| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 1Now the famine was severe in the land. | 1Now the famine was still severe in the land. |
| 2When they finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Return, buy us a little more food." | 2So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go back and buy us a little more food." |
| 3But Judah said to him, "The man solemnly warned us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.' | 3But Judah said to him, "The man warned us solemnly, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.' |
| 4If you send our brother with us, we'll go down and buy food for you. | 4If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you. |
| 5But if you will not send him, we won't go down there because the man said to us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.'" | 5But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.'" |
| 6Israel said, "Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had one more brother?" | 6Israel asked, "Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?" |
| 7They replied, "The man questioned us thoroughly about ourselves and our family, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' So we answered him in this way. How could we possibly know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?" | 7They replied, "The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. 'Is your father still living?' he asked us. 'Do you have another brother?' We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, 'Bring your brother down here'?" |
| 8Then Judah said to his father Israel, "Send the boy with me and we will go immediately. Then we will live and not die--we and you and our little ones. | 8Then Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. |
| 9I myself pledge security for him; you may hold me liable. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. | 9I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. |
| 10But if we had not delayed, we could have traveled there and back twice by now!" | 10As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice." |
| 11Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and take a gift down to the man--a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. | 11Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift--a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. |
| 12Take double the money with you; you must take back the money that was returned in the mouths of your sacks--perhaps it was an oversight. | 12Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. |
| 13Take your brother too, and go right away to the man. | 13Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. |
| 14May the sovereign God grant you mercy before the man so that he may release your other brother and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them." | 14And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved." |
| 15So the men took these gifts, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. | 15So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. |
| 16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant who was over his household, "Bring the men to the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon." | 16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal; they are to eat with me at noon." |
| 17The man did just as Joseph said; he brought the men into Joseph's house. | 17The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph's house. |
| 18But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph's house. They said, "We are being brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks last time. He wants to capture us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys!" | 18Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, "We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys." |
| 19So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph's household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. | 19So they went up to Joseph's steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. |
| 20They said, "My lord, we did indeed come down the first time to buy food. | 20"We beg your pardon, our lord," they said, "we came down here the first time to buy food. |
| 21But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money--the full amount--in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it. | 21But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver--the exact weight--in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. |
| 22We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We do not know who put the money in our sacks!" | 22We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don't know who put our silver in our sacks." |
| 23"Everything is fine," the man in charge of Joseph's household told them. "Don't be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. I had your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them. | 23"It's all right," he said. "Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver." Then he brought Simeon out to them. |
| 24The servant in charge brought the men into Joseph's house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave food to their donkeys. | 24The steward took the men into Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys. |
| 25They got their gifts ready for Joseph's arrival at noon, for they had heard that they were to have a meal there. | 25They prepared their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there. |
| 26When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, and they bowed down to the ground before him. | 26When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. |
| 27He asked them how they were doing. Then he said, "Is your aging father well, the one you spoke about? Is he still alive?" | 27He asked them how they were, and then he said, "How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?" |
| 28"Your servant our father is well," they replied. "He is still alive." They bowed down in humility. | 28They replied, "Your servant our father is still alive and well." And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him. |
| 29When Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, he said, "Is this your youngest brother, whom you told me about?" Then he said, "May God be gracious to you, my son." | 29As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?" And he said, "God be gracious to you, my son." |
| 30Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome by affection for his brother and was at the point of tears. So he went to his room and wept there. | 30Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there. |
| 31Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said, "Set out the food." | 31After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, "Serve the food." |
| 32They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers, and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting to do so.) | 32They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians. |
| 33They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest. The men looked at each other in astonishment. | 33The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. |
| 34He gave them portions of the food set before him, but the portion for Benjamin was five times greater than the portions for any of the others. They drank with Joseph until they all became drunk. | 34When portions were served to them from Joseph's table, Benjamin's portion was five times as much as anyone else's. So they feasted and drank freely with him. |
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