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The Dreams Come True

42 Jacob ·learned [L saw] that there was grain in Egypt, so he said to his sons, “Why are you just sitting here looking at one another? I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us to eat, so that we will live and not die.”

So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with them, because he was afraid that ·something terrible [a fatal accident; harm; tragedy] might happen to him. Along with many other people, the sons of Israel [C Jacob’s other name] went to Egypt to buy grain, because ·the people in the land of Canaan were also hungry [L there was famine in the land of Canaan].

Now Joseph was ·governor [administrator] over ·Egypt [L the land]. He was the one who sold the grain to people ·who came to buy it [L of the land/earth]. So Joseph’s brothers came to him and bowed facedown on the ground before him. When Joseph saw his brothers, he ·knew who they were [recognized them], but he ·acted as if he didn’t know them [treated them as strangers/foreigners]. He asked ·unkindly [harshly], “Where do you come from?”

They answered, “We have come from the land of Canaan to buy food.”

Joseph ·knew they were [recognized] his brothers, but they did not ·know who he was [recognize him]. And Joseph remembered his dreams ·about his brothers bowing to him [L which he dreamed about them; 37:5–11]. He said to them, “You are spies! You came to ·learn where the nation is weak [L see the nakedness of the land]!”

10 But his brothers said to him, “No, my ·master [lord]. We come as your servants just to buy food. 11 We are all sons of the same father. We are honest men, not spies.”

12 Then Joseph said to them, “No! You have come to ·learn where this nation is weak [L see the nakedness of the land]!”

13 And they said, “·We [L Your servants] are ·ten of twelve [L twelve] brothers, sons of the same father, and we live in the land of Canaan. Our ·youngest [smallest] brother is there with our father right now, and ·our other brother is gone [L one is no more].”

14 But Joseph said to them, “·I can see I was right [L It is as I spoke to you]! You are spies! 15 But ·I will give you a way to prove you are telling the truth [L in this way you will be tested]. As surely as ·the king [L Pharaoh] lives, you will not ·leave [go out from] this place ·until [or unless] your ·youngest [smallest] brother comes here. 16 One of you must go and get your brother. The rest of you will stay here in prison. We will ·see if you are telling the truth [L test your words/statements]. If not, as surely as ·the king [L Pharaoh] lives, you are spies.” 17 Then Joseph put them all in ·prison [the guardhouse] for three days.

18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “[L For] I ·am a God-fearing man [fear God]. Do this and I will let you live: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in ·prison [the guardhouse] while the rest of you go and carry grain ·back to feed your hungry families [L for your families because of the famine]. 20 Then bring your ·youngest [smallest] brother back here to me. If you do this, ·I will know you are telling the truth [L your words will be confirmed], and you will not die.”

The brothers agreed to this. 21 They said to each other, “[L Alas,] We are ·being punished [or guilty] for what we did to our brother. We saw ·his trouble [the distress of his soul], and he ·begged us to save him [pleaded with us], but we ·refused to [L did not] listen. That is why we are in this ·trouble [distress] now.”

22 Then Reuben said to them, “·I told [L Did I not tell…?] you not to ·harm [wrong; sin against] the ·boy [child], but you ·refused to [L did not] listen to me. So now ·we are being punished for what we did to him [L there is a reckoning for his blood].”

23 When Joseph talked to his brothers, he used an ·interpreter [or intermediary], so they did not know that Joseph understood what they were saying. 24 Then Joseph left them and cried. After a short time he went back and spoke to them. He took Simeon and ·tied [bound] him ·up while the other brothers watched [L before their eyes]. 25 Joseph ·told his servants [L gave the command/order] to fill his brothers’ bags with grain and to put ·the money the brothers had paid for the grain [L their silver] back in their bags. ·The servants [L They] were also to give them ·what they would need [provisions] for their trip back home. And ·the servants [L they] did this.

26 So the brothers ·put [lifted] the grain on their donkeys and left. 27 When ·they stopped for the night [at the lodging place], one of the brothers opened his sack to get ·food [fodder] for his donkey. Then he saw his ·money [silver] in the top of the sack. 28 He said to the other brothers, “·The money I paid for the grain [L My money/silver] has been put back. Here it is in [L the mouth of] my sack!”

The brothers ·were very frightened [L lost heart and trembled]. They said to each other, “What has God done to us?”

The Brothers Return to Jacob

29 The brothers went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him everything that had happened. 30 They said, “The master of that land spoke ·unkindly [harshly] to us. He accused us of spying on his country, 31 but we told him that we were honest men, not spies. 32 We told him that we ·were ten of twelve [L are twelve] brothers—sons of one father. We said that one of our brothers was ·gone [L no more] and that our ·youngest [smallest] brother was with our father in Canaan.

33 “Then the master of the land said to us, ‘Here is a way I can know you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain to feed ·your hungry [L because of the famine for your] families, and go. 34 And bring your ·youngest [smallest] brother to me so I will know you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give you back your brother whom you leave with me, and you can ·move about freely [or trade] in our land.’ ”

35 As the brothers emptied their sacks, each of them ·found his money [saw his bundle of money/silver] in his sack. When they and their father saw it, they were afraid.

36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You are ·robbing [bereaving] me of all my children. Joseph is ·gone [L no more], Simeon is ·gone [L no more], and now you want to take Benjamin away, too. Everything is against me.”

