約瑟的哥哥們再下埃及
1那地方的饑荒仍然非常嚴重， 2他們從埃及帶回來的糧食吃完了，他們的父親對他們說：「你們再去買些糧食吧。」 3猶大說：「那人嚴厲地警告我們，『不把你們的弟弟帶來，你們就不要再來見我。』 4你若讓弟弟跟我們同去，我們就去給你買糧。 5你若不讓他跟我們同去，我們就不去給你買糧。因為那人說，『你們不把弟弟帶來，就不要再來見我。』」
6以色列說：「你們為什麼這樣害我，告訴他你們還有一個弟弟呢？」 7他們回答說：「那人詳細詢問我們和我們家人的情況，問我們的父親是否在世，還有沒有弟兄。我們如實回答，怎會想到他非要我們把弟弟帶去呢？」
8猶大對父親以色列說：「你就讓這孩子跟我同去吧，我們好立刻動身，這樣我們一家老小才能保住性命，不致餓死。 9我親自擔保他的安全，你可以向我要人。我若不把他帶回來見你，情願一生擔罪。 10我們若是沒有耽擱的話，現在已經往返兩趟了。」
11他們的父親以色列說：「事到如今，只好這樣了。你們袋子裡帶一些上好的乳香、蜂蜜、香料、沒藥、榧子和杏仁等土產，去送給那人作禮物吧。 12你們還要帶雙倍的錢，好歸還上次留在你們口袋中的錢，那次可能是弄錯了。 13帶你們的弟弟去見那人吧！ 14願全能的上帝叫那人憐憫你們，讓西緬和便雅憫回來。我若喪子就喪子吧！」
15於是，他們就帶著便雅憫、禮物和雙倍的錢去埃及見約瑟。 16約瑟看見便雅憫和他們同來，就對管家說：「你帶他們到我家裡去，宰殺牲畜，預備宴席，中午他們要跟我一起吃飯。」 17管家照約瑟的吩咐，帶他們到約瑟家裡。 18他們被帶到約瑟家後非常害怕，說：「他把我們帶到這裡來，是因為上次放回我們口袋的錢。他想害我們，強迫我們做他的奴僕，搶我們的驢。」
19他們走到約瑟的管家跟前，在房門口對他說： 20「主啊，我們上次曾來這裡買糧。 21但在回家的途中住宿時，我們打開口袋，發現我們帶來買糧的錢分毫不少地放在那裡。我們把這些錢帶回來了， 22又另外帶了一些錢來買糧。我們不知道誰把買糧的錢放進了我們的口袋。」
23管家說：「你們放心，不要害怕，你們口袋裡的錢財是你們的上帝，你們父親的上帝賜給你們的。我已經收了你們買糧的錢。」他就把西緬帶出來見他們， 24接著帶他們進約瑟的家，給他們水洗腳，給他們的驢餵草料。 25他們知道要在那裡吃午餐，就預備好禮物，等約瑟中午回來。
26約瑟回到家裡後，他們就把帶來的禮物獻給他，向他俯伏下拜。 27約瑟向他們問好，然後說：「你們提起過你們的老父親，他安康嗎？還健在嗎？」 28他們回答說：「你僕人——我們的父親仍然健在，安康。」說完了，又向他下拜。 29約瑟抬眼看見了自己的同胞弟弟便雅憫，就問道：「這就是你們所說那位最小的弟弟嗎？」他又對便雅憫說：「孩子，願上帝施恩給你。」 30約瑟愛弟之心油然而生，急忙出去找哭的地方。他到自己的房間裡哭了一場。
31他洗過臉出來，控制著自己的感情，吩咐人擺飯。 32約瑟自己一桌，他的弟兄們一桌，那些和他們一起吃飯的埃及人一桌，因為埃及人厭惡希伯來人，不與他們同席。 33約瑟讓他的弟兄們按照長幼次序在他對面坐，他們面面相覷，非常驚訝。 34約瑟吩咐人把自己面前的菜餚分給他們，便雅憫得的那份比其他弟兄多五倍。他們盡情地和約瑟一同吃喝。
The Second Journey to Egypt
1Now the famine was still severe in the land. 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 warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ 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, because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ ”
6Israel asked, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?”
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’?”
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 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. 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, 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 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 your brother also and go back to the man at once. 14And may God Almighty43:14 Hebrew El-Shaddai 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 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, “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 took the men to Joseph’s house. 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 Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 20“We beg your pardon, our lord,” they said, “we came down here the first time to buy food. 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. 22We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in our sacks.”
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.
24The steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys. 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 presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. 27He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?”
28They replied, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him.
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.” 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.
31After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, “Serve the food.”
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. 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. 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.
