Genesis 41:37–43:34
37 So gthe advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man hin whom is the Spirit of God?”
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. 40 iYou shall be 7over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have jset you over all the land of Egypt.”
42 Then Pharaoh ktook his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he lclothed him in garments of fine linen mand put a gold chain around his neck. 43 And he had him ride in the second nchariot which he had; oand they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him pover all the land of Egypt. 44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name 8Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife qAsenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he rstood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47 Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth 9abundantly. 48 So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. 49 Joseph gathered very much grain, sas the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.
50 tAnd to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn 1Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my ufather’s house.” 52 And the name of the second he called 2Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be vfruitful in the land of my affliction.”
53 Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, 54 wand the seven years of famine began to come, xas Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; ywhatever he says to you, do.” 56 The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened 3all the storehouses and zsold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. 57 aSo all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to bbuy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.
42 When aJacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2 And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may blive and not die.”
3 So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, c“Lest some calamity befall him.” 5 And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was din the land of Canaan.
6 Now Joseph was governor eover the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and fbowed down before him with their faces to the earth. 7 Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as ga stranger to them and spoke 1roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?”
And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”
8 So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 9 Then Joseph hremembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the 2nakedness of the land!”
10 And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”
12 But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”
13 And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one iis no more.”
14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ 15 In this manner you shall be tested: jBy the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be 3kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” 17 So he 4put them all together in prison kthree days.
18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, lfor I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. 20 And mbring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.”
And they did so. 21 Then they said to one another, n“We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; otherefore this distress has come upon us.”
22 And Reuben answered them, saying, p“Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now qrequired of us.” 23 But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. 24 And he turned himself away from them and rwept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took sSimeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
25 Then Joseph tgave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to urestore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. vThus he did for them. 26 So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there. 27 But as wone of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. 28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts 5failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying: 30 “The man who is lord of the land xspoke 6roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, y‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. 34 And bring your zyoungest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may atrade in the land.’ ”
35 Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly beach man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. 36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have cbereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take dBenjamin. All these things are against me.”
37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”
38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for ehis brother is dead, and he is left alone. fIf any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would gbring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”
Joseph’s Brothers Return with Benjamin
43 Now the famine was asevere in the land. 2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go bback, buy us a little food.”
3 But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your cbrother is with you.’ 4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But 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.’ ”
6 And Israel said, “Why did you deal so 1wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?”
7 But 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’?”
8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may dlive and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9 I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. eIf I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10 For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”
11 And 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 fcarry down a present for the man—a little gbalm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money hthat was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. 13 Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. 14 And may God iAlmighty jgive you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. kIf I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”