Genesis 44–50

And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s money in his sack’s mouth. ²And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. ³As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. ⁴And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? ⁵Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. ⁶And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. ⁷And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing: ⁸behold, ^athe money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord’s house silver or gold? ⁹With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, ^bboth let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen. ¹⁰And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless. ¹¹Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. ¹²And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³Then they ^crent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.

¹⁴And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; for he was yet there: and they ^dfell before him on the ground. ¹⁵And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? ¹⁶And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, ^ewe are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. ¹⁷And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. ¹⁸Then Judah came near unto him, and said, ^fO my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and ^glet not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. ¹⁹My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? ²⁰And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, ^ha little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. ²¹And thou saidst unto thy servants, ⁱBring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. ²²And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, ^khis father would die. ²³And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. ²⁴And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. ²⁵And ^lour father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. ²⁶And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man’s face, except our youngest brother be with us. ²⁷And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: ²⁸and the one went out from me, and I said, ^mSurely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since: ²⁹and if ye ⁿtake this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. ³⁰Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that ^ohis life is bound up in the lad’s life; ³¹it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not ^pwith us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. ³²For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, ^qIf I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever. ³³Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. ³⁴For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.

XLV.Then Joseph could not ^arefrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. ²And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. ³And Joseph said unto his brethren, ^bI am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. ⁴And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. ⁵Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: ^cfor God did send me before you to preserve life. ⁶For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be ^dearing nor harvest. ⁷And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a ^efather to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ^eruler throughout all the land of Egypt. ⁹Haste you, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: ¹⁰and ^fthou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: ¹¹and there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, ^gcome to poverty. ¹²And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. ¹³And you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and ye shall haste and ^hbring down my father hither. ¹⁴And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. ¹⁵Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.

¹⁶And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. ¹⁷And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; ¹⁸and take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat ⁱthe fat of the land. ¹⁹Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. ²⁰Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. ²¹And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. ²²To all of them he gave each man ^kchanges of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and ^lfive changes of raiment. ²³And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and ^mmeat for his father by the way. ²⁴So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye ⁿfall not out by the way. ²⁵And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, ²⁶and told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not. ²⁷And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw ^othe wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: ²⁸and Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

XLVI.And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to ^aBeer-sheba, and offered sacrifices ^bunto the God of his father Isaac. ²And God spake unto Israel ^cin the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. ³And he said, I am God, ^dthe God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there ^emake of thee a great nation. ⁴I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely ^fbring thee up again: and ^gJoseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. ⁵And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons ^hwhich Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ⁶And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: ⁷his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, ⁱhis daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.

⁸And ^kthese are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: ^lReuben, Jacob’s firstborn. ⁹And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. ¹⁰And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman. ¹¹And the sons of ^mLevi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹²And the sons of ⁿJudah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but ^oEr and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of ^pPharez were Hezron and Hamul. ^13qAnd the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron. ¹⁴And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. ¹⁵These be the sons of Leah, ^rwhich she bare unto Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls…