“1 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 theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.”
(Genesis 43:1-34 AV)
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