| Holman Christian Standard Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1Now the famine in the land was severe. | 1Meanwhile, the famine remained severe throughout the region. |
| 2When they had used up the grain they had brought back from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go back and buy us some food." | 2As a result, when Jacob's family was beginning to eat the last of the grain that they had brought back from Egypt, their father Jacob told his sons, "Go back to Egypt and buy us some food." |
| 3But Judah said to him, "The man specifically warned us: 'You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.' | 3But Judah reminded him, "The man distinctly warned us: 'You'll never see my face unless your brother comes with you.' |
| 4If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you. | 4So if you send our brother with us, we'll go down and buy some food. |
| 5But if you will not send him, we will not go, for the man said to us, 'You will not see me again unless your brother is with you.'"" | 5But if you don't send him, we're not going, because the man told us, 'You'll never see my face unless your brother is with you.'" |
| 6Why did you cause me so much trouble?" Israel asked. "Why did you tell the man that you had another brother?" | 6Israel replied, "Why did you make all this trouble by telling the man that you have another brother?" |
| 7They answered, "The man kept asking about us and our family: 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother? And we answered him accordingly. How could we know that he would say, 'Bring your brother here'?" | 7"The man specifically asked about us and our relatives," they responded. "He asked us, 'Is your father still alive?' and 'Do you have another brother?' So we answered his questions. How could we have known that he would tell us to bring our brother back with us?" |
| 8Then Judah said to his father Israel, "Send the boy with me. We will be on our way so that we may live and not die--neither we, nor you, nor our children. | 8"Send the young man with me," Judah told his father Israel, "and we'll get up and go so we can survive and not die—and that includes all of us, you and our families. |
| 9I will be responsible for him. You can hold me personally accountable! If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, I will be guilty before you forever. | 9I'll even offer myself to guarantee that I'll be responsible for him. If I don't bring him back and present him to you, I'll personally bear the consequences forever. |
| 10If we had not wasted time, we could have come back twice by now." | 10After all, if we hadn't delayed, we could have been there and back twice by now!" |
| 11Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and take them down to the man as a gift--some balsam and some honey, aromatic gum and resin, pistachios and almonds. | 11"If that's the way it has to be," their father Israel replied, "then do this: take some of the best produce of the land in your containers and take them to the man as a gift—some resin ointment, some honey, fragrant resins, myrrh, pistachios, and almonds. |
| 12Take twice as much money with you. Return the money that was returned to you in the top of your bags. Perhaps it was a mistake. | 12Also take twice as much money with you so you can return the money that had been replaced in the mouth of your sacks. Maybe it was an accounting mistake on his part. |
| 13Take your brother also, and go back at once to the man. | 13And be sure to take your brother, too. So get up, return to the man, |
| 14May God Almighty cause the man to be merciful to you so that he will release your other brother and Benjamin to you. As for me, if I am deprived of my sons, then I am deprived." | 14and may God Almighty cause the man to show compassion toward you. May he send all of you back, including your other brother and Benjamin. Now as for me, if I lose my children, I lose them." |
| 15The men took this gift, double the amount of money, and Benjamin. They made their way down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. | 15So the men took their gift and twice as much money, got up, took Benjamin with them, and set out for Egypt. Eventually they appeared before Joseph. |
| 16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his steward, "Take the men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they will eat with me at noon." | 16As soon as Joseph noticed that Benjamin had come with them, he ordered his palace manager, "Bring the men into the palace. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, because these men will be dining with me for lunch." |
| 17The man did as Joseph had said and brought them to Joseph's house. | 17So the man did what Joseph had ordered, and brought the men to Joseph's palace. |
| 18But the men were afraid because they were taken to Joseph's house. They said, "We have been brought here because of the money that was returned in our bags the first time. They intend to overpower us, seize us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys." | 18The men were terrified as they were being taken to Joseph's palace. "It's because of that money that was returned to our sacks the first time we were brought to him," they reasoned. "He's seeking an excuse to attack us, enslave us, and confiscate our donkeys!" |
| 19So they approached Joseph's steward and spoke to him at the doorway of the house. | 19So they approached Joseph's palace manager and talked with him at the palace entrance. |
| 20They said, "Sir, we really did come down here the first time only to buy food. | 20"Your Excellency," they said, "The first time we came here to buy food, |
| 21When we came to the place where we lodged for the night and opened our bags of grain, each one's money was at the top of his bag! It was the full amount of our money, and we have brought it back with us. | 21when we arrived at our overnight lodging place, we opened our sacks and discovered each man's money was still in the mouth of his sack. All of our money was there! We've brought it back with us in full. |
| 22We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We don't know who put our money in the bags." | 22We've also brought along some more money to buy supplies, but we don't know who put our money back into our sacks." |
| 23Then the steward said, "May you be well. Don't be afraid. Your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your bags. I received your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them. | 23"Relax," the manager said. "You can stop being afraid, now. Your God, the God of your father, has placed hidden treasure within those sacks for you. I've been paid in full." Then he brought Simeon out to them, |
| 24The steward brought the men into Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet, and got feed for their donkeys. | 24ushered the men into Joseph's palace, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided fodder for their donkeys. |
| 25Since the men had heard that they were going to eat a meal there, they prepared their gift for Joseph's arrival at noon. | 25Then off he went to prepare the honorary meal that was to be made ready for Joseph's arrival at noon, since they had been informed that they were going to be eating there. |
| 26When Joseph came home, they brought him the gift they had carried into the house, and they bowed to the ground before him. | 26When Joseph arrived at his palace, his brothers brought to him their gifts that they had carried with them and bowed to the ground in front of him. |
| 27He asked if they were well, and he said, "How is your elderly father that you told me about? Is he still alive?" | 27Joseph asked them how they had been doing. "Is your father well, the older gentleman about whom you spoke?" he inquired. "Is he still alive?" |
| 28They answered, "Your servant our father is well. He is still alive." And they bowed down to honor him. | 28"Your servant, our father, is doing well," they replied. "He is still alive." Then they bowed down in humility. |
| 29When he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother that you told me about?" Then he said, "May God be gracious to you, my son." | 29As Joseph looked up and recognized his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother about whom you spoke to me?" And he addressed him directly, "May God be gracious to you, my son." |
| 30Joseph hurried out because he was overcome with emotion for his brother, and he was about to weep. He went into an inner room to weep. | 30At this, Joseph hurried out, deeply moved because of his brother, and looked for a place to weep by himself. He entered his personal quarters, wept there awhile, |
| 31Then he washed his face and came out. Regaining his composure, he said, "Serve the meal." | 31then washed his face and came out. Barely controlling himself, he ordered his staff to serve the meal. |
| 32They served him by himself, his brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, since that is abhorrent to them. | 32Joseph's staff served him by himself, his brothers separately, and the Egyptian staff members by themselves, because the Egyptians wouldn't take their meal with the Hebrews, since doing so was detestable for the Egyptians. |
| 33They were seated before him in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest. The men looked at each other in astonishment. | 33Meanwhile, the brothers were seated in front of Joseph in birth order, from firstborn to youngest. The men stared at one another in astonishment. |
| 34Portions were served to them from Joseph's table, and Benjamin's portion was five times larger than any of theirs. They drank, and they got intoxicated with Joseph. | 34Joseph himself brought portions to them from his own table, except that he provided to Benjamin five times as much as he did for each of the others. So they feasted together and drank freely with Joseph. |
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