Genesis 43

43 ¹Now the famine was severe in the land. ²When they'd eaten the grain brought from Egypt, their father said, "Go back and buy us a little food."

³But Judah told him, "The man firmly warned us: 'You won't see my face without your brother.' ⁴If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. ⁵But if you won't send him, we won't go, for the man said, 'You won't see my face without your brother.'"

⁶Israel said, "Why did you harm me by telling the man you had another brother?"

⁷They said, "The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family: 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' We answered accordingly. How could we know he'd say, 'Bring your brother down'?"

⁸Judah said to his father Israel, "Send the boy with me; let's go, so we may live and not die—we, you, and our children. ⁹I pledge myself for him—demand him from me. If I don't bring him back and set him before you, I'll bear the blame before you forever. ¹⁰For if we had not delayed, surely by now we would have returned twice."

¹¹Israel their father said to them, "If it must be so, do this: put the land's best products in your bags, and take the man a gift—a little balm, a little honey, spices, myrrh, pistachios, almonds. ¹²Take double the money, and bring back what was returned in your sacks' mouths—perhaps an oversight. ¹³Take your brother also, and go back to the man. ¹⁴May El Shaddai—our Father Almighty—grant you mercy before the man, so he releases your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I'm bereaved of my children, I'm bereaved."

¹⁵The men took the gift, twice the silver, and Benjamin, went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

¹⁶Seeing Benjamin with them, Joseph told his house steward, "Bring the men into the house, slaughter an animal, and prepare it—they'll eat with me at noon." ¹⁷The man did as Joseph said, and he brought the men into Joseph's house. ¹⁸The men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph's house. They said, "It's because of the money returned in our sacks the first time, that we're brought in—to attack us, fall on us, seize us as slaves, and take our donkeys." ¹⁹So they approached the steward of Joseph's house and spoke to him at the door, ²⁰and said, "Please, sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food. ²¹At the lodge, when we opened our sacks, each man's silver was there in full weight, in his sack's mouth. We've brought it back with us. ²²We also brought more money to buy food, but don't know who put it in our sacks."

²³He said, "Peace to you, don't fear. Your Father and the God of your father gave you treasure in your sacks; your payment reached me." Then he brought Simeon out to them. ²⁴The man brought them into Joseph's house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he fed their donkeys. ²⁵So they readied the gift for Joseph's noon arrival, since they'd heard they would eat there. ²⁶When Joseph came home, they brought him the gift in their hands and bowed to him, to the ground. ²⁷He asked how they were, then said, "Is your father—the old man you mentioned—well? Is he still alive?"

²⁸They said, "Your servant our father is well, still alive." They bowed and prostrated themselves. ²⁹He looked up, saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and asked, "Is this your youngest brother you told me about?" Then he said, "May our Father be gracious to you, my son." ³⁰Joseph hurried out, moved with compassion toward his brother, seeking a place to weep; he went into his room and wept there. ³¹Then he washed his face and came out; and he composed himself and said, "Serve the meal."

³²They served him alone, his brothers alone, Egyptians eating with him alone—Egyptians can't eat bread with Hebrews, detestable to them. ³³They sat before him: the firstborn by his birthright, the youngest by his youth—the men were astonished at one another. ³⁴He sent portions to them from his table, Benjamin's portion five times the others'. They drank and celebrated with him.