Beginning

43 In the meantime hunger oppressed greatly all the land, (In the meantime the famine greatly oppressed all the land,)

² and when the meats were wasted, which they [had] brought from Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, Turn ye again, and buy ye a little of meats to us. (and when all the corn, or all the grain. which they had brought from Egypt, had been eaten, Jacob said to his sons, Return ye, and buy ye a little food for us.)

³ (And) Judah answered, That man announced to us, under witnessing of an oath, and said, Ye shall not see my face, if ye shall not bring with you your least brother (if ye do not bring your youngest brother with you);

⁴ therefore if thou wilt send him with us, we shall go (down) together, and we shall buy necessaries to thee (and we shall buy all the necessities for thee);

⁵ else if thou wilt not, we shall not go (down); for as we said oft, the man announced to us, and said, Ye shall not see my face without your least brother (for as we have often said to you, the man announced to us, Ye shall not see my face without your youngest brother).

⁶ Forsooth Israel said to them, Ye did this into my wretchedness, that ye showed to him, that ye had also another brother. (And Israel, that is, Jacob, said to them, Ye did this unto my wretchedness, that ye told him that ye also had another brother.)

⁷ And they answered, The man asked us by order our generation, (and) if our father lived, (and) if we had another brother; and we answered followingly to him, by that that he asked (and we answered accordingly to him, by what he asked us); whether we might know that he would say, Bring ye (down) your brother with you?

⁸ And Judah said to his father, Send the child^[a] with me, that we go, and may live, lest we die, (and thou,) and our little children; (And Judah said to his father, I pray thee, send our youngest brother with me, so that we can go, and we can live, otherwise we, and thou, and our little children shall die;)

⁹ I (shall) take the child, require thou him (again) of mine hand; if I shall not bring him again, and betake him to thee, I shall be guilty of sin against thee in all time; (I shall take our youngest brother, and thou shalt require him again from my hand; and if I shall not bring him back again, and give him to thee, I shall be guilty of sin against thee for all time;)

¹⁰ if this delay, or tarrying, had not been, we had come thence now another time. (yea, if this delay had not happened, we could already have gone there, and had come back by now, another time.)

¹¹ Therefore Israel, their father, said to them, If it is need so to be (done), do ye that that ye will (And so their father Israel said to them, If it is so needed to be done, then do ye what ye must); (and) take ye (some) of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and bear ye gifts to the man, a little of gum, and of honey, and of storax, that is, (a) precious gum, and of myrrh, that is, a bitter gum, and of terebinth, that is, (the) best resins, and of almonds;

¹² and bear ye with you double (the) money, and bear ye again that money which ye found in [the] bags, lest peradventure it be done by error, or unwitting(ly)/or (by) negligence;

¹³ but also take ye your brother, and go ye to the man; (and also take ye your brother, and so go ye now to the man;)

¹⁴ forsooth my God Almighty make him peaceable to you/make him pleasable, or quemeful, to you, and send he again your brother, whom he holdeth in bonds, and also this Benjamin; forsooth I shall be now as (if) made bare (and) without sons. (and may my Almighty God make him kindly disposed toward you, and send he again your brother, whom he now holdeth in prison, and also this Benjamin; but for now I shall be as if made barren, and without my sons.)

¹⁵ Therefore the men took gifts (And so the men took the gifts), and double (the) money, and Benjamin; and they went down into Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

¹⁶ And when he had seen them and Benjamin together, he commanded the dispenser of his house, and said (And when he had seen Benjamin together with them, he commanded to the steward of his house, and said), Lead these men into the house, and slay (some) beasts, and make a feast; for they shall eat with me today.

¹⁷ He did as it was commanded/as it was bidden him (He did as he was commanded), and he led the men into the house;

¹⁸ and there they were afeared, and they said together, We be brought in for the money which we bare again before in our sacks, that he put challenge against us, and make subject by violence to servage both us and our asses. (and they were afraid there, and they said together, We be brought in here for the money which we found put back in our sacks, and he shall soon challenge us about it, and by force make both us and our donkeys subject to servitude, or to slavery.)

