Through My Bible Year 03 – April 22

genesis 43

¹ There was a severe famine in the country, ² So when they had eaten all the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, Go back and buy us some more food.

³ Judah said to him, ‘The man gave us a stern warning, ‘Unless your brother comes with you, you will not be able to come before me.’ ⁴ If you send our brother with us, we will go and buy food for you, ⁵ But if you do not send him, we will not go, for the man said to us, ‘Unless your brother comes with you, you will not come before me.'”

⁶ Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly by telling that man that you have another brother?”

⁷ He said, “The man interrogated us about us and about our relatives. He asked, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have any other brothers?’ We just answered their questions. Is there any way we can know that He will say, ‘Bring your brother here’?

⁸ Judah said to Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will rise and go, that we, and you, and our children may live, and not die. ⁹ I will act as a guarantee for him. You can hold me accountable for that. If I do not return him to you and make him stand before you, then bear the blame on me forever. ¹⁰ Look, if we had not delayed, we could definitely have returned a second time by now.”

¹¹ Their father Israel said to them, “If it is so, then this is what you should do: Put some of the best products of the land in your vessels and take a gift for the man: a little balm, a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. ¹² Take double the amount of silver with you. Take back the silver that was returned to the mouths of your bags. Maybe it was a mistake. ¹³ Take your brother also. Go and return to that man. ¹⁴ May Almighty God have mercy on you, so that he releases your other brother and Benjamin for you. But if I am deprived of my children, I am deprived.”

¹⁵ They took the gift, and they also took double the amount of silver with them. They also took Benjamin. They got up and went to Egypt and stood before Joseph. ¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the manager ⁽¹⁾ Said to the people of his house, “Bring those men into the house. Cut and prepare an animal, because they will eat with me at noon.”

¹⁷ The steward did as Joseph ordered and brought the people to Joseph’s house. ¹⁸ The brothers were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house. They said, “We are being brought because of the money that was returned to our bags for the first time, so that he may find an excuse against us and pounce on us, and capture us as slaves and take our donkeys.”

¹⁹ They approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the door of the house. ²⁰ He said, “Please, my Lord, we actually came down for the first time to buy food. ²¹ When we arrived at the place of lodging, we opened our bags, and to our astonishment there was in the mouth of every man’s bag all the silver of our money. ⁽²⁾ We have brought it back with us. ²² We also brought extra money with us to buy food. “We don’t know who put our money in our bags.”

²³ He said, “No problem. Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your bags. I found your money.” He brought Simeon out to them. ²⁴ The man brought the people to Joseph’s house and gave them water so they could wash their feet. He gave fodder to their donkeys. ²⁵ They prepared a gift for Joseph, who was coming at noon, because they had heard that they would eat bread there.

²⁶ When Joseph came home, they gave him the gifts they had brought home, and they fell to the ground before him and worshiped. ²⁷ He asked them about their well-being: “Is your father, the old man you talked about, well? Is he still alive?”

²⁸ They said, “Your servant, our father, is fine. He is still alive.” ⁽³⁾ He bowed down and paid obeisance.

²⁹ Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and asked, “Is this your youngest brother, about whom you told me?” He said, “O my son, may God be merciful to you.” ³⁰ Joseph quickly went outside, because he was overwhelmed with emotions towards his brother and was looking for a place to cry. He went to his room and started crying there. ³¹ Then he washed his face and came out. When he controlled himself he said, “Serve the food.”

³² They served Joseph alone, and his brothers, and the Egyptians who ate with him, separately, for the Egyptians do not eat with the Hebrews, for this is an abomination to the Egyptians. ³³ Brother was sitting in front. They were lined up in order, from the first child based on his youth to the youngest child based on his birthright, and the men expressed their surprise to each other. ³⁴ And he sent them food from his table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times more than theirs. He had been drinking and was feeling its effects. ⁽⁴⁾