Day 14 – The Brothers Return

₁The famine in Canaan got worse, 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. ₁₆When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant in charge of his house, “Take these men to my house. They are going to eat with me at noon, so kill an animal and prepare it.” ₁₇The servant did as he was commanded and took the brothers to Joseph's house.

₁₈As they were being brought to the house, they were afraid and thought, “We are being brought here because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time. They will suddenly attack us, take our donkeys, and make us his slaves.” ₁₉So at the door of the house, they said to the servant in charge, ₂₀“If you please, sir, we came here once before to buy food. ₂₁When we set up camp on the way home, we opened our sacks, and each man found his money in the top of his sack — every bit of it. We have brought it back to you. ₂₂We have also brought some more money with us to buy more food. We do not know who put our money back in our sacks.”

₂₃The servant said, “Don't worry. Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, must have put the money in your sacks for you. I received your payment.” Then he brought Simeon to them.

₂₄The servant took the brothers into the house. He gave them water so that they could wash their feet, and he fed their donkeys. ₂₅They got their gifts ready to present to Joseph when he arrived at noon, because they had been told that they were to eat with him. ₂₆When Joseph got home, they took the gifts into the house to him and bowed down to the ground before him. ₂₇He asked about their health and then said, “You told me about your old father — how is he? Is he still alive and well?”

₂₈They answered, “Your humble servant, our father, is still alive and well.” And they knelt and bowed down before him.

₂₉When Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, he said, “So this is your youngest brother, the one you told me about. God bless you, my son.” ₃₀Then Joseph left suddenly, because his heart was full of tender feelings for his brother. He was about to break down, so he went to his room and cried. ₃₁After he had washed his face, he came out, and controlling himself, he ordered the meal to be served. ₃₂Joseph was served at one table and his brothers at another. The Egyptians who were eating there were served separately, because they considered it beneath their dignity to eat with Hebrews. ₃₃The brothers had been seated at table, facing Joseph, in the order of their age from the eldest to the youngest. When they saw how they had been seated, they looked at one another in amazement. ₃₄Food was served to them from Joseph's table, and Benjamin was served five times as much as the rest of them. So they ate and drank with Joseph until they were drunk.

₁Joseph commanded the servant in charge of his house, “Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man's money in the top of his sack. ₂Put my silver cup in the top of the youngest brother's sack, together with the money for his corn.” He did as he was told. ₃Early in the morning the brothers were sent on their way with their donkeys. ₄When they had gone only a short distance from the city, Joseph said to the servant in charge of his house, “Hurry after those men. When you catch up with them, ask them, ‘Why have you paid back evil for good? ₅Why did you steal my master's silver cup? It is the one he drinks from, the one he uses for divination. You have committed a serious crime!’ ”

₆When the servant caught up with them, he repeated these words. ₇They answered him, “What do you mean, sir, by talking like this? We swear that we have done no such thing. ₈You know that we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money we found in the top of our sacks. Why then should we steal silver or gold from your master's house? ₉Sir, if any one of us is found to have it, he will be put to death, and the rest of us will become your slaves.”

₁₀He said, “I agree; but only the one who has taken the cup will become my slave, and the rest of you can go free.” ₁₁So they quickly lowered their sacks to the ground, and each man opened his sack. ₁₂Joseph's servant searched carefully, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. ₁₃The brothers tore their clothes in sorrow, loaded their donkeys, and returned to the city.

₁₄When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there. They bowed down before him, ₁₅and Joseph said, “What have you done? Didn't you know that a man in my position could find you out by practising divination?”

₁₆“What can we say to you, sir?” Judah answered. “How can we argue? How can we clear ourselves? God has uncovered our guilt. All of us are now your slaves and not just the one with whom the cup was found.”

₁₇Joseph said, “Oh, no! I would never do that! Only the one who had the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go back safe and sound to your father.”

₁₈Judah went up to Joseph and said, “Please, sir, allow me to speak with you freely. Don't be angry with me; you are like the king himself. ₁₉Sir, you asked us, ‘Have you got a father or another brother?’ ₂₀We answered, ‘We have a father who is old and a younger brother, born to him in his old age. The boy's brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother's children still alive; his father loves him very much.’ ₂₁Sir, you told us to bring him here, so that you could see him, ₂₂and we answered that the boy could not leave his father; if he did, his father would die. ₂₃Then you said, ‘You will not be admitted to my presence again unless your youngest brother comes with you.’

₂₄“When we went back to our father, we told him what you had said. ₂₅Then he told us to return and buy a little food. ₂₆We answered, ‘We cannot go; we will not be admitted to the man's presence unless our youngest brother is with us. We can go only if our youngest brother goes also.’ ₂₇Our father said to us, ‘You know that my wife Rachel bore me only two sons. ₂₈One of them has already left me. He must have been torn to pieces by wild animals, because I have not seen him since he left. ₂₉If you take this one from me now and something happens to him, the sorrow you would cause me would kill me, old as I am.’

_30-31“And now, sir,” Judah continued, “if I go back to my father without the boy, as soon as he sees that the boy is not with me, he will die. His life is wrapped up with the life of the boy, and he is so old that the sorrow we would cause him would kill him. ₃₂What is more, I pledged my life to my father for the boy. I told him that if I did not bring the boy back to him, I would bear the blame all my life. ₃₃And now, sir, I will stay here as your slave in place of the boy; let him go back with his brothers. ₃₄How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I cannot bear to see this disaster come upon my father.”