Genesis 43Book 1 of 66 · 34 verses · MBT primary, NKJV fallback where MBT pending

Now the famine continued severe in the land.
And it came to pass, when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, "Go back, buy us a little more food."
But Judah spoke to him, saying, "The man solemnly warned us, saying, 'You shall not see my face again unless your brother is with you.'"
If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you.
But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.'
And Israel said, "Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?"
But they said, "The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our family, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?' And we answered him according to these questions. Could we possibly have known that he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?"
Then Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die of starvation, both we and you and also our little ones.
I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him, and you may hold me personally accountable. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.
For if we had not delayed, surely by now we would have returned this second time.
Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags and carry down a present to the man—a little balm and a little honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds."
Take double the money in your hand, and carry back the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake.
Take your brother also, and arise, go back again to the man.
May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, so that he may release your other brother and Benjamin, and as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double the money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt and presented themselves before Joseph.
When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Bring these men into my house, and slaughter an animal and prepare a feast, for these men will dine with me at noon."
Then the man did as Joseph told him, and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph's house, and they said, "It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are brought in, so that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us, to make us slaves and seize our donkeys."
When they drew near to the steward of Joseph's house, they spoke with him at the entrance of the house.
And said, "O sir, we really did come down the first time to buy food;
But it happened, when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and behold, each man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back with us.
And we have brought down additional money in our hands to buy food, and we have no idea who put our money in our sacks.
But he said, "Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks; I received your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them.
So the steward brought the men into Joseph's house and gave them water, and they washed their feet, and he gave their donkeys feed.
Then they prepared the present for Joseph's arrival at noon, for they had heard that they would eat a meal there.
When Joseph came home, they brought him the gift which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the ground.
Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, "How is your father, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"
They answered, "Your servant our father is well; he is still alive." And they bowed their heads down and paid homage.
Then he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, "Is this your youngest brother of whom you spoke to me?" And he said, "May God be gracious to you, my son."
Now Joseph's heart yearned for his brother, so he hurried out and sought a place to weep, and he went into his chamber and wept there.
Then he washed his face and came out, and controlling himself he said, "Serve the meal."
So they served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians.
And they sat before him in order by age, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment.
Then he took portions to them from his own table, but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs, so they feasted and drank freely with him.