Genesis 43; Genesis 44; Genesis 45

1 Still no food grew in the land of Canaan.

2 When Jacob's family had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, Jacob said to them, "Go to Egypt again and buy a little more grain for us to eat."

3 But Judah said to Jacob, "The governor of that country strongly warned us, 'If you don't bring your brother back with you, you will not be allowed to see me.'

4 If you will send Benjamin with us, we will go down and buy food for you.

5 But if you refuse to send Benjamin, we will not go. The governor of that country warned us that we would not see him if we didn't bring Benjamin with us."

6 Israeln said, "Why did you tell the man you had another brother? You have caused me a lot of trouble."

7 The brothers answered, "He questioned us carefully about ourselves and our family. He asked us, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' We just answered his questions. How could we know he would ask us to bring our other brother to him?"

8 Then Judah said to his father Jacob, "Send Benjamin with me, and we will go at once so that we, you, and our children may live and not die.

9 I will guarantee you that he will be safe, and I will be personally responsible for him. If I don't bring him back to you, you can blame me all my life.

10 If we had not wasted all this time, we could have already made two trips."

11 Then their father Jacob said to them, "If it has to be that way, then do this: Take some of the best foods in our land in your packs. Give them to the man as a gift: some balm, some honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.

12 Take twice as much money with you this time, and take back the money that was returned to you in your sacks last time. Maybe it was a mistake.

13 And take Benjamin with you. Now leave and go to the man.

14 I pray that God Almighty will cause the governor to be merciful to you and that he will allow Simeon and Benjamin to come back with you. If I am robbed of my children, then I am robbed of them!"

15 So the brothers took the gifts. They also took twice as much money as they had taken the first time, and they took Benjamin. They hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant in charge of his house, "Bring those men into my house. Kill an animal and prepare a meal. Those men will eat with me today at noon."

17 The servant did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph's house.

18 The brothers were afraid when they were brought to Joseph's house and thought, "We were brought here because of the money that was put in our sacks on the first trip. He wants to attack us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys."

19 So the brothers went to the servant in charge of Joseph's house and spoke to him at the door of the house.

20 They said, "Master, we came here once before to buy food.

21 While we were going home, we stopped for the night and when we opened our sacks each of us found all his money in his sack. We brought that money with us to give it back to you.

22 And we have brought more money to pay for the food we want to buy this time. We don't know who put that money in our sacks."

23 But the servant answered, "It's all right. Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, must have put the money in your sacks. I got the money you paid me for the grain last time." Then the servant brought Simeon out to them.

24 The servant led the men into Joseph's house and gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave their donkeys food to eat.

25 The men prepared their gift to give to Joseph when he arrived at noon, because they had heard they were going to eat with him there.

26 When Joseph came home, the brothers gave him the gift they had brought into the house and bowed down to the ground in front of him.

27 Joseph asked them how they were doing. He said, "How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still alive?"

28 The brothers answered, "Your servant, our father, is well. He is still alive." And they bowed low before Joseph to show him respect.

29 When Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, who had the same mother as he, Joseph asked, "Is this your youngest brother you told me about?" Then he said to Benjamin, "God be good to you, my son!"

30 Then Joseph hurried off because he had to hold back the tears when he saw his brother Benjamin. So Joseph went into his room and cried there.

31 Then he washed his face and came out. He controlled himself and said, "Serve the meal."

32 So they served Joseph at one table, his brothers at another table, and the Egyptians who ate with him at another table. This was because Egyptians did not like Hebrews and never ate with them.

33 Joseph's brothers were seated in front of him in order of their ages, from oldest to youngest. They looked at each other because they were so amazed.

34 Food from Joseph's table was taken to them, but Benjamin was given five times more food than the others. Joseph's brothers ate and drank freely with him.

1 Then Joseph gave a command to the servant in charge of his house. He said, "Fill the men's sacks with as much grain as they can carry, and put each man's money into his sack with the grain.

2 Put my silver cup in the sack of the youngest brother, along with his money for the grain." The servant did what Joseph told him.

3 At dawn the brothers were sent away with their donkeys.

4 They were not far from the city when Joseph said to the servant in charge of his house, "Go after the men. When you catch up with them, say, 'Why have you paid back evil for good?

5 The cup you have stolen is the one my master uses for drinking and for explaining dreams. You have done a very wicked thing!'"

6 So the servant caught up with the brothers and said to them what Joseph had told him to say.

7 But the brothers said to the servant, "Why do you say these things? We would not do anything like that!

8 We brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money we found in our sacks. So surely we would not steal silver or gold from your master's house.

9 If you find that silver cup in the sack of one of us, then let him die, and we will be your slaves."

10 The servant said, "We will do as you say, but only the man who has taken the cup will become my slave. The rest of you may go free."

11 Then every brother quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it.

12 The servant searched the sacks, going from the oldest brother to the youngest, and found the cup in Benjamin's sack.

13 The brothers tore their clothes to show they were afraid. Then they put their sacks back on the donkeys and returned to the city.

14 When Judah and his brothers went back to Joseph's house, Joseph was still there, so the brothers bowed facedown on the ground before him.

15 Joseph said to them, "What have you done? Didn't you know that a man like me can learn things by signs and dreams?"

16 Judah said, "Master, what can we say? And how can we show we are not guilty? God has uncovered our guilt, so all of us will be your slaves, not just Benjamin."

17 But Joseph said, "I will not make you all slaves! Only the man who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go back safely to your father."

18 Then Judah went to Joseph and said, "Master, please let me speak plainly to you, and please don't be angry with me. I know that you are as powerful as the king of Egypt himself.

19 When we were here before, you asked us, 'Do you have a father or a brother?'

20 And we answered you, 'We have an old father. And we have a younger brother, who was born when our father was old. This youngest son's brother is dead, so he is the only one of his mother's children left alive, and our father loves him very much.'

21 Then you said to us, 'Bring that brother to me. I want to see him.'

22 And we said to you, 'That young boy cannot leave his father, because if he leaves him, his father would die.'

23 But you said to us, 'If you don't bring your youngest brother, you will not be allowed to see me again.'

24 So we went back to our father and told him what you had said.

25 "Later, our father said, 'Go again and buy us a little more food.'

26 We said to our father, 'We cannot go without our youngest brother. Without our youngest brother, we will not be allowed to see the governor.'

27 Then my father said to us, 'You know that my wife Rachel gave me two sons.

28 When one son left me, I thought, "Surely he has been torn apart by a wild animal," and I haven't seen him since.

29 Now you want to take this son away from me also. But something terrible might happen to him, and I would be miserable until the day I die.'

30 Now what will happen if we go home to our father without our youngest brother? He is so important in our father's life that

31 when our father sees the young boy is not with us, he will die. And it will be our fault. We will cause the great sorrow that kills our father.

32 "I gave my father a guarantee that the young boy would be safe. I said to my father, 'If I don't bring him back to you, you can blame me all my life.'

33 So now, please allow me to stay here and be your slave, and let the young boy go back home with his brothers.

34 I cannot go back to my father if the boy is not with me. I couldn't stand to see my father that sad."

1 Joseph could not control himself in front of his servants any longer, so he cried out, "Have everyone leave me." When only the brothers were left with Joseph, he told them who he was.

2 Joseph cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and the people in the king's palace heard about it.

3 He said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But the brothers could not answer him, because they were very afraid of him.

4 So Joseph said to them, "Come close to me." When the brothers came close to him, he said to them, "I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold as a slave to go to Egypt.

5 Now don't be worried or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. God sent me here ahead of you to save people's lives.

6 No food has grown on the land for two years now, and there will be five more years without planting or harvest.

7 So God sent me here ahead of you to make sure you have some descendants left on earth and to keep you alive in an amazing way.

8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. God has made me the highest officer of the king of Egypt. I am in charge of his palace, and I am the master of all the land of Egypt.

9 "So leave quickly and go to my father. Tell him, 'Your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all Egypt. Come down to me quickly.

10 Live in the land of Goshen where you will be near me. Your children, your grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all that you have will also be near me.

11 I will care for you during the next five years of hunger so that you and your family and all that you have will not starve.'

12 "Now you can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that the one speaking to you is really Joseph.

13 So tell my father about how powerful I have become in Egypt. Tell him about everything you have seen. Now hurry and bring him back to me."

14 Then Joseph hugged his brother Benjamin and cried, and Benjamin cried also.

15 And Joseph kissed all his brothers and cried as he hugged them. After this, his brothers talked with him.

16 When the king of Egypt and his officers learned that Joseph's brothers had come, they were very happy.

17 So the king said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers to load their animals and go back to the land of Canaan

18 and bring their father and their families back here to me. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they will eat the best food we have here.

19 Tell them to take some wagons from Egypt for their children and their wives and to bring their father back also.

20 Tell them not to worry about bringing any of their things with them, because we will give them the best of what we have in Egypt."

21 So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as the king had ordered and food for their trip.

22 He gave each brother a change of clothes, but he gave Benjamin five changes of clothes and about seven and one-half pounds of silver.

23 Joseph also sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the best things from Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and other food for his father on his trip back.

24 Then Joseph told his brothers to go. As they were leaving, he said to them, "Don't quarrel on the way home."

25 So the brothers left Egypt and went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.

26 They told him, "Joseph is still alive and is the ruler over all the land of Egypt." Their father was shocked and did not believe them.

27 But when the brothers told him everything Joseph had said, and when Jacob saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him back to Egypt, he felt better.

28 Israeln said, "Now I believe you. My son Joseph is still alive, and I will go and see him before I die."