| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Now the famine was severe in the land. | 1Now the famine was still severe in the land. |
| 2And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” | 2So when Jacob’s sons 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 spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ | 3But Judah replied, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ |
| 4If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. | 4If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you. |
| 5But 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 brother is with you.’ ” | 5But if you will not send him, we will not go; for the man told us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ ” |
| 6And Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?” | 6“Why did you bring this trouble upon me?” Israel asked. “Why did you tell the man you had another brother?” |
| 7But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” | 7They replied, “The man questioned us in detail about ourselves and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?” |
| 8Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. | 8And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will go at once, so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our children. |
| 9I myself will be surety for him; 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. | 9I will guarantee his safety. You may hold me personally responsible. If I do not bring him back and set him before you, then may I bear the guilt before you all my life. |
| 10For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.” | 10If we had not delayed, we could have come and gone twice by now.” |
| 11And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. | 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 carry them down as a gift for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. |
| 12Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. | 12Take double the silver with you so that you may return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. |
| 13Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. | 13Take your brother as well, and return to the man at once. |
| 14And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!” | 14May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.” |
| 15So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. | 15So the men took these gifts, along with double the amount of silver, and Benjamin as well. Then they hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. |
| 16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” | 16When Joseph saw Benjamin with his brothers, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they shall dine with me at noon.” |
| 17Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. | 17The man did as Joseph had commanded and took the brothers to Joseph’s house. |
| 18Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.” | 18But the brothers were frightened that they had been taken to Joseph’s house. “We have been brought here because of the silver that was returned in our bags the first time,” they said. “They intend to overpower us and take us as slaves, along with our donkeys.” |
| 19When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house, | 19So they approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. |
| 20and said, “O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food; | 20“Please, sir,” they said, “we really did come down here the first time to buy food. |
| 21but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. | 21But when we came to the place we lodged for the night, we opened our sacks and, behold, each of us found his silver in the mouth of his sack! It was the full amount of our silver, and we have brought it back with us. |
| 22And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” | 22We have brought additional silver with us to buy food. We do not know who put our silver in our sacks.” |
| 23But he said, “Peace be with you, do not 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 is fine,” said the steward. “Do not be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, gave you the treasure that was in your sacks. I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. |
| 24So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. | 24And the steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided food for their donkeys. |
| 25Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there. | 25Since the brothers had been told that they were going to eat a meal there, they prepared their gift for Joseph’s arrival at noon. |
| 26And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth. | 26When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought, and they bowed to the ground before him. |
| 27Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” | 27He asked if they were well, and then he asked, “How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?” |
| 28And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves. | 28“Your servant our father is well,” they answered. “He is still alive.” And they bowed down to honor him. |
| 29Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” | 29When Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” Then he declared, “May God be gracious to you, my son.” |
| 30Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there. | 30Joseph hurried out because he was moved to tears for his brother, and he went to a private room to weep. |
| 31Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.” | 31Then he washed his face and came back out. Regaining his composure, he said, “Serve the meal.” |
| 32So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. | 32They separately served Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptians. They ate separately because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, since that was detestable to them. |
| 33And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another. | 33They were seated before Joseph in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. |
| 34Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him. | 34When the portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of the others. So they feasted and drank freely with Joseph. |
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