| English Standard Version | New International Version |
| 1Now the famine was severe in the land. | 1Now the famine was still severe in the land. |
| 2And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” | 2So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go back and buy us a little more food." |
| 3But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ | 3But Judah said to him, "The man warned us solemnly, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.' |
| 4If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. | 4If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you. |
| 5But 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.’” | 5But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.'" |
| 6Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?” | 6Israel asked, "Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?" |
| 7They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” | 7They replied, "The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. 'Is your father still living?' he asked us. 'Do you have another brother?' We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, 'Bring your brother down here'?" |
| 8And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. | 8Then Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. |
| 9I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. | 9I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. 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. |
| 10If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.” | 10As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice." |
| 11Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. | 11Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift--a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. |
| 12Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. | 12Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. |
| 13Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. | 13Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. |
| 14May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” | 14And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved." |
| 15So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. | 15So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. |
| 16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.” | 16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal; they are to eat with me at noon." |
| 17The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph’s house. | 17The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph's house. |
| 18And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house, and they said, “It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys.” | 18Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, "We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys." |
| 19So they went up to the steward of Joseph’s house and spoke with him at the door of the house, | 19So they went up to Joseph's steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. |
| 20and said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food. | 20"We beg your pardon, our lord," they said, "we came down here the first time to buy food. |
| 21And when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us, | 21But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver--the exact weight--in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. |
| 22and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” | 22We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don't know who put our silver in our sacks." |
| 23He replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. | 23"It's all right," he said. "Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver." Then he brought Simeon out to them. |
| 24And when the man had brought the men into Joseph’s house and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder, | 24The steward took the men into Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys. |
| 25they prepared the present for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there. | 25They prepared their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there. |
| 26When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed down to him to the ground. | 26When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. |
| 27And he inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” | 27He asked them how they were, and then he said, "How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?" |
| 28They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. | 28They replied, "Your servant our father is still alive and well." And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him. |
| 29And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!” | 29As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?" And he said, "God be gracious to you, my son." |
| 30Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there. | 30Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there. |
| 31Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.” | 31After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, "Serve the food." |
| 32They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. | 32They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians. |
| 33And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement. | 33The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. |
| 34Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him. | 34When portions were served to them from Joseph's table, Benjamin's portion was five times as much as anyone else's. So they feasted and drank freely with him. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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