Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt to Buy Grain
1 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why don't you do something? 2 I hear that there is grain in Egypt; go there and buy some to keep us from starving to death.” 3 So Joseph's ten half brothers went to buy grain in Egypt, 4 but Jacob did not send Joseph's full brother Benjamin with them, because he was afraid that something might happen to him.
5 The sons of Jacob came with others to buy grain, because there was famine in the land of Canaan. 6 Joseph, as governor of the land of Egypt, was selling grain to people from all over the world. So Joseph's brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he acted as if he did not know them. He asked them harshly, “Where do you come from?”
“We have come from Canaan to buy food,” they answered.
8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 He remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them and said, “You are spies; you have come to find out where our country is weak.”
10 “No, sir,” they answered. “We have come as your slaves, to buy food. 11 We are all brothers. We are not spies, sir, we are honest men.”
12 Joseph said to them, “No! You have come to find out where our country is weak.”
13 They said, “We were twelve brothers in all, sir, sons of the same man in the land of Canaan. One brother is dead, and the youngest is now with our father.”
14 “It is just as I said,” Joseph answered. “You are spies. 15 This is how you will be tested: I swear by the name of the king that you will never leave unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 One of you must go and get him. The rest of you will be kept under guard until the truth of what you say can be tested. Otherwise, as sure as the king lives, you are spies.” 17 With that, he put them in prison for three days.
18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “I am a God-fearing man, and I will spare your lives on one condition. 19 To prove that you are honest, one of you will stay in the prison where you have been kept; the rest of you may go and take back to your starving families the grain that you have bought. 20 Then you must bring your youngest brother to me. This will prove that you have been telling the truth, and I will not put you to death.”
They agreed to this 21 and said to one another, “Yes, now we are suffering the consequences of what we did to our brother; we saw the great trouble he was in when he begged for help, but we would not listen. That is why we are in this trouble now.”
22 Reuben said, “I told you not to harm the boy, but you wouldn't listen. And now we are being paid back for his death.” 23 Joseph understood what they said, but they did not know it, because they had been speaking to him through an interpreter. 24 Joseph left them and began to cry. When he was able to speak again, he came back, picked out Simeon, and had him tied up in front of them.
Joseph's Brothers Return to Canaan
25 Joseph gave orders to fill his brothers' packs with grain, to put each man's money back in his sack, and to give them food for the trip. This was done. 26 The brothers loaded their donkeys with the grain they had bought, and then they left. 27 At the place where they spent the night, one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey and found his money at the top of the sack. 28 “My money has been returned to me,” he called to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack!” Their hearts sank, and in fear they asked one another, “What has God done to us?”
29 When they came to their father Jacob in Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them: 30 “The governor of Egypt spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying against his country. 31 ‘We are not spies,’ we answered, ‘we are honest men. 32 We were twelve brothers in all, sons of the same father. One brother is dead, and the youngest is still in Canaan with our father.’ 33 The man answered, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men: One of you will stay with me; the rest will take grain for your starving families and leave. 34 Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but honest men; I will give your brother back to you, and you can stay here and trade.’”
35 Then when they emptied out their sacks, every one of them found his bag of money; and when they saw the money, they and their father Jacob were afraid. 36 Their father said to them, “Do you want to make me lose all my children? Joseph is gone; Simeon is gone; and now you want to take away Benjamin. I am the one who suffers!”
37 Reuben said to his father, “If I do not bring Benjamin back to you, you can kill my two sons. Put him in my care, and I will bring him back.”
38 But Jacob said, “My son cannot go with you; his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. Something might happen to him on the way. I am an old man, and the sorrow you would cause me would kill me.”
Omarumbi wa Josef mave karanda ovikokotwa kOengipte
1 Jakob tja zuva kutja mOengipte mu novikokotwa, arire tja tja kovazandu ve: “Mwa hirimanene tjike mba nokuhinokutjita otjiṋa? 2 Ami mba zuu kutja kOengipte ku novikokotwa, twendeye ngo mu karande kutja atu ha ṱondjara.” 3 Komuhingo mbwi imba omarumbi wa Josef omurongo otji va ya okukaranda ovikokotwa kOengipte. 4 Nu Jakob ka tumine Benjamin, omuangu wa Josef puna omarumbi we, orondu eye tja tira kutja ngaa kamuna otjipo.
5 Ovazandu va Israel ve ya puna ovandu varwe okuranda ovikokotwa; orondu tji mwa ri ondjara mehi ra Kanaan. 6 Josef ongwa ri ongooneya wokehi yombara mehi arihe ra Engipte ngwaa randisa ovikokotwa kovandu avehe mehi arihe. Omarumbi wa Josef wina otji ve ya, naye rikotamene ku ye. 7 Nu Josef tja muna imba omarumbi we, we ye zemburuka; nungwari eye wa tjita aayo ke ve i. Eye wa hungira noukukutu ku wo ne ve pura nai: “Mamu zu pi?”
Nowo ve mu zira ave tja: “Matu zu kehi ra Kanaan okuyekuranda ovikurya.”
8 Josef wa zemburuka omarumbi we, nungwari owo kave mu zemburukire. 9 Neye wa zemburuka itwi oturoto twa rotera wo, na tja ku wo: “Oweṋe ozohoze, nu mwe ya okutara ehi retu pu ri ri epupu.”
