²and when the family of Jacob had eaten all the corn which had been brought from Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Go back and buy a little food for us.”

³Judah said to him, “The man sternly warned us that we would not be admitted to his presence unless we had our brother with us. ⁴If you are willing to send our brother with us, we will go and buy food for you. ⁵If you are not willing, we will not go, because the man told us we would not be admitted to his presence unless our brother was with us.”

⁶Jacob said, “Why did you cause me so much trouble by telling the man that you had another brother?”

⁷They answered, “The man kept asking about us and our family, ‘Is your father still living? Have you got another brother?’ We had to answer his questions. How could we know that he would tell us to bring our brother with us?”

⁸Judah said to his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will leave at once. Then none of us will starve to death. ⁹I will pledge my own life, and you can hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you safe and sound, I will always bear the blame. ¹⁰If we had not waited so long, we could have been there and back twice by now.”

¹¹Their father said to them, “If that is how it has to be, then take the best products of the land in your packs as a present for the governor: a little resin, a little honey, spices, pistachio nuts, and almonds. ¹²Take with you also twice as much money, because you must take back the money that was returned in the top of your sacks. Maybe it was a mistake. ¹³Take your brother and return at once. ¹⁴May Almighty God cause the man to have pity on you, so that he will give Benjamin and your other brother back to you. As for me, if I must lose my children, I must lose them.”

¹⁵So the brothers took the gifts and twice as much money, and set out for Egypt with Benjamin. There they presented themselves to Joseph.

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