37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put my two sons to death if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. ·Trust him to my care [L Put him in my hands], and I will bring him back to you.”

38 But Jacob said, “·I will not allow Benjamin to go [L My son will not go down] with you. His brother is dead, and he ·is the only son left from my wife Rachel [L alone is left]. I am afraid something ·terrible [disastrous; tragic] might happen to him during the trip to Egypt. Then ·I would be sad until the day I die [L you would bring my gray hair down to Sheol in anguish].”

The Brothers Go Back to Egypt

43 ·Still no food grew in the land of Canaan [L The famine was heavy/severe in the land]. When ·Jacob’s family [L they] had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, Jacob said to them, “Go to Egypt again and buy a little more ·grain [L food] for us to eat.”

But Judah said to Jacob, “The ·governor of that country [man] strongly warned us, ‘·If you don’t bring your brother back with you, you will not be allowed to see me [L You may not see my face unless your brother is with you].’ If you will send ·Benjamin [L our brother] with us, we will go down and buy food for you. But if you ·refuse to send Benjamin [L are not sending], we will not go. The ·governor of that country [L man] ·warned [L said to] us that ·we would not see him if we didn’t bring Benjamin with us [L you will not see my face unless your brother is with you].”

Israel [C another name for Jacob; 32:28] said, “Why did you tell the man you had another brother? You have ·caused me a lot of trouble [wronged/harmed me].”

The brothers answered, “He questioned us ·carefully [or specifically] 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?”

Then Judah said to his father ·Jacob [L Israel; 32:28], “Send ·Benjamin [L the lad/child] with me, and we will ·go at once [L rise up and go] so that we, you, and our ·children [little ones] may live and not die. I will ·guarantee you that he will be safe [L be a guarantee for him], and I will be personally ·responsible [accountable] for him. If I don’t bring him back to you, ·you can blame me [L I will be condemned before you] all my life. 10 If we had not ·wasted all this time [been delayed], we could have already ·made two trips [returned twice].”

11 Then their father ·Jacob [L Israel; 32:28] said to them, “If it has to be that way, then do this: Take some of the best ·foods [products] in our land in your packs. Give them to the man as a gift: some balm, some honey, ·spices [or gum], ·myrrh [or resin], pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Take twice as much ·money [silver] ·with you this time [L in your hands], and take back the ·money [silver] that was returned to you in [L the mouth of] your sacks last time. Maybe it was a ·mistake [L error; oversight]. 13 And take ·Benjamin [L your brother] with you. Now ·leave and go [L rise up and return] to the man. 14 I pray that God Almighty will cause the ·governor [L man] to be ·merciful to [compassionate toward] you and that he will allow ·Simeon [L your other brother] and Benjamin to come back with you. If I am ·robbed of my children [bereaved], then I am ·robbed of them [bereaved]!”

15 So the ·brothers [L men] took the ·gifts [or tribute]. They also took twice ·as much money as they had taken the first time [L the money/silver in their hand], and they took Benjamin. They ·hurried [L rose up and went] down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ·servant in charge of [L one over] his house, “Bring those men into my house. ·Kill [Slaughter] an animal and prepare a meal. Those men will eat with me today at noon.” 17 The ·servant [L man] did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph’s house.

18 The ·brothers [L men] were afraid when they were brought to Joseph’s house and thought, “We were brought here because of the money that was ·put [returned; replaced] in our sacks on the first trip. He wants to ·attack [L fall on] us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys.” 19 So the brothers went to the ·servant in charge of [L one over] Joseph’s house and spoke to him at the ·door [entrance] of the house. 20 They said, “·Master [Lord], we came here ·once before [the first time] to buy food. 21 While we were going home, ·we stopped for the night and [L at the lodging place] when we opened our sacks each of us found all his ·money [silver in its weight] in his sack [42:26–28]. We brought that ·money [silver] ·with us to give it [L in our hands] back to you. 22 And we have brought ·more [additional] 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 [L Peace be with you]. Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, must have put the ·money [silver; L treasure] in your sacks. I got the ·money [silver] you paid me for the grain last time.” Then the servant brought Simeon out to them.

24 The ·servant [L man] ·led [brought] the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave their donkeys ·food to eat [fodder]. 25 The men prepared their ·gift [tribute] 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 [tribute] ·they had brought [L in their hand] 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 [L and did obeisance].

29 When ·Joseph [L he lifted his eyes and] saw his brother Benjamin, ·who had the same mother as he [L the son of his mother], Joseph asked, “Is this your ·youngest [smallest] brother you told me about?” Then he said to Benjamin, “God be ·good [gracious] to you, my son!” 30 Then Joseph hurried off because he ·had to hold back the tears [L was overwhelmed with affection] 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 [L by himself], his brothers ·at another table [L by themselves], and the Egyptians who ate with him ·at another table [L by themselves]. ·This was because Egyptians did not like Hebrews and never ate with them [L For the Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for it was an abomination to the Egyptians]. 33 Joseph’s brothers were seated in front of him ·in order of their ages [L the firstborn according to his birthright], ·from oldest to youngest [L the youngest according to his youth]. They looked at each other because they were so amazed. 34 ·Food [Portions] 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 [celebrated with drinking] with him.

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