43:1 The famine was severe in the land.¹ 43:2 When they finished² eating the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Return, buy us a little more food.”

43:3 But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned³ us, saying, ‘You will not see my face⁴ unless your brother is with you.’ 43:4 If you send⁵ our brother with us, we will go down and we will buy food for you. 43:5 But if you will not send him⁶ we will not go down, because the man said to us, `You will not see my face unless your brother is with you’.”

43:6 And Israel said, “Why did you bring this trouble⁷ to me by telling⁸ the man you still had a brother?”

43:7 And they said, “The man questioned us⁹ thoroughly¹⁰ concerning ourselves and concerning our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’¹¹ So we answered him according to these words. How could we possibly know¹² that he would say,¹³ `Bring your brother down.’”

43:8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me and we will go immediately,¹⁴ so that we may live¹⁵ and not die, we and you and our little ones. 43:9 I myself pledge security for him; you may require it from my hand. 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.¹⁶ 43:10 But if we had not delayed,¹⁷ by now we could have returned twice.”

43:11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be, 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, pistachio nuts and almonds. 43:12 And take double the money in your hand; you must take back¹⁸ by hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks—perhaps it was an oversight. 43:13 And take also your brother, and return right away¹⁹ to the man. 43:14 And may God Almighty²⁰ grant you mercy before the man so that he may release²¹ to you your other brother²² and Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved I am bereaved.”²³

43:15 So the men took this gift, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin. And they went down to Egypt quickly,²⁴ and stood before Joseph. 43:16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them,²⁵ he said to the one who was over his household, “Bring the men to the house, slay an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon.” 43:17 And the man did just as Joseph had said, and the man brought the men into the house of Joseph.²⁶

43:18 But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, “We are being brought in because of the²⁷ money that was returned in our sacks at the first time, so that he may attack us,²⁸ and fall on us, and seize us as slaves, and take²⁹ our donkeys. 43:19 So they approached the man who was over the household of Joseph, and they spoke to him at the entrance of the house. 43:20 And they said, “O my lord, we did indeed come down³⁰ the first time to buy food. 43:21 But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have returned it by hand.³¹ 43:22 And we have brought additional money in our hand to buy food. We do not know who put out money in our sacks.”

43:23 And he said, “Peace be to you.³² Do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks.³³ I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

43:24 Then the man brought the men into the household of Joseph; and he gave them water and they washed their feet, and he gave their donkeys fodder. 43:25 And they prepared the gift for the arrival³⁴ of Joseph at noon, for they had heard³⁵ that they would eat³⁶ food there.

43:26 When Joseph entered the house, they brought the gift that was in their hand into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. 43:27 And he asked them about their welfare.³⁷ Then he said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he yet alive?” 43:28 And they said, “Your servant our father is well, and he is still alive.” And they bowed down in obeisance.³⁸

43:29 And he lifted up his eyes³⁹ and saw Benjamin his brother, the son of his mother; and he said, “Is this your younger brother, whom you told me about?” And he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”⁴⁰ 43:30 And Joseph hurried out, for his affection for his brother boiled up,⁴¹ and he was on the verge of weeping.⁴² And so he went to his room and wept there.

43:31 Then he washed his face and came out, and controlled himself; and he said, “Set out the food.”

43:32 And they set food⁴³ on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, for the Egyptians were not able to eat with Hebrews, for it was an abomination⁴⁴ to the Egyptians. 43:33 And they sat before him, from the firstborn according to his birthright to the youngest according to his youth,⁴⁵ and the men looked at each other in astonishment. 43:34 And he had portions from before him taken to them, but the portion for Benjamin was made five times greater than the portions for any of the others. And they drank with him and became drunk.⁴⁶