|
Chapter 43 |
| 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 marveled 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. |