¹⁹ Wherefore they nighed in the gates, and spake to the dispenser, (And so they went to the door, and spoke to the steward,)

²⁰ Lord, we pray, that thou hear us; we came down now before that we should buy meats; (and said, My lord, we pray thee, that thou hear us; we came down before so that we could buy some food;)

²¹ (and) when those were bought, (and we headed home,) when we came to the inn, we opened our bags, and we found the money in the mouth(s) of our sacks, which money we have brought again now in the same weight (which money in the same amount we have now brought back);

²² but also we have brought other silver, (so) that we (can) buy those things that be needful to us; it is not in our knowing who put the money in our purses.

²³ And he answered, Peace be to you, do not ye dread; your God, and [the] God of your father, gave to you (the) treasures in your bags; for I have the money proved, which ye gave to me (for I have the approved money, which ye gave to me). And he led out Simeon to them;

²⁴ and when they were brought into the house, he brought (them) water, and they washed their feet, and he gave their asses meats (and he gave some food to their donkeys).

²⁵ Soothly they made ready the(ir) gifts till Joseph entered at midday, for they had heard that they should eat bread there.

²⁶ Therefore Joseph entered into his house, and they offered gifts to him, and held them in their hands, and worshipped low to the earth. (And so Joseph entered into his house, and they offered him the gifts that they held in their hands, and they bowed low to the ground before him.)

²⁷ And he greeted them again meekly; and he asked them, and said, Whether your father, the eld man, is safe, of whom ye said to me? liveth he yet? (And he meekly greeted them; and he asked them, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spoke to me? yet he liveth?)

²⁸ Which answered, He is whole, thy servant our father liveth yet; and they were bowed, and worshipped him. (And they answered, He is well, yea, thy servant, our father, yet liveth; and they bowed low before him.)

²⁹ Forsooth Joseph raised [up] his eyes, and saw Benjamin, his brother of the same womb, and he said, Is this your young(est) brother, of whom ye said to me? And again Joseph said, My son, God have mercy on thee. (And Joseph raised up his eyes, and saw Benjamin, his brother from the same womb, and he asked, Is this your youngest brother of whom ye spoke to me? And Joseph said to him, My son, may God have mercy on thee.)

³⁰ And Joseph hasted into (another part of) the house, for his entrails were moved on his brother (for his feelings were stirred because of his brother), and tears burst out, and he entered into a closet, and wept.

³¹ And again when his face was washed (And then when he had washed his face), he went out, and refrained himself from weeping, and said, Set ye forth (the) loaves.

³² Which were set forth to Joseph by himself, and to his brethren by themselves, and to the Egyptians that ate together by themselves; for it is unleaveful to Egyptians to eat with Hebrews, and they guess such a feast unholy. (And they were set forth for Joseph by himself, and for his brothers by themselves, and for the Egyptians who ate together by themselves; for it is unlawful for Egyptians to eat with Hebrews, for they believe that such a feast, or that such a meal, would be unholy.)

³³ Therefore they sat before him, the first begotten by right of the first begotten, and (so on down to) the youngest by his age; and they wondered greatly, (And so they sat down before him, the first-born by right of the first-born, and so on down to the youngest by his age; and they greatly wondered,)

³⁴ when the parts were taken which they had received of him, and the more part came to Benjamin, so that it passed (the others) in five parts; and they drank, and were [ful]filled with him. (when they received their portions from him, and the greatest portion came to Benjamin, indeed it was five times more than what any of the others received; and so they drank, and were fulfilled with him.)

44 Forsooth Joseph commanded the dispenser of his house, and said, Fill thou their sacks with wheat, as much as they may take, and put thou the money of each in the height of the sack; (And Joseph commanded to the steward of his house, and said, Fill up their sacks with as much corn, or as much grain, as they can take, and put the money of each in the top of his sack;)

² forsooth put thou in the sack’s mouth of the youngest my silver cup, and the price of the wheat which he gave; and it was done so. (and put my silver cup in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and also the money which he gave for his corn, or his grain; and it was done so.)

³ And when the morrowtide (a)rose, they were delivered with their asses. (And when the morning came, they were let go with their donkeys.)

