And the famine [was] grievous in the land.
And it came to pass, when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, Go again, buy us a little food.
And Judah spoke to him, saying, The man did positively testify to us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, unless your brother [be] with you.
If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food;
but if thou do not send [him], we will not go down; for the man said to us, Ye shall not see my face unless your brother [be] with you.
And Israel said, Why dealt ye so ill with me, to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?
And they said, The man asked very closely after us and after our kindred, saying, [Is] your father yet alive? have ye a brother? And we told him according to the tenor of these words. Could we at all know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
And Judah said to Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and thou and our little ones.
I will be surety for him: of my hand shalt thou require him; if I bring him not to thee and set him before thy face, then shall I be guilty before thee forever.
For had we not lingered, we should now certainly have returned already twice.
And their father Israel said to them, If [it is] then so, do this; take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a gift, a little balm and a little honey, tragacanth and ladanum, pistacia-nuts and almonds;
and take double money in your hand, and the money that was returned to you in the mouth of your sacks, carry [it] back in your hand: perhaps it [is] an oversight.
Take also your brother and arise, go again to the man.
And the Almighty God give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin! And I, if I be bereaved [of my children], am bereaved.
And the men took that gift, and took double money in their hand, and Benjamin, and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, Bring the men into the house, and slay, and make ready; for the men shall dine with me at noon.
And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.
And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bond-men, and our asses.
And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they spoke to him at the door of the house,
and said, O my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food;
and it came to pass, when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, [every] man’s money [was] in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; and we have brought it again in our hand.
And other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food: we know not who put our money in our sacks.
And he said, Peace [be] to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out to them.
And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave [them] water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.
And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon; for they heard that they should eat bread there.
And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which [was] in their hand into the house, and bowed down themselves to him to the earth.
And he asked them of [their] welfare, and said, [Is] your father well, the old man of whom ye spoke? [Is] he yet alive?
And they said, Thy servant our father [is] well, he [is] yet alive. And they bowed the head and made obeisance.
And he lifted up his eyes and saw Benjamin his brother, his mother’s son, and said, [Is] this your youngest brother of whom ye spoke to me? And he said, God be gracious to thee, my son.
And Joseph made haste, for his bowels yearned upon his brother; and he sought [where] to weep; and he entered into [his] chamber, and wept there.
And he washed his face, and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
And they set on before him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who did eat with him by themselves; because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that [is] an abomination to the Egyptians.
And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one with another.
And he took messes for them from before him; but Benjamin’s mess was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and drank largely with him.