1Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in
Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? 2And he said,
Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy
for us from thence; that we may live, and not die. 3And Joseph's ten brethren
went down to buy corn in Egypt. 4But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not
with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.5And the
sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the
land of Canaan. 6And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that
sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down
themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
7And Joseph saw his
brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake
roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From
the land of Canaan to buy food. 8And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not
him. 9And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto
them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. 10And they
said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. 11We are all
one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies. 12And he said unto
them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. 13And they said,
Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan;
and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. 14And
Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
15Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence,
except your youngest brother come hither. 16Send one of you, and let him fetch
your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved,
whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are
spies. 17And he put them all together into ward three days. 18And Joseph said
unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: 19If ye be true men,
let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn
for the famine of your houses: 20But bring your youngest brother unto me; so
shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
21And they
said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw
the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore
is this distress come upon us. 22And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not
unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear?
therefore, behold, also his blood is required. 23And they knew not that Joseph
understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. 24And he turned
himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with
them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. 25Then Joseph
commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into
his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.
26And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence. 27And as one of
them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money;
for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth. 28And he said unto his brethren, My
money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them,
and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done
unto us?
29And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and
told him all that befell unto them; saying, 30The man, who is the lord of the
land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. 31And we said
unto him, We are true men; we are no spies: 32We be twelve brethren, sons of our
father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of
Canaan. 33And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I
know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take
food for the famine of your households, and be gone: 34And bring your youngest
brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true
men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.
35And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's
bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the
bundles of money, they were afraid. 36And Jacob their father said unto them, Me
have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will
take Benjamin away: all these things are against me. 37And Reuben spake unto his
father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into
my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. 38And he said, My son shall not go
down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall
him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with
sorrow to the grave.
Genesis 43
1And the famine was sore in the land. 2And 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. 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. 4If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy
thee food: 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. 6And Israel
said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a
brother? 7And 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? 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. 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: 10For except we had lingered, surely now we had
returned this second time.
11And 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: 12And 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: 13Take also your brother, and arise, go again
unto the man: 14And 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.
15And the men took the present, and they took double money in their
hand and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
16And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house,
Bring these men home, and stay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me
at noon. 17And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into
Joseph's house. 18And 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. 19And they came near
to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the
house, 20And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
21And 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. 22And other money have we
brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our
sacks. 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. 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.
25And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard
that they should eat bread there.
26And 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. 27And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father
well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? 28And they answered, Thy
servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their
heads, and made obeisance. 29And 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. 30And 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. 31And he washed his face, and
went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. 32And 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. 33And they sat before
him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to
his youth: and the men marvelled one at another. 34And he took and sent messes
unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of their's. And they drank, and were merry with him.
Genesis 44
1And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with
food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.
2And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his
corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. 3As soon as
the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. 4And when
they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his
steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto
them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? 5Is not this it in which my lord
drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. 6And he
overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. 7And they said unto him,
Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do
according to this thing: 8Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks'
mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we
steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold? 9With whomsoever of thy servants
it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen. 10And he
said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found
shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless. 11Then they speedily took down
every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. 12And he
searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was
found in Benjamin's sack. 13Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man
his ass, and returned to the city. 14And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's
house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground. 15And
Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such
a man as I can certainly divine? 16And Judah said, What shall we say unto my
lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out
the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he
also with whom the cup is found. 17And he said, God forbid that I should do so:
but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for
you, get you up in peace unto your father.
18Then Judah came near unto him, and
said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears,
and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.
19My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? 20And we
said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a
little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his
father loveth him. 21And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me,
that I may set mine eyes upon him. 22And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot
leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die. 23And
thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you,
ye shall see my face no more. 24And it came to pass when we came up unto thy
servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25And our father said, Go
again, and buy us a little food. 26And we said, We cannot go down: if our
youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's
face, except our youngest brother be with us. 27And thy servant my father said
unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: 28And the one went out from me,
and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since: 29And if ye
take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray
hairs with sorrow to the grave. 30Now therefore when I come to thy servant my
father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the
lad's life; 31It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us,
that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy
servant our father with sorrow to the grave. 32For thy servant became surety for
the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear
the blame to my father for ever. 33Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant
abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his
brethren. 34For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest
peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.
Genesis 45
1Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he
cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while
Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. 2And he wept aloud: and the
Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. 3And Joseph said unto his brethren, I
am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for
they were troubled at his presence. 4And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come
near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your
brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with
yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve
life. 6For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are
five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. 7And God
sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your
lives by a great deliverance. 8So now it was not you that sent me hither, but
God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a
ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. 9Haste ye, and go up to my father, and
say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt:
come down unto me, tarry not: 10And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and
thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children,
and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: 11And there will I
nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy
household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. 12And, behold, your eyes
see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto
you. 13And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye
have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. 14And he fell
upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his
brethren talked with him.
16And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house,
saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his
servants. 17And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye;
lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; 18And take your
father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of
the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. 19Now thou art
commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little
ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20Also regard not
your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is your's. 21And the children
of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of
Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.