⁴ And now they had gone out of the city, and had gone forth a little; then Joseph said, when the dispenser of his house was called, Rise thou, pursue the men, and say thou when they be taken, Why have ye yielded evil for good? (And when they had gone out of the city, and had gone forth a little; then Joseph said, when the steward of his house was called, Rise thou up, and pursue the men, and say thou when they be taken, Why have ye given back evil for good?)

⁵ The cup, which ye have stolen, is that in which my lord drinketh, and in which he is wont to divine; ye have done a full wicked thing.

⁶ He did as Joseph commanded, and when they were (over)taken (and when he had overtaken them), he spake by order these things;

⁷ the which answered, Why speaketh our lord so, (saying) that thy servants have done so great a trespass?

⁸ We brought again to thee from the land of Canaan the money that we found in the height of our sacks, and how is it following that we have stolen from thy lord’s house gold or silver? (We brought back to thee from the land of Canaan the money that we found in the top of our sacks, so how followeth it, that we would steal gold or silver from thy lord’s house?)

⁹ At whomever of thy servants this that thou seekest is found, die he, and we shall be servants of my lord. (With whomever of thy servants that the cup which thou seekest is found, let him die, and the rest of us shall be my lord’s slaves.)

¹⁰ Which said to them, Be it done by your sentence; at whom it is found, be he my servant; forsooth ye shall be guiltless. (And the steward said to them, So be it done by your own sentence; with whomever it is found, he shall be my slave; but the rest of you shall go free.)

¹¹ And so they did down hastily their sacks on the earth, and all they opened them, (And so they hastily did down their sacks onto the ground, and they all opened them,)

¹² the which he sought (through); and he began at the most till to the least, and he found the cup in Benjamin’s sack. (and then the steward searched through all the sacks; and he began at the eldest, and worked down to the youngest, and he found the cup in Benjamin’s sack.)

¹³ And when they had rent their clothes, and had charged again their asses, they turned again into the city. (And when they had torn their clothes, and had loaded up their donkeys again, they returned to the city.)

¹⁴ And Judah entered with his brethren to Joseph; for Joseph had not gone yet from the place; and all they fell together on the earth before him. (And Judah came in with his brothers to Joseph; for Joseph was still in his house; and they all fell down together on the ground before him.)

¹⁵ To whom he said, Why would ye do so? whether ye wot not, that none is like me in the knowing of divining? (To whom Joseph said, Why have ye done this? do ye not know that there is no one like me with such a knowledge of divination? Of course I would find you out!)

¹⁶ To whom Judah said, What shall we answer to my lord, or what shall we speak, either what may we justly against-say? God hath found the wickedness of thy servants; lo! all we be the servants of my lord, both we and he at whom the cup is found. (To whom Judah said, What shall we answer to my lord, or what shall we speak, or what can we justly say against thy words? God hath found out the wickedness of thy servants; lo! we shall all be my lord’s slaves, both we and he with whom the cup was found.)

¹⁷ Joseph answered, Far be it from me, that I do so; he be my servant that stole the cup; forsooth go ye free to your father. (Joseph answered, Far be it from me, that I would do such a thing; nay, only he who stole the cup shall be my slave; the rest of you be free to go back to your father.)

¹⁸ Soothly Judah nighed near, and said trustily (and plaintively said), My lord, I pray thee, (let) thy servant speak a word in thine ears, and be thou not wroth to thy servant; for after Pharaoh thou art my lord.

¹⁹ Thou askedest first thy servants (Thou first askedest thy servants), Have ye a father, or a brother?

²⁰ And we answered to my lord, An eld father is to us, and a little child that was born in his eld (age), whose brother of the same womb is dead, and his mother hath him alone; forsooth his father loveth him tenderly. (And we answered to my lord, We have an old father, and he hath a young son who was born in his old age, whose brother from the same womb is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children; and his father tenderly loveth him.)

²¹ And thou saidest to thy servants, Bring ye him (down) to me, and I shall set mine eyes on him.

²² We made (the) suggestion to thee, my lord, the child may not forsake his father (that the youngest son cannot leave his father); for if he shall leave his father, his father shall die.

²³ And thou saidest to thy servants, If your youngest brother shall not come (down) with you, ye shall no more see my face (ye shall not see my face again).

