Genesis 43

And the famine was sore in the land.

The land was deeply gripped by a severe hunger crisis.

And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.

Once they had finished eating the grain they'd brought from Egypt, their father pleaded with them, "Please, go back and buy us some more food."

And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

Judah pleaded, "The man sternly warned us, 'You won't see me unless your brother is with you.'"

If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:

If you let our brother come with us, we'll gladly go and bring back food for you.

But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

If you refuse to let him go, we won't leave. The man made it clear - we can't meet him unless our brother is with us.

And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?

Israel asked, "Why did you treat me so poorly by revealing to the man that you had another brother?"

And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?

They replied, "The man questioned us intensely about our family, asking, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' We answered honestly, but how could we have known he would demand, 'Bring your brother here'?"

And Judah said unto 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 also our little ones.

With a pleading voice, Judah turned to his father Israel, "Let the boy come with me. Together, we'll set off on this journey. It's our chance to survive, to keep you, us, and our children alive."

I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:

I promise to take responsibility for him. If I fail to bring him back safely to you, then let the fault be mine forever.

For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.

If we hadn't wasted time, we would've been back by now for the second time.

And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:

With a heavy heart, their father Israel instructed them, "If it's necessary, then do this; gather the finest fruits from our land, pack them in your bags, and present them to the man. Include a bit of soothing balm, sweet honey, aromatic spices, fragrant myrrh, crunchy nuts, and tasty almonds."

And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:

Carry twice the amount of money with you, and also take back the money that was mistakenly put in your bags. Perhaps it was just an oversight.

Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:

Bring your brother along, stand tall, and return to the man.

And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.

May the Divine show you compassion before the man, so that he will release your other brother and Benjamin. As for me, if I lose my children, then I lose them.

And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

The men, filled with apprehension, gathered their gifts and twice the money, along with Benjamin. With heavy hearts, they journeyed to Egypt and found themselves standing nervously before Joseph.

And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.

When Joseph spotted Benjamin among them, he instructed his house manager, "Welcome these men into our home, prepare a feast; they will be my guests for lunch." His heart swelled with anticipation.

And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.

The man, following Joseph's instructions, led the men into Joseph's home with a sense of obedience and anticipation.

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 bondmen, and our asses.

The men were terrified as they were led into Joseph's house. They thought, "We're here because of the money that was mysteriously returned to us. He's going to accuse us of theft, attack us, and enslave us, along with our donkeys."

And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,

They approached Joseph's housekeeper, engaging in heartfelt conversation right at the doorstep.

And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

With a humble plea, they said, "Dear sir, our first journey here was indeed to purchase sustenance."

And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, 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.

When we arrived at the inn, we were shocked to find all our money still in our bags, untouched. We've brought it back, holding it tightly in our hands.

And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.

We've brought additional money to purchase food. We're clueless about who mysteriously placed our money back in our bags.

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 unto them.

He reassured them, "Calm down, don't be afraid. Your God, the same God your father worshipped, has blessed you with treasures. Your money was with me." And then, he brought Simeon 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.

The man kindly led the men into Joseph's home, offering them refreshing water. They gratefully washed their weary feet, while their donkeys were also cared for with food.

And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.

They prepared their gifts, anxiously awaiting Joseph's arrival at noon, excited by the rumor of a shared meal.

And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.

When Joseph returned, they eagerly presented him with their gift as they entered his home, humbly bowing before him in deep respect.

And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?

He inquired about their well-being, asking, "Is your elderly father, the one you mentioned, still in good health? Is he still with us?"

And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.

They replied, "Our dear father, your servant, is well and still living." Overwhelmed with respect and relief, they humbly bowed their heads in reverence.

And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.

His eyes welled up as he spotted his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son. "Is this your little brother you told me about?" he asked. Overwhelmed, he whispered, "May God bless you, my dear boy."

And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

Overwhelmed with love for his brother, Joseph quickly retreated to a private room, where he let his tears flow freely.

And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.

With tears washed away, he composed himself, stepped out, and gently requested, "Please, serve the bread."

And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

They arranged separate dining areas for him, for his brothers, and for the Egyptians who joined him. This was because the Egyptians couldn't bear to share a meal with the Hebrews, finding it deeply offensive.

And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another.

They sat in front of him, the eldest as per his birthright, and the youngest as per his age. The men looked at each other in awe.

And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

He shared food with them, but Benjamin received five times more than the rest. They ate, drank, and celebrated joyfully with him.