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.”
Ovamwaxe vaJosef omulongo tava i kuEgipiti
1 Jakob eshi a kundana nokutya muEgipiti omu na oilya, okwa lombwela ovana vaye ovamati ta ti: “Oshike tamu talafana ngaha? 2 Ndele ta ti: Taleni, ame onda kundana nokutya muEgipiti omu na oilya. Indeni ko hano mu ke tu landele oilya tu shiive okukala nomwenyo ndele tuha fye.” 3 Osho hano ovamwaxe omulongo vaJosef va ya va ka lande oilya muEgipiti. 4 Ndelenee Benjamin, ondenge yaJosef, Jakob ine mu tuma pamwe novamwaxe, osheshi okwa diladila kutya pamwe ota ka hangika koshiponga.
5 Osho hano ovana vaIsrael va ya ko va endela pamwe naavenya va ka landele ko oilya, osheshi muKaanan omwa li yo ondjala. 6 Ndele Josef okwa li omupangeli woshilongo, ye okwa landifa oilya kovanhu aveshe vomoshilongo. Onghee ovamwaxe vaJosef ve uya koshipala shaye ndele ve linyongamena oipala yavo poshi. 7 Ndele Josef eshi a mona ovamwaxe, okwe va dimbulukwa, ndelenee okwa li ngaashi omunailongo mokukalafana navo, nokwe va popifa neendjovo dikukutu ndele ta ti kuvo: “Otamu di peni?” Ndele vo va nyamukula: “Okedu laKaanan, twe uya tu lande eendja.” 8 Ndele Josef okwa dimbulukwa ovamwaxe, ndelenee vo inave mu dimbulukwa. 9 Opo nee Josef okwa dimbulukwa eendjodi dinya e va twilile. Ndele ye okwa tya kuvo: “Onye eendadi. Omwe uya okutala oshilongo apa sha heva.” 10 Ndelenee vo ove mu nyamukula tava ti: “Ahowe, omwene wetu, ndelenee ovapiya voye ve uya okulanda eendja. 11 Fye atushe ovana vomulumenhu umwe, fye ovanhu ovayuki, ovapiya voye, katu fi eendadi!” 12 Opo ye okwe va lombwela ta ti: “Ahowe, nye omwe uya okutala oshilongo apa sha heva.” 13 Ndele vo ova nyamukula: “Ovapiya voye fye omulongo navavali. Fye ovanhu vaxe imwe, ovana vomulumenhu umwe womedu laKaanan. Ndele tala, onghelo oi li putate, ndelenee umwe okwa kana po.” 14 Opo nee Josef ta ti kuvo: “Hano, osho tuu ngaashi nda ti nye eendadi! 15 Hano nye mu na okutalwa po, oshili ngaashi Farao e na omwenyo, nye itamu di po apa fimbo ondenge yeni inai uya. 16 Tumeni ko umwe a ka tale ko omumwaxo, ndelenee nye omu na okwiidililwa modolongo. Osho hano eendjovo deni tadi talwa, ngeenge odoshili ile doipupulu. Oshili, ngaashi Farao e na omwenyo, onye eendadi!” 17 Ye okwe va idililifa modolongo omafiku atatu.
18 Ndele mefiku etitatu Josef okwe va lombwela ta ti: “Ngeenge mwa hala okukala nomwenyo, omu na okulonga eshi, nde mu lombwela osheshi ame handi tila Kalunga! 19 Nye ngeenge ovanhu ovayuki, umwe womunye oku na okukala apa onghwate mongulu omo mwa li mwa idililwa, ndelenee nye indeni mu ka twale oilya kwaava tava fi ondjala meumbo leni. 20 Ndele etelei nge ondenge yeni, opo eendjovo deni di monike doshili, ndele itamu fi.” Ndele vo osho va ninga.
21 Opo nee vo ova tongafana tava ti: “Oshilishili, paife eshi ohatu alulilwa eshi twa ningila omumwatate, osheshi fye otwa tala oudjuu womwenyo waye, ye eshi e tu ilikana, ndele fye inatu mu pwilikina, onghee oudjuu otau tu hange.” 22 Opo nee Ruben okwe va nyamukula ta ti: “Ame inandi shi mu lombwela kutya: ‘Inamu tula etimba lokaana aka?’ Ndelenee nye inamu uda nge. Taleni, paife ohonde yaye ohatu i pulweni.” 23 Ndele vo inava shiiva nokutya, Josef okwa li e udite ko, osheshi pokati kavo opa kala omutoloki. 24 Opo nee ye okwa dja po puvo nokwa lila. Komesho ye okwa aluka kuvo nokwa popya navo. Ndele ye okwa kufa Simeon mokati kavo ndele te mu mangifa moipafi yavo. 25 Opo nee Josef okwa lombwela va yadife omakutu avo noilya, noimaliwa yakeshe i tulwe mo mekutu laye noku va pa onghuta yomondjila yavo. Nosho va ningilwa.
26 Ndele vo ova tula oilya keendongi davo ndele va dja po. 27 Ndele umwe eshi a mangulula ekutu laye monhanda a pe okandongi kaye oilya, okwa mona oimaliwa yaye. Ndele tala, yo oya li kombada mekutu laye! 28 Ndele ye ta ti kovamwaxe: “Oimaliwa yange nde i alulilwa! Oyei i li mekutu lange omu!” Opo nee omitima davo da kakama, ndele va talafana nokuhaluka ndele tava ti: “Kalunga okwe tu ningila shike ngaha?”
Ovamwaxe vaJosef tava fiki kuxe
29 Ndele vo ova fika kuxe Jakob medu laKaanan, ndele ove mu hepaululila ashishe she va hangela ko ndele tava ti: 30 “Omulumenhu, omupangeli woshilongo okwe tu popifa neendjovo dikukutu, ndele okwe tu tala fye eendadi doshilongo. 31 Ndelenee fye otwe mu lombwela: ‘Fye ovalumenhu ovayuki, katu fi eendadi. 32 Fye omulongo navavali, ovanhu vaxe imwe. Umwe ke po vali, nonghelo oi li putate medu laKaanan.’ 33 Opo nee omulumenhu, omupangeli woshilongo, okwe tu lombwela ta ti: ‘Moshinima eshi ohandi ka shiiva nye ngeenge ovanhu ovayuki; omumwaxo umwe na fyaale po pwaame, ndele twaleni oilya kwaava tava fi ondjala keumbo leni, ndele indeni 34 mu ka tale ko onghelo i uye kwaame, opo ndi shiive nokutya, nye kamu fi eendadi. Nye ngeenge ovanhu ovayuki, ame ohandi ke mu alulila omumwaxo ndele tamu dulu okweendaenda moshilongo.’ ”
35 Ndele vo eshi va pimha oikulya momakutu avo, okakutu koimaliwa yakeshe umwe oka li mekutu laye! Ndele vo eshi va mona oukutu voimaliwa yavo, vo naxe yavo, ova tila. 36 Opo nee Jakob, xe yavo, okwe va lombwela ta ti: “Nye tamu nyeka nge ovana vange. Josef ke po! NaSimeon ke po! Ndele omwa hala vali okukufa nge Benjamin. Ashishe eshi tashi hange nge!” 37 Opo Ruben okwa lombwela xe ndele ta ti: “Ovamwange ovamati vavali va dipaa, ngeenge itandi mu ku alulile. Mu yandja meke lange, naame ohandi ke mu ku alulila.” 38 Ndelenee ye ta ti: “Omumwange ita i pamwe nanye, osheshi omumwaxe okwa fya, noye aeke a fyaala po. Nongeenge oshiponga tashi mu hange mondjila oyo tamu ende nayo, opo nee nye otamu twala eexwiki dange deenghwakutoka noluhodi moshovafi.”
