Genesis 43
He Wept, and Then Set the Table
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Israel’s Acceptance
43:1But the famine prevailed upon the land.
43:2And it came to pass, when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.”
43:3Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face unless your youngest brother is with you.’”
43:4“If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you.”
43:5“but if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your youngest brother is with you’.”
43:6And Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?”
43:7And they replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we answered him according to his questioning. Could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”
43:8Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the young man with me. We will set out, so we may live and not die, we, you, and our households.”
43:9“I myself will be his guarantor; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.”
43:10“For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”
43:11Israel their father said to them, “If it must be so, do this: take some of the land’s produce in your bags and bring the man gifts of resin, honey, aromatics, stacte, terebinth nuts, and nuts.”
43:12“And take twice the silver in your hands, and carry back with you the silver that was returned in your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight.”
43:13“Take your brother also, and arise, go down again to the man.”
43:14“May my God grant you favor before the man, so he may release your one brother and Benjamin. As for me, as I have been bereaved, I have been bereaved.”
Joseph Welcomes His Brothers
43:15So the men took those presents, and they took twice the silver in their hands, along with Benjamin; and they arose and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
43:16Joseph saw them with Benjamin, his brother by the same mother, and ordered his steward to bring the men into the house. “Slaughter animals and prepare the meal, for the men will eat bread with me at noon.”
43:17And the man did just as Joseph said, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.
43:18Seeing that they were brought into Joseph’s house, the men said, “We are being brought in because of the silver returned to our sacks the first time, so he can accuse us falsely, attack us, and take us as slaves, along with our donkeys.”
43:19So they approached the man who was over Joseph’s house, and they spoke to him in the gateway of the house.
43:20They said, “Please, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food.”
43:21“When we reached the lodging place and opened our sacks, each man’s silver was in his sack. We have now brought our silver back at its full weight in our hands.”
43:22“and we have brought other silver with us to buy food. We do not know who cast the silver into our sacks.”
43:23The man said, “May you find favor; do not fear. Your God and the God of your fathers has given you treasures in your sacks. I have received your good silver in full.” He brought Simeon out to them.
43:24He brought water for them to wash their feet and brought fodder for their donkeys.
43:25Then they prepared their presents for Joseph’s arrival at noon, for they had heard that he was about to dine there.
Israel’s Sons Feast
43:26When Joseph entered the house, they brought him the presents that were in their hands into the house, and they prostrated themselves before him with their faces to the ground.
43:27And he questioned them, saying, “How are you?” And he said to them, “Is your father healthy, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”
43:28They said, “Your servant our father is healthy; he is still alive.” He said, “May that man be blessed by God.” They bowed their heads and prostrated themselves.
43:29Joseph looked up and saw Benjamin, his brother by the same mother, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, whom you said you would bring to me?” He said, “May God show mercy to you, child.”
43:30Joseph was troubled, for his heart stirred deeply for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. He entered his chamber and wept there.
43:31Then he washed his face and came out; and restraining himself, he said, “Set on the bread.”
43:32They served him separately, the brothers separately, and the Egyptians who ate with him separately. The Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that was an abomination to the Egyptians.
43:33They sat before him in order of age, from the firstborn to the youngest, and the men looked at one another in astonishment.
43:34Portions were brought to them from his table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as large as any of theirs. They drank and became drunk with him.
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.