²⁴ Therefore when we had gone up to thy servant, our father, we told to him all things which my lord spake to us;

²⁵ and our father said, Turn ye again, and buy ye to you a little of wheat; (and later our father said to us, Return ye there, and buy ye some corn, or some grain, for us;)

²⁶ to whom we said, We may not go; (only) if our least brother shall go down with us, we shall go forth together; else, if he is absent, we dare not see the lord’s face (to whom we said, We cannot go down there; only if our youngest brother shall go down with us, then shall we go forth together; for if he is absent, we shall not be able to see our lord’s face.)

²⁷ To which things our father answered, Ye know that my wife childed two sons to me;

²⁸ one went out (from me), and ye said, A beast [hath] devoured him (and it was said, A beast hath devoured him), and hitherto he appeareth not;

²⁹ if ye take also this son, and anything befall to him in the way, ye shall lead forth mine hoar hairs with mourning to hells. (and now if ye take also this son from me, and if anything should befall him on the way, ye shall lead forth my hoar hairs in sorrow to the grave/unto Sheol.)

³⁰ Therefore if I enter again to thy servant, our father, and the child fail (to come back with us), since his life hangeth of the life of the child, (And so if I return again to thy servant, our father, and his youngest son faileth to come back with us, since his life hangeth on the life of his youngest son,)

³¹ and he see that the child is not with us, he shall die, and thy servants shall lead forth his hoar hairs with sorrow to hells. (and he see that his youngest son is not with us, he shall die, and thy servants shall have led forth his hoar hairs in sorrow to the grave/unto Sheol.)

³² Be I properly thy servant, which received this child on my faith, and I promised, and said, If I shall not bring again him (to thee), I shall be guilty of sin against my father in all time; (So let me be thy slave, for I received his youngest son on my pledge, and I promised, and said, If I shall not bring him back to thee, I shall be guilty of sin against my father for all time;)

³³ and so I shall dwell thy servant for the child into the service of my lord, and the child go up with his brethren; (and so let me stay here in my lord’s service as thy slave in place of the youngest son, and let him go back with his brothers;)

³⁴ for I may not go again to my father, if the child be absent (if his youngest son be absent), lest I stand a witness of the wretchedness that shall oppress my father.

45 Joseph might no longer abstain himself, while many men stood there before him; wherefore he commanded that all men should go out, and that none alien were present in the knowing of Joseph and his brethren. (Joseph could no longer restrain himself, with so many men standing there before him; and so he commanded that all the men go out, so that no stranger was present when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.)

² And Joseph raised up his voice with weeping, which the Egyptians heard, and all the house(hold) of Pharaoh.

³ And he said to his brethren, I am Joseph; liveth my father yet? (yet liveth my father?) His brethren might not answer, and were aghast with full much dread.

⁴ To whom Joseph said meekly, Cometh nigh to me (To whom Joseph meekly said, Come near to me). And when they had nighed nigh, he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt;

⁵ do not ye dread, neither seem it to be hard to you, that ye sold me into these countries; for God hath sent me before you into Egypt for your health. (do not ye fear, nor be ye harsh with yourselves, that ye sold me into this country; for God hath sent me before you into Egypt for your salvation.)

⁶ For it is (but) two years that hunger began to be in the land, (and) yet five (more) years (shall) follow, in which men shall not be able to ear, neither reap;

⁷ and God before-sent me, that ye be kept (alive) on (the) earth, and may have meats to live. (and God sent me ahead, so that ye would be kept alive on this earth, and have food to eat/and have descendants into without end.)

⁸ I was sent hither not by your counsel, but by God’s will, which hath made me as the father of Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and prince in all the land of Egypt. (I was sent here not by your deeds, but by God’s will, who hath made me like a father to Pharaoh, and the lord of all his household, and the ruler in all the land of Egypt.)