10 Nowo va tja: “Ayee, kako, muhona! Eṱe twe ya otja ovakarere voye okuranda ovikurya. 11 Eṱe atuhe kumwe oweṱe ovangu nomarumbi, ovazandu vomurumendu umwe noweṱe ovaṱakame; ovakarere voye katu zohoze.”
12 Josef wa tja ku wo: “Kako! Eṋe mwe ya okutara ehi retu pu ri ri epupu.”
13 Owo va tja: “Eṱe ovakarere voye twa ri oovangu nomarumbi omurongo na vevari ovazandu vomurumendu umwe mehi ra Kanaan. Ingwi ongero u ri puna tate, nomuangu omukwao wa ṱa.”
14 Nu Josef wa zira a tja: “Pe ri otja indu tji mba hee! Oweṋe ozohoze. 15 Eṋe mamu rorwa nai: Nami me yana tjiri ku Farao, eṋe kamaamu i, nga ongero yeṋu tji ye ya mba. 16 Hindeye umwe a kaete omuangu weṋu. Imba varwe mamu kara mba kehi yondjeverero, nga ouatjiri mbu mamu hungire tji wa munika. Ape he ri nao, me yana tjiri ku Farao, oweṋe ozohoze!” 17 Eye ope ve yumbira motjovakamburwa oure womayuva yetatu.
18 Nu meyuva oritjatatu Josef wa tja ku wo: “Ami mbi nondira ku Ndjambi. Me hupisa ominyo vyeṋu, indu eṋe tji mwa tjiti nai: 19 Eṋe tji mu ri ovandu ovaṱakame, toororeye umwe weṋu ngu ma kara motjovakamburwa, eṋe mba varwe mamu twara ovikokotwa mbi mwa randa komuhoko weṋu mbwa ṱondjara. 20 Nu eterereye ongero yeṋu ku ami, mbi mune kutja eṋe mwa hungire ouatjiri, nu eṋe kamu nokuṱa.”
Nowo va itavera, 21 nave rihungirire oveni ave tja: “Tjiri, eṱe matu tjindi omberero youvi mbu twa tjita komuangu wetu. Twa muna ombamisiro eye ma ri, tji ye riyarikaṋa ombatero ku eṱe, nungwari katu puratenene ko. Opu twa zu okukara mouzeu mbwi nambano.”
22 Ruben arire tje ve ziri nai: “Ami mbe mu raera kutja amu ha tjiti otjipo komuzandu, neṋe kaamu puratene ko. Nambano ombinḓu ye otji mai pahewa mu eṱe.” 23 Josef aa zuu mbyaa ve hungire; nungwari owo kaave tjiwa kutja Josef ma zuu, tjinga apa ri omutoroke pokati kawo. 24 Josef wa zapo pu wo na karira. Nu tja za nokuwisa omutima pehi wa kotoka, a hungire rukwao na wo, na toorora Simeon ne mu pandekere momurungu wawo.
Omarumbi wa Josef mave yaruka kOkanaan
25 Josef wa rakiza kutja omakutu wawo ye urisiwe novikokotwa, nokuyarura mo ovimariva vyomurumendu auhe mekutu re, nokuvepa ovikurya mbi mave ri mondjira. Nu pa tjitwa nao ku wo. 26 Imba oovangu nomarumbi va kutira ousino wawo novikokotwa mbi va randa nave i. 27 Nu poṋa pu va rara ouṱuku, umwe wawo arire tja paturura ekutu re okupa okasino ke ovikurya; neye arire tja munu ovimariva vye kombanda motjinyo tjekutu. 28 Eye wa ravaera komarumbi we na tja: “Ovimariva vyandje vya kotorwa ku ami! Ovyo mbi mekutu randje!” Omitima vyawo arire tji vya zunḓara nave tarasana oveni nondira onene, nave purasana nai: “Hapo, Ndjambi me tu tjiti vi?”
29 Nowo tji ve ya ku ihe Jakob mehi ra Kanaan arire tji ve mu serekarere avihe mbya tjitwa ku wo, nave tja: 30 “Ongooneya ya Engipte yetu hungira noukukutu, nai tja oweṱe ozohoze zokutara ehi ndo. 31 Neṱe twe mu raera kutja oweṱe ovaṱakame, kaweṱe ozohoze. 32 Oweṱe ovazandu oovangu nomarumbi vaihe imwe, twa ri omurongo na vevari, nu umwe wa ṱa, nongero u ri puna tate kehi ra Kanaan. 33 Nomurumendu ngwi omunauvara wa zira a tja: ‘Mbi tjiwe kutja oweṋe ovaṱakame, umwe weṋu nga kare puna ami, nu imba varwe ngave tware ovikokotwa komuhoko weṋu, mbu nondjara. 34 Ndji etereye ongero yeṋu, otji me tjiwa kutja kaweṋe ozohoze, nungwari oweṋe ovanauatjiri. Ami otji me mu kotorere omuangu weṋu kutja mu ryange nouyara mehi.’ ”
35 Nu tji va pukumuna omakutu wawo, ondjaṱu yovimariva yomurumendu auhe ya ri mekutu re. Nowo na ihe tji va muna inḓa ozondjaṱu zovimariva, arire tji va uruma. 36 Ihe Jakob wa tja ku wo: “Eṋe mamu ndji yeka ovanatