genesis 43:34 Lit his face
Genesis 43
New Living Translation
The Brothers Return to Egypt
43 But the famine continued to ravage the land of Canaan. 2 When the grain they had brought from Egypt was almost gone, Jacob said to his sons, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”
3 But Judah said, “The man was serious when he warned us, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send Benjamin with us, we will go down and buy more food. 5 But if you don’t let Benjamin go, we won’t go either. Remember, the man said, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”
6 “Why were you so cruel to me?” Jacob[a] moaned. “Why did you tell him you had another brother?”
7 “The man kept asking us questions about our family,” they replied. “He asked, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered his questions. How could we know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”
8 Judah said to his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will be on our way. Otherwise we will all die of starvation—and not only we, but you and our little ones. 9 I personally guarantee his safety. You may hold me responsible if I don’t bring him back to you. Then let me bear the blame forever. 10 If we hadn’t wasted all this time, we could have gone and returned twice by now.”
11 So their father, Jacob, finally said to them, “If it can’t be avoided, then at least do this. Pack your bags with the best products of this land. Take them down to the man as gifts—balm, honey, gum, aromatic resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Also take double the money that was put back in your sacks, as it was probably someone’s mistake. 13 Then take your brother, and go back to the man. 14 May God Almighty[b] give you mercy as you go before the man, so that he will release Simeon and let Benjamin return. But if I must lose my children, so be it.”
15 So the men packed Jacob’s gifts and double the money and headed off with Benjamin. They finally arrived in Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the manager of his household, “These men will eat with me this noon. Take them inside the palace. Then go slaughter an animal, and prepare a big feast.” 17 So the man did as Joseph told him and took them into Joseph’s palace.
18 The brothers were terrified when they saw that they were being taken into Joseph’s house. “It’s because of the money someone put in our sacks last time we were here,” they said. “He plans to pretend that we stole it. Then he will seize us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys.”
A Feast at Joseph’s Palace
19 The brothers approached the manager of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the palace. 20 “Sir,” they said, “we came to Egypt once before to buy food. 21 But as we were returning home, we stopped for the night and opened our sacks. Then we discovered that each man’s money—the exact amount paid—was in the top of his sack! Here it is; we have brought it back with us. 22 We also have additional money to buy more food. We have no idea who put our money in our sacks.”
23 “Relax. Don’t be afraid,” the household manager told them. “Your God, the God of your father, must have put this treasure into your sacks. I know I received your payment.” Then he released Simeon and brought him out to them.
24 The manager then led the men into Joseph’s palace. He gave them water to wash their feet and provided food for their donkeys. 25 They were told they would be eating there, so they prepared their gifts for Joseph’s arrival at noon.
26 When Joseph came home, they gave him the gifts they had brought him, then bowed low to the ground before him. 27 After greeting them, he asked, “How is your father, the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?”
28 “Yes,” they replied. “Our father, your servant, is alive and well.” And they bowed low again.
29 Then Joseph looked at his brother Benjamin, the son of his own mother. “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” Joseph asked. “May God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Then Joseph hurried from the room because he was overcome with emotion for his brother. He went into his private room, where he broke down and wept. 31 After washing his face, he came back out, keeping himself under control. Then he ordered, “Bring out the food!”
32 The waiters served Joseph at his own table, and his brothers were served at a separate table. The Egyptians who ate with Joseph sat at their own table, because Egyptians despise Hebrews and refuse to eat with them. 33 Joseph told each of his brothers where to sit, and to their amazement, he seated them according to age, from oldest to youngest. 34 And Joseph filled their plates with food from his own table, giving Benjamin five times as much as he gave the others. So they feasted and drank freely with him.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
