1The famine was severe in the land.
2When they had finished eating all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”
3Judah replied, “The man gave us a strict warning, saying, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’
4If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.
5But if you do not send him, we will not go, because the man told us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”
6Israel asked, “Why did you cause me such trouble by telling the man you had another brother?”
7They answered, “The man asked us directly about ourselves and our relatives, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How could we have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”
8Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will get up and go, so that all of us—you, us, and our little ones—may live and not die.
9I will guarantee his safety. You can hold me responsible for him. If I don’t bring him back to you and present him before you, then I will bear the blame forever.
10If we hadn't been delayed, we would have already returned a second time.
11Their father, Israel, told them, "If it has to be this way, then do this: Take some of the best products from our land in your bags as a gift for the man. Include a little balm, honey, spices, myrrh, nuts, and almonds.
12Also, take double the amount of money with you and return the money you found in the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake.
13Take your brother as well, then go back to the man.
14May Almighty God make the man show you kindness so he will release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am going to lose my children, then I will lose them."
15So the men took the gifts, double the money, and Benjamin. They went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he told the steward of his house, "Bring these men into the house. Kill an animal and prepare a meal, because these men will eat lunch with me."
17The steward did as Joseph commanded and brought the men to Joseph's house.
18The men were afraid because they were being brought to Joseph's house. They said, "We are being brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time. He plans to find a reason to attack us, overpower us, and take us as slaves, along with our donkeys."
19They approached the steward of Joseph's house and spoke to him at the door of the house,
20and said, "Oh, sir, we definitely came down the first time to buy food.
21When we arrived at the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks, and there in the mouth of each sack was each man's money, the full amount. We have brought it back with us.
22We have also brought other money with us to buy food. We don't know who put our money in our sacks."
23He said, "Don't worry. Don't be afraid. Your God, and the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks. I received your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them.
24The steward brought the men into Joseph's house, gave them water, and they washed their feet. He also gave their donkeys feed.
25They prepared the gift for Joseph's arrival at noon, because they had heard they would be eating a meal there.
26When Joseph came home, they brought the gift they had for him into the house and bowed down to him to the ground.
27He asked them how they were and said, "Is your father well, the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?"
28They replied, "Your servant, our father, is well. He is still alive." They bowed down respectfully.
29Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, and said, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?" Then he said, "May God be gracious to you, my son."
30Joseph hurried away because his heart was full of love for his brother and he needed to cry. He went into his private room and wept there.
31He washed his face, then came out. He got control of himself and said, "Serve the food."
32They served Joseph at his own table, and his brothers at a separate table, and the Egyptians who ate with Joseph at still another table. This was because Egyptians do not eat with Hebrews, as Egyptians consider it detestable.
33Joseph's brothers sat before him, arranged in order from the oldest to the youngest, and the men looked at each other in amazement.
34Joseph had servings of food brought to them from his own table, but Benjamin's serving was five times larger than anyone else's. They all drank and celebrated with him.