Genesis 43:1-19 ▼

1 And the dearth was great in the lande.

2 And it came to passe when they had eaten vp the corne which they had brought out of the lande of Egypt, theyr father sayde vnto them: go agayne and bye vs a litle foode.

3 Iuda aunswered him, and sayd, The man did solemply protest vnto vs saying: ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

4 If thou wylt sende our brother with vs, we wyll go downe, and bye thee foode.

5 But yf thou wylt not sende hym, we wyll not go downe: for the man sayde vnto vs, ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

6 And Israel sayd: wherefore dealt ye so cruelly with me, as to tell the man that ye had yet a brother?

7 They aunswered, The man asked vs straytely of our state and of our kinrede, saying: Is your father yet aliue? haue ye not another brother? And we tolde hym accordyng to the tenour of these wordes: Could we by any meane knowe, that he would say, bryng your brother downe with you?

8 The said Iuda vnto Israel his father: send the lad with me, that we may arise and go, and that we may liue, & not dye, yea both we & thou, & also our meany.

9 I wylbe suretie for hym, of my handes shalt thou require hym: yf I bryng hym not to thee agayne, and set him before thine eyes, then let me beare the blame for euer.

10 Truely except we had made this tarying, by this we had returned the seconde tyme.

11 And their father Israel sayde vnto them: if it must nedes be so, nowe then do thus. Take of the best fruites of the lande in your vesselles, and bryng ye man a present, a curtsie of bawme, and a curtsie of hony, spyces and mirre, nuttes and almondes.

12 And take double money in your hande, & the money that was brought agayne in your sackes, take it agayne with you, peraduenture it was some ouersight.

13 Take also your brother with you, and arise and go agayne vnto the man.

14 And God almightie geue you mercye in the sight of the man, that he may deliuer you your other brother, & this Beniamin: and thus I am as one that is quite robbed of his chyldren.

15 Thus toke they the present, and twyse so muche more money in their hande, with Beniamin, and rose vp, and went downe to Egypt, & stode before Ioseph.

16 When Ioseph sawe Beniamin with them, he sayd to the ruler of his house: bryng these men home, and slay, and make redy, for these men shall dyne with me at noone.

17 And the man did as Ioseph bad, and brought them into Iosephes house.

18 When the men were brought into Iosephes house, they were afrayde, and said: because of the money that came in our sackes mouthes at the first tyme, are we brought in, that he may seeke occasion agaynst vs, and violently lay handes vpon vs, to bryng vs in bondage, and our asses also.

19 Therefore came they to the man that was the ruler ouer Iosephes house, and communed with him at the doore of the house,