| 1 | And the famine [is] severe in the land; |
| 2 | and it cometh to pass, when they have finished eating the corn which they brought from Egypt, that their father saith unto them, `Turn back, buy for us a little food.` |
| 3 | And Judah speaketh unto him, saying, `The man protesting protested to us, saying, Ye do not see my face without your brother [being] with you; |
| 4 | if thou art sending our brother with us, we go down, and buy for thee food, |
| 5 | and if thou art not sending -- we do not go down, for the man said unto us, Ye do not see my face without your brother [being] with you.` |
| 6 | And Israel saith, `Why did ye evil to me, by declaring to the man that ye had yet a brother?` |
| 7 | and they say, `The man asked diligently concerning us, and concerning our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye a brother? and we declare to him according to the tenor of these things; do we certainly know that he will say, Bring down your brother?` |
| 8 | And Judah saith unto Israel his father, `Send the youth with me, and we arise, and go, and live, and do not die, both we, and thou, and our infants. |
| 9 | I -- I am surety [for] him, from my hand thou dost require him; if I have not brought him in unto thee, and set him before thee -- then I have sinned against thee all the days; |
| 10 | for if we had not lingered, surely now we had returned these two times.` |
| 11 | And Israel their father saith unto them, `If so, now, this do: take of the praised thing of the land in your vessels, and take down to the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds; |
| 12 | and double money take in your hand, even the money which is brought back in the mouth of your bags, ye take back in your hand, it may be it [is] an oversight. |
| 13 | `And take your brother, and rise, turn back unto the man; |
| 14 | and God Almighty give to you mercies before the man, so that he hath sent to you your other brother and Benjamin; and I, when I am bereaved -- I am bereaved.` |
| 15 | And the men take this present, double money also they have taken in their hand, and Benjamin; and they rise, and go down to Egypt, and stand before Joseph; |
| 16 | and Joseph seeth Benjamin with them, and saith to him who [is] over his house, `Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal, and make ready, for with me do the men eat at noon.` |
| 17 | And the man doth as Joseph hath said, and the man bringeth in the men into the house of Joseph, |
| 18 | and the men are afraid because they have been brought into the house of Joseph, and they say, `For the matter of the money which was put back in our bags at the commencement are we brought in -- to roll himself upon us, and to throw himself on us, and to take us for servants -- our asses also.` |
| 19 | And they come nigh unto the man who [is] over the house of Joseph, and speak unto him at the opening of the house, |
| 20 | and say, `O, my lord, we really come down at the commencement to buy food; |
| 21 | and it cometh to pass, when we have come in unto the lodging-place, and open our bags, that lo, each one`s money [is] in the mouth of his bag, our money in its weight, and we bring it back in our hand; |
| 22 | and other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food; we have not known who put our money in our bags.` |
| 23 | And he saith, `Peace to you, fear not: your God and the God of your father hath given to you hidden treasure in your bags, your money came unto me;` and he bringeth out Simeon unto them. |
| 24 | And the man bringeth in the men into Joseph`s house, and giveth water, and they wash their feet; and he giveth provender for their asses, |
| 25 | and they prepare the present until the coming of Joseph at noon, for they have heard that there they do eat bread. |
| 26 | And Joseph cometh into the house, and they bring to him the present which [is] in their hand, into the house, and bow themselves to him, to the earth; |
| 27 | and he asketh of them of peace, and saith, `Is your father well? the aged man of whom ye have spoken, is he yet alive?` |
| 28 | and they say, `Thy servant our father [is] well, he is yet alive;` and they bow, and do obeisance. |
| 29 | And he lifteth up his eyes, and seeth Benjamin his brother, his mother`s son, and saith, `Is this your young brother, of whom ye have spoken unto me?` and he saith, `God favour thee, my son.` |
| 30 | And Joseph hasteth, for his bowels have been moved for his brother, and he seeketh to weep, and entereth the inner chamber, and weepeth there; |
| 31 | and he washeth his face, and goeth out, and refraineth himself, and saith, `Place bread.` |
| 32 | And they place for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who are eating with him by themselves: for the Egyptians are unable to eat bread with the Hebrews, for it [is] an abomination to the Egyptians. |
| 33 | And they sit before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the young one according to his youth, and the men wonder one at another; |
| 34 | and he lifteth up gifts from before him unto them, and the gift of Benjamin is five hands more than the gifts of all of them; and they drink, yea, they drink abundantly with him. |
