44When his brothers were ready to leave, Joseph gave these instructions to his palace manager: "Fill each of their sacks with as much grain as they can carry, and put each man's money back into his sack.H6680H1004H559H4390H582H572H400H834H3201H5375H7760H376H3701H572H6310 2Then put my personal silver cup at the top of the youngest brother's sack, along with the money for his grain." So the manager did as Joseph instructed him.H7760H1375H3701H1375H572H6310H6996H7668H3701H6213H1697H3130H1696 3The brothers were up at dawn and were sent on their journey with their loaded donkeys.H1242H215H582H7971H2543 4But when they had gone only a short distance and were barely out of the city, Joseph said to his palace manager, "Chase after them and stop them. When you catch up with them, ask them, 'Why have you repaid my kindness with such evil?H3318H5892H7368H3130H559H1004H6965H7291H310H582H5381H559H7999H7451H2896 5Why have you stolen my master's silver cup, which he uses to predict the future? What a wicked thing you have done!'"H113H8354H5172H5172H7489H6213 6When the palace manager caught up with the men, he spoke to them as he had been instructed.H5381H1696H428H1697 7"What are you talking about?" the brothers responded. "We are your servants and would never do such a thing!H559H1696H113H1697H2486H5650H6213H1697 8Didn't we return the money we found in our sacks? We brought it back all the way from the land of Canaan. Why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house?H3701H4672H572H6310H7725H776H3667H1589H113H1004H3701H2091 9If you find his cup with any one of us, let that man die. And all the rest of us, my lord, will be your slaves."H5650H4672H4191H113H5650 10"That's fair," the man replied. "But only the one who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go free."H559H1697H3651H4672H5650H5355 11They all quickly took their sacks from the backs of their donkeys and opened them.H4116H3381H376H572H776H6605H376H572 12The palace manager searched the brothers' sacks, from the oldest to the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack!H2664H2490H1419H3615H6996H1375H4672H1144H572 13When the brothers saw this, they tore their clothing in despair. Then they loaded their donkeys again and returned to the city.H7167H8071H6006H376H2543H7725H5892 14Joseph was still in his palace when Judah and his brothers arrived, and they fell to the ground before him.H3063H251H935H3130H1004H5307H6440H776 15"What have you done?" Joseph demanded. "Don't you know that a man like me can predict the future?"H3130H559H4639H6213H3045H376H5172H5172 16Judah answered, "Oh, my lord, what can we say to you? How can we explain this? How can we prove our innocence? God is punishing us for our sins. My lord, we have all returned to be your slaves—all of us, not just our brother who had your cup in his sack."H3063H559H559H113H1696H6663H430H4672H5771H5650H113H5650H1571H834H3027H1375H4672 17"No," Joseph said. "I would never do such a thing! Only the man who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go back to your father in peace."H559H2486H6213H2063H376H3027H1375H4672H5650H5927H7965H1 18Then Judah stepped forward and said, "Please, my lord, let your servant say just one word to you. Please, do not be angry with me, even though you are as powerful as Pharaoh himself.H3063H5066H559H994H113H5650H1696H1697H113H241H639H2734H5650H6547 19"My lord, previously you asked us, your servants, 'Do you have a father or a brother?'H113H7592H5650H559H3426H1H251 20And we responded, 'Yes, my lord, we have a father who is an old man, and his youngest son is a child of his old age. His full brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves him very much.'H559H113H3426H1H2205H3206H2208H6996H251H4191H3498H517H1H157 21"And you said to us, 'Bring him here so I can see him with my own eyes.'H559H5650H3381H7760H5869 22But we said to you, 'My lord, the boy cannot leave his father, for his father would die.'H559H113H5288H3201H5800H1H5800H1H4191 23But you told us, 'Unless your youngest brother comes with you, you will never see my face again.'H559H5650H3808H6996H251H3381H7200H3254H6440H7200H3254 24"So we returned to your servant, our father, and told him what you had said.H5927H5650H1H5046H1697H113 25Later, when he said, 'Go back again and buy us more food,'H1H559H7725H7666H4592H400 26we replied, 'We can't go unless you let our youngest brother go with us. We'll never get to see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.'H559H3201H3381H6996H251H3426H3381H3201H7200H376H6440H369H6996H251 27"Then my father said to us, 'As you know, my wife had two sons,H5650H1H559H3045H802H3205H8147 28and one of them went away and never returned. Doubtless he was torn to pieces by some wild animal. I have never seen him since.H259H3318H559H2963H2963H7200H2008 29Now if you take his brother away from me, and any harm comes to him, you will send this grieving, white-haired man to his grave.'H3947H5973H6440H611H7136H3381H7872H7451H7585 30"And now, my lord, I cannot go back to my father without the boy. Our father's life is bound up in the boy's life.H935H5650H1H5288H5315H7194H5315 31If he sees that the boy is not with us, our father will die. We, your servants, will indeed be responsible for sending that grieving, white-haired man to his grave.H7200H5288H4191H5650H3381H7872H5650H1H3015H7585 32My lord, I guaranteed to my father that I would take care of the boy. I told him, 'If I don't bring him back to you, I will bear the blame forever.'H5650H6148H5288H5973H1H559H935H2398H1H3117 33"So please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.H5650H3427H5288H5650H113H5288H5927H251 34For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn't bear to see the anguish this would cause my father!"H349H5927H1H5288H7200H7451H4672H1
45Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room, and he said to his attendants, "Out, all of you!" So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was.H3130H3201H662H5324H7121H3318H376H3318H5975H376H3130H3045H2512Then he broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him, and word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh's palace.H6963H1065H5414H4714H1004H6547H8085H80853"I am Joseph!" he said to his brothers. "Is my father still alive?" But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them.H3130H559H251H3130H1H2416H251H3201H6030H926H64404"Please, come closer," he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, "I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt.H3130H559H251H5066H5066H559H3130H251H4376H47145But don't be upset, and don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.H6087H2734H5869H4376H430H7971H6440H42416This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.H8141H7458H7130H776H2568H8141H369H2758H71057God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.H430H7971H6440H7760H7611H776H2421H1419H64138So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.H7971H430H7760H1H6547H113H1004H4910H776H47149"Now hurry back to my father and tell him, 'This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all the land of Egypt. So come down to me immediately!H4116H5927H1H559H559H1121H3130H430H7760H113H4714H3381H597510You can live in the region of Goshen, where you can be near me with all your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own.H3427H776H1657H7138H1121H1121H1121H6629H124111I will take care of you there, for there are still five years of famine ahead of us. Otherwise you, your household, and all your animals will starve.'"H3557H2568H8141H7458H1004H342312Then Joseph added, "Look! You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that I really am Joseph!H5869H7200H5869H251H1144H6310H169613Go tell my father of my honored position here in Egypt. Describe for him everything you have seen, and then bring my father here quickly."H5046H1H3519H4714H7200H4116H3381H114Weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin, and Benjamin did the same.H5307H251H1144H6677H1058H1144H1058H667715Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and after that they began talking freely with him.H5401H251H1058H310H251H169616The news soon reached Pharaoh's palace: "Joseph's brothers have arrived!" Pharaoh and his officials were all delighted to hear this.H6963H8085H6547H1004H559H3130H251H935H3190H5869H6547H3190H5869H5869H565017Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers, 'This is what you must do: Load your pack animals, and hurry back to the land of Canaan.H6547H559H3130H559H251H6213H2943H1165H3212H935H776H366718Then get your father and all of your families, and return here to me. I will give you the very best land in Egypt, and you will eat from the best that the land produces.'"H3947H1H1004H935H5414H2898H776H4714H398H2459H77619Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers, 'Take wagons from the land of Egypt to carry your little children and your wives, and bring your father here.H6680H6213H3947H5699H776H4714H2945H802H5375H1H93520Don't worry about your personal belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'"H5869H2347H3627H2898H776H471421So the sons of Jacob did as they were told. Joseph provided them with wagons, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them supplies for the journey.H1121H3478H6213H3130H5414H5699H6310H6547H5414H6720H187022And he gave each of them new clothes—but to Benjamin he gave five changes of clothes and 300 pieces of silver.H5414H376H2487H8071H1144H5414H7969H3967H3701H2568H2487H807123He also sent his father ten male donkeys loaded with the finest products of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other supplies he would need on his journey.H1H7971H2063H6235H860H5375H2898H4714H6235H2543H5375H1250H3899H4202H1H187024So Joseph sent his brothers off, and as they left, he called after them, "Don't quarrel about all this along the way!"H7971H251H7971H3212H559H7264H187025And they left Egypt and returned to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan.H5927H4714H935H776H3667H3290H126"Joseph is still alive!" they told him. "And he is governor of all the land of Egypt!" Jacob was stunned at the news—he couldn't believe it.H5046H559H3130H2416H4910H776H4714H3820H6313H53927But when they repeated to Jacob everything Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, their father's spirits revived.H1696H1697H3130H1696H7200H5699H3130H7971H5375H7307H3290H1H242128Then Jacob exclaimed, "It must be true! My son Joseph is alive! I must go and see him before I die."H3478H559H7227H3130H1121H2416H3212H7200H4191
