Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt To Buy Grain
1 When Jacob found out there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you just sitting here, staring at one another? 2 I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down and buy some, so we won't starve to death.”
3 Ten of Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to buy grain. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph's younger brother Benjamin with them; he was afraid that something might happen to him. 5 So Jacob's sons joined others from Canaan who were going to Egypt because of the terrible famine.
6 Since Joseph was governor of Egypt and in charge of selling grain, his brothers came to him and bowed with their faces to the ground. 7-8 They did not recognize Joseph, but at once he knew who they were, though he pretended not to know. Instead, he spoke harshly and asked, “Where do you come from?”
“From the land of Canaan,” they answered. “We've come here to buy grain.”
9 Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about them and said, “You're spies! You've come here to find out where our country is weak.”
10 “No sir,” they replied. “We're your servants, and we have only come to buy grain. 11 We're honest men, and we come from the same family—we're not spies.”
12 “That isn't so!” Joseph insisted. “You've come here to find out where our country is weak.”
13 But they explained, “Sir, we come from a family of twelve brothers. The youngest is still with our father in Canaan, and one of our brothers is dead.”
14 Joseph replied:
It's like I said. You're spies, 15 and I'm going to find out the truth. I swear by the life of the king that you won't leave this place until your youngest brother comes here. 16 Choose one of you to go after your brother, while the rest of you stay here in jail. That will show whether you are telling the truth. But if you are lying, I swear by the life of the king that you are spies!
17 Joseph kept them all under guard for three days, 18 before saying to them:
Since I respect God, I'll give you a chance to save your lives. 19 If you are honest men, one of you must stay here in jail, and the rest of you can take the grain back to your starving families. 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me. Then I'll know that you are telling the truth, and you won't be put to death.
Joseph's brothers agreed 21 and said to one another, “We're being punished because of Joseph. We saw the trouble he was in, but we refused to help him when he begged us. That's why these terrible things are happening.”
22 Reuben spoke up, “Didn't I tell you not to harm the boy? But you wouldn't listen, and now we have to pay the price for killing him.”
23 They did not know that Joseph could understand them, since he was speaking through an interpreter. 24 Joseph turned away from them and cried, but soon he turned back and spoke to them again. Then he had Simeon tied up and taken away while they watched.
Joseph's Brothers Return to Canaan
25 Joseph gave orders for his brothers' grain sacks to be filled with grain and for their money to be put in their sacks. He also gave orders for them to be given food for their journey home. After this was done, 26 they each loaded the grain on their donkeys and left.
27 When they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get some grain for his donkey, and at once he saw his moneybag. 28 “Here's my money!” he told his brothers. “Right here in my sack.”
They were trembling with fear as they stared at one another and asked themselves, “What has God done to us?”
29 When they returned to the land of Canaan, they told their father Jacob everything that had happened to them:
30 The governor of Egypt was rude and treated us like spies. 31 But we told him, “We're honest men, not spies. 32 We come from a family of twelve brothers. The youngest is still with our father in Canaan, and the other is dead.”
33 Then the governor of Egypt told us, “I'll find out if you really are honest. Leave one of your brothers here with me, while you take the grain to your starving families. 34 But bring your youngest brother to me, so I can be certain that you are honest men and not spies. After that, I'll let your other brother go free, and you can stay here and trade.”
35 When the brothers started emptying their sacks of grain, they found their moneybags in them. They were frightened, and so was their father Jacob, 36 who said, “You have already taken my sons Joseph and Simeon from me. And now you want to take away Benjamin! Everything is against me.”
37 Reuben spoke up, “Father, if I don't bring Benjamin back, you can kill both of my sons. Trust me with him, and I'll bring him back.”
38 But Jacob said, “I won't let my son Benjamin go down to Egypt with the rest of you. His brother is already dead, and he is the only son I have left. I am an old man, and if anything happens to him on the way, I'll die from sorrow, and all of you will be to blame.”