⁹ Haste ye, and goeth up to my father, and ye shall say to him, Thy son Joseph sendeth these things to thee; God hath made me lord of all the land of Egypt; come down (here) to me, and tarry not,

¹⁰ and (then) dwell in the land of Goshen; and thou shalt be beside me, thou, and thy sons, and the sons of thy sons, (and) thy sheep, and thy great beasts, and all things which thou wieldest (and all the things which thou possessest),

¹¹ and there I shall feed thee; for yet five years of hunger be left, lest both thou perish, and thine house, and all things which thou wieldest. (and I shall feed thee there; for there be five more years of famine to come, and lest thou, and thy household, or thy family, and all the things that thou possessest, perish.)

¹² Lo! your eyes (see), and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that (it is) my mouth (which) speaketh to you;

¹³ tell ye to my father all my glory, and all things which ye saw in Egypt; haste ye, and bring ye him to me. (tell ye to my father about all of my glory here in Egypt, and all of the things which ye have seen; then haste ye, and bring ye him down here to me.)

¹⁴ And when he had embraced, and felled into the neck of Benjamin, his brother, he wept, the while also Benjamin wept in like manner on the neck of Joseph. (And he embraced his brother, and fell on Benjamin’s neck, and he wept, and Benjamin also wept in like manner upon Joseph’s neck.)

¹⁵ And Joseph kissed all his brethren, and wept on them all (and wept over them all); after which things they were hardy to speak to him.

¹⁶ And it was heard, and published by famous word in the king’s hall, (saying,) The brethren of Joseph be come. And Pharaoh joyed, and all his house (And Pharaoh and all of his household were glad);

¹⁷ and Pharaoh said to Joseph, that he should command his brethren, and say to them, Charge ye your beasts, and go ye into the land of Canaan, (and Pharaoh said to Joseph, Say to your brothers, Load ye up your beasts, and go to the land of Canaan,)

¹⁸ and take ye from thence your father, and your kindred, and come ye (back) to me; and I shall give you all the goods of Egypt, that ye eat the marrow of the land (and I shall give to you all the good things of Egypt, and ye shall eat the marrow of the land).

¹⁹ Command thou also, that they take wains (out) of the land of Egypt to the carriage of their little children, and wives, and say thou, Take ye your father, and haste ye (in) coming soon, (Command thou also, that they take wagons from the land of Egypt for the transport of their little children, and their wives, and say thou to them, Bring ye your father here, and make ye haste in coming back soon,)

²⁰ neither leave ye anything of the purtenance of your house, for all the riches of Egypt shall be yours. (nor take ye anything of your household possessions, for all the riches of Egypt shall be yours.)

²¹ The sons of Israel did as it was commanded to them; to which Joseph gave wains, by the behest of Pharaoh, and meats in the way; (And the sons of Israel did as they were commanded; and Joseph gave them wagons, by the command of Pharaoh, and food for the way;)

²² and he commanded two stoles to be brought forth to each (and he commanded that two stoles, or changes of clothing, be brought forth for each brother); forsooth he gave to Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver, with five (of) the best stoles;

²³ and he sent to his father so much of silver, and of clothes, and he added to them ten male asses, that should bear of the riches of Egypt, and so many female asses, bearing wheat and loaves in the way. (and he sent his father ten male donkeys, carrying gifts of the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys, carrying corn, or grain, and loaves for the journey to Egypt.)

²⁴ Therefore he let go his brethren, and said to them going forth, Be ye not wroth in the way. (And so he let his brothers go, and said to them as they went forth, Do not ye argue on the way.)

²⁵ Which went up from Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan, to their father Jacob;

²⁶ and they told to him, and said, Joseph, thy son, liveth, and he is lord in all the land of Egypt. And when this was heard, Jacob waked as of a grievous sleep; nevertheless he believed not to them. (and they told him, and said, Thy son Joseph liveth, and he is the ruler of all the land of Egypt. And when he heard this, Jacob appeared as if awakening from a grievous sleep, and he could not believe them.)

²⁷ They told on the contrary to him all the order of the thing; and when Jacob had seen the wains, and all things which Joseph had sent, his spirit lived again, (But then they told him everything that Joseph had said; and when Jacob had seen the wagons, and all the things which Joseph had sent, his spirit lived again, or revived,)

²⁸ and he said, It sufficeth to me, if Joseph my son liveth yet (It sufficeth for me, if my son Joseph yet liveth); I shall go and see him before that I die.