46So Jacob set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.H3478H5265H935H884H2076H2077H430H1H3327 2During the night God spoke to him in a vision. "Jacob! Jacob!" he called."Here I am," Jacob replied.H430H559H3478H4759H3915H559H3290H3290H559 3"I am God, the God of your father," the voice said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation.H559H410H430H1H3372H3381H4714H7760H1419H1471 4I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring you back again. You will die in Egypt, but Joseph will be with you to close your eyes."H3381H4714H5927H5927H3130H7896H3027H5869 5So Jacob left Beersheba, and his sons took him to Egypt. They carried him and their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had provided for them.H3290H6965H884H1121H3478H5375H3290H1H2945H802H5699H6547H7971H5375 6They also took all their livestock and all the personal belongings they had acquired in the land of Canaan. So Jacob and his entire family went to Egypt—H3947H4735H7399H7408H776H3667H935H4714H3290H2233 7sons and grandsons, daughters and granddaughters—all his descendants.H1121H1121H1121H1323H1121H1323H2233H935H4714 8These are the names of the descendants of Israel—the sons of Jacob—who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob's oldest son.H8034H1121H3478H935H4714H3290H1121H7205H3290H1060 9The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.H1121H7205H2585H6396H2696H3756 10The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul. (Shaul's mother was a Canaanite woman.)H1121H8095H3223H3226H161H3199H6714H7586H1121H3669 11The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.H1121H3878H1648H6955H4847 12The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (though Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.H1121H3063H6147H209H7956H6557H2226H6147H209H4191H776H3667H1121H6557H2696H2538 13The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.H1121H3485H8439H6312H3102H8110 14The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.H1121H2074H5624H356H3177 15These were the sons of Leah and Jacob who were born in Paddan-aram, in addition to their daughter, Dinah. The number of Jacob's descendants (male and female) through Leah was thirty-three.H1121H3812H3205H3290H6307H1323H1783H5315H1121H1323H7970H7969 16The sons of Gad were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.H1121H1410H6837H2291H7764H675H6179H722H692 17The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. Beriah's sons were Heber and Malkiel.H1121H836H3232H3438H3440H1283H8294H269H1121H1283H2268H4439 18These were the sons of Zilpah, the servant given to Leah by her father, Laban. The number of Jacob's descendants through Zilpah was sixteen.H1121H2153H3837H5414H3812H1323H3205H3290H6240H8337H5315 19The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.H1121H7354H3290H802H3130H1144 20Joseph's sons, born in the land of Egypt, were Manasseh and Ephraim. Their mother was Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.H3130H776H4714H3205H4519H669H621H1323H6319H3548H204H3205 21Benjamin's sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.H1121H1144H1106H1071H788H1617H5283H278H7220H4649H2650H714 22These were the sons of Rachel and Jacob. The number of Jacob's descendants through Rachel was fourteen.H1121H7354H3205H3290H5315H702H6240 23The son of Dan was Hushim.H1121H1835H2366 24The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.H1121H5321H3183H1476H3337H8006 25These were the sons of Bilhah, the servant given to Rachel by her father, Laban. The number of Jacob's descendants through Bilhah was seven.H1121H1090H3837H5414H7354H1323H3205H3290H5315H7651 26The total number of Jacob's direct descendants who went with him to Egypt, not counting his sons' wives, was sixty-six.H5315H935H3290H4714H3318H3409H3290H1121H802H5315H8346H8337 27In addition, Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. So altogether, there were seventy members of Jacob's family in the land of Egypt.H1121H3130H3205H4714H8147H5315H5315H1004H3290H935H4714H7657 28As they neared their destination, Jacob sent Judah ahead to meet Joseph and get directions to the region of Goshen. And when they finally arrived there,H7971H3063H6440H3130H3384H6440H1657H935H776H1657 29Joseph prepared his chariot and traveled to Goshen to meet his father, Jacob. When Joseph arrived, he embraced his father and wept, holding him for a long time.H3130H631H4818H5927H7125H3478H1H1657H7200H5307H6677H1058H6677H5750 30Finally, Jacob said to Joseph, "Now I am ready to die, since I have seen your face again and know you are still alive."H3478H559H3130H6471H4191H310H7200H6440H5750H2416 31And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's entire family, "I will go to Pharaoh and tell him, 'My brothers and my father's entire family have come to me from the land of Canaan.H3130H559H251H1H1004H5927H5046H6547H559H251H1H1004H776H3667H935 32These men are shepherds, and they raise livestock. They have brought with them their flocks and herds and everything they own.'"H582H7462H6629H4735H935H6629H1241 33Then he said, "When Pharaoh calls for you and asks you about your occupation,H6547H7121H559H4639 34you must tell him, 'We, your servants, have raised livestock all our lives, as our ancestors have always done.' When you tell him this, he will let you live here in the region of Goshen, for the Egyptians despise shepherds."H559H5650H582H4735H5271H1H3427H776H1657H7462H6629H8441H4714
Dublin, OH
, which he uses to predict the future? What a wicked thing you have done!'"H113