أول لقاء بـين يوسف وإخوته
1 فلمَّا رأى يعقوبُ أنَّ القمحَ موجودٌ في مِصْرَ قالَ لِبَنيهِ: «ما بالُكُم تَنظرونَ بَعضُكُم إلى بَعضٍ؟» 2 وقالَ: «سَمِعْتُ أنَّ القمحَ مَوجودٌ في مِصْرَ، فانزِلوا إلى هُناكَ واشتَروا لنا فنحيا ولا نموتَ». 3 فنَزَلَ عشَرَةٌ مِنْ إخوةِ يوسُفَ لِـيَشتَروا قمحا مِنْ مِصْرَ، 4 أمَّا بنيامينُ أخو يوسُفَ، فلم يُرسِلْهُ يعقوبُ معَ إخوتِهِ لأنَّه قالَ في نَفسِه: «ربَّما أَصابَه أذىً».
5 فجاءَ بَنو إسرائيلَ، في جُملَةِ مَنْ جاءَ، لِـيشتَروا قمحا لأنَّ الجُوعَ كانَ في أرضِ كنعانَ. 6 وكانَ يوسُفُ هوَ الحاكمُ في أرضِ مِصْرَ. فكانَ يَبـيعُ القمحَ لجميعِ الشُّعوبِ، فأَقبَلَ إخوةُ يوسُفَ وسجَدوا لَه بِوُجُوهِهِم إلى الأرضِ. 7 ولمَّا رأى يوسُفُ إِخوتَه عرَفَهُم، فَتَنَكَّرَ لهُم وكلَّمَهم بجفاءٍ وقالَ لهُم: «مِنْ أينَ جِئتُم؟» قالوا: «مِنْ أرضِ كنعانَ لِنشتريَ طعاما».
8 وعرَفَ يوسُفُ إِخوتَه، وأمَّا هُم فلم يعرِفوهُ. 9 وتذكَّرَ يوسُفُ الأحلامَ الّتي حَلُمَها بهِم فقالَ لهُم: «أنتُم جواسيسُ! جِئْتُم لِترَوا مواطِنَ الضُّعفِ في البِلادِ». 10 فقالُوا لَه: «لا يا سيِّدي، جِئْنا نحنُ عبـيدُكَ لِنشتريَ طَعاما. 11 نحنُ كلُّنا إخوةٌ. نحنُ قومٌ شُرَفاءُ لا جواسيسُ». 12 فقالَ لهُم: «كلاَّ، بل جِئتُم لِترَوا مواطِنَ الضُّعفِ في البلادِ». 13 قالوا: «نحنُ يا سيِّدي اثنا عشَرَ أخا، وبَنو رَجُلٍ واحدٍ في أرضِ كنعانَ. أصغرُنا اليومَ عِندَ أبـينا والآخَرُ مفقُودٌ». 14 فقالَ لهُم يوسُفُ: «بل مِثلَما قلتُ لكُم، أنتُم جواسيسُ. 15 وحياةِ فِرعَونَ لا خرَجْتُم مِنْ هُنا أو يَجيءَ أخوكُم الصَّغيرُ إلى هُنا. وبهذا أمتحِنُكُم. 16 فأرسِلوا واحدا مِنكُم لِـيَجيءَ بِأخيكم، وأنتُم تُحبَسُونَ حتّى نَمتَحِنَ صِدْقَ كلامِكُم، وإلاَّ فقسَما بِـحياةِ فِرعَونَ أنتُم جواسيسُ». 17 فحَبَسهم ثلاثةَ أيّامٍ.
18 وفي اليومِ الثَّالثِ قالَ لهُم يوسُفُ: «أنا رَجُلٌ أخافُ اللهَ. إفعَلُوا ما أقولُ لكُم فتَحيَوا. 19 إنْ كُنتُم شُرَفاءَ. فواحدٌ مِنكُم يـبقَى في هذا الحَبسِ. أمَّا أنتمُ الآخَرونَ فاذهَبوا ومعَكُم قمحٌ يَسُدُّ جُوعَ أهلِ بُيوتِكُم 20 وجيئُوا بِأخيكُمُ الصَّغيرِ إليَّ لِـيَتحقَّقَ كلامُكُم ولا تموتوا». فوافَقوا على ذلِكَ. 21 وقالَ بَعضُهُم لِبَعضٍ: «نَعَمْ، نحنُ أخطأنَا إلى يوسُفَ أخينا. رأَيناهُ في ضيقٍ، ولمّا اسْترحَمَنا لم نسمَعْ لَه. لِذلِكَ نزَلَ بنا هذا الضِّيقُ». 22 فأجابَهُم رَأوبـينُ: «أمَا قلتُ لكُم: لا تَخطَأوا وتُسيئوا إلى الولدِ، فلم تسمَعوا؟ لِذلِك نحنُ الآنَ مُطالَبونَ بِدَمِهِ». 23 وما كانوا يعلَمُونَ أنَّ يوسُفَ يفهَمُ لُغتَهُم، لأنَّه كانَ يَستَعينُ بِتُرجُمانٍ بَينَه وبَينَهُم. 24 فمالَ عَنهُم وبَكى، ثم عادَ إليهِم وكلَّمَهُم، وأخذَ مِنْ بَينِهِم شِمْعُونَ وقيَّدهُ أمامَ عُيونِهِم.
العودة إلى أرض كنعان
25 وأمرَ يوسُفُ رِجالَه أنْ يَملأَوا أوعيةَ إخوتِهِ قمحا ويَردُّوا فِضَّةَ كُلِّ واحدٍ مِنهم إلى عِدْلِهِ، وأنْ يُعطوهُم زادا لِلطَّريقِ، ففعَلوا. 26 وحمَلَ إخوةُ يوسُفَ قمحَهُم على حميرِهِم وساروا مِنْ هُناكَ. 27 فلمَّا توَقَّفوا لِلمَبـيتِ، فتَحَ أحَدُهُم عِدْلَهُ لِـيُعطيَ عَلَفا لِحِمارِهِ، فرَأى فِضَّتَهُ في فَمِ عِدْلِهِ. 28 فقالَ لإخوتِه: «رُدَّتْ فِضَّتي، وها هيَ في عِدلي». فطارَت قلوبُهُم فزَعا، والتَفَتَ بعضُهُم إلى بَعضٍ وقالوا: «ماذا فعَلَ اللهُ بِنا؟»
29 ولمَّا وصَلُوا إلى يعقُوبَ أبـيهِم في أرضِ كنعانَ أخبَرُوهُ بِكلِّ ما جرَى لهُم، فقالوا: 30 «خاطَبَنا سيِّدُ تِلكَ الأرضِ بِقسَاوَةٍ وحَسِبَنا مِنَ الجواسيسِ. 31 فقُلنا لَه: نحنُ قومٌ شُرَفاءُ لا جواسيسُ. 32 نحنُ إثنا عشَرَ أخا مِنْ أبٍ واحدٍ، أحدُنا مفقودٌ والصَّغيرُ اليومَ عِندَ أبـينا في أرضِ كنعانَ. 33 فقالَ لنا: «بهذا أعرِفُ أنكم قومٌ شُرَفاءُ: دَعوا عِندي أخا مِنكُم، وخُذوا ما يَسُدُّ جُوعَ أهلِ بُيوتِكُم وانصَرِفوا 34 وجيئوا بأخيكُمُ الصَّغيرِ إليَّ، فأعرِفَ أنَّكُم قومٌ شُرَفاءُ لا جواسيسُ فأُعطيكُم أَخاكُم وتجولونَ في هذِهِ الأرضِ».
35 وبَينَما هُم يُفرِغونَ عِدالَهُم، وجَدَ كُلُّ واحدٍ مِنهُم صُرَّةَ فضَّتِهِ في عِدلِهِ. فلمَّا رأوا صُرَرَ الفِضَّةِ، هُم وأبوهُم، خافوا.
36 فقالَ لهُم يعقوبُ أبوهُم: «أفقَدتُموني بَنيَّ. يوسُفُ مفقُودٌ وشِمعونٌ مفقُودٌ، والآنَ تأخذونَ بَنيامينَ. هذا كُلُّه نزَلَ عليَّ». 37 فأجابَ رَأوبـينُ أباهُ: «أعودُ بِه إِليكَ أو تقتُلُ ولَديَّ. سَلِّمْه إلى يَدي وأنا أَرُدُّهُ إليكَ». 38 فقالَ يعقوبُ: «لا يَنزِلُ ابني معَكُم. أخوهُ ماتَ وهوَ وحدَه بقِـيَ لي، فإنْ أصابَه أَذىً في الطَّريقِ الّتي تسلِكُونَها أنزلْتُم شَيـبَتي بِـحَسْرَةٍ إلى عالَمِ الأمواتِ».
