43:1And the
famine was sore in the land.
43:2And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of
Egypt, their
father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little
food.
43:3And
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.
43:4If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee
food:
43:5but 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.
43:6And
Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the
man whether ye had yet a brother?
43:7And they said, The
man asked straitly concerning ourselves, and concerning 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 in any wise know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
43:8And
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.
43:9I 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:
43:10for except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a second
time.
43:11And their
father Israel said unto them, If it be so now, do this: take of the choice fruits of the land in your
vessels, and carry down the
man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and
myrrh, nuts, and almonds;
43:12and take double
money in your
hand; and the
money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry again in your
hand; peradventure it was an oversight:
43:13take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the
man:
43:14and
God Almighty give you
mercy before the
man, that he may release unto you your other brother and
Benjamin. And if I be bereaved of my children,
I am bereaved.
43:15And 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.
43:16And when
Joseph saw
Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his
house, Bring the
men into the
house, and slay, and make ready; for the
men shall dine with me at noon.
43:17And the
man did as
Joseph bade; and the
man brought the
men to Joseph's
house.
43:18And the
men were afraid, because they were brought to 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.
43:19And they came near to the steward of Joseph's
house, and they spake unto him at the
door of the
house,
43:20and said, Oh, my
lord, we came indeed down at the first
time to buy
food:
43:21and it came to pass, when we came to the lodging-place, 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.
43:22And other
money have we brought down in our
hand to buy
food: we know not who put our
money in our sacks.
43:23And 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.
43:24And the
man brought the
men into Joseph's
house, and gave them
water, and they washed their
feet. And he gave their asses provender.
43:25And they made ready the present against Joseph's coming at noon: for they heard that they should
eat bread there.
43:26And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down themselves to him to the earth. 43:27And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? 43:28And they said, Thy servant our father is well, he is yet alive. And they bowed the head, and made obeisance. 43:29And he lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin his brother, his mother's son, and said, Is this your youngest brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. 43:30And Joseph made haste; for his heart yearned over his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. 43:31And he washed his face, and came out; and he refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. 43:32And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, that did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. 43:33And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one with another. 43:34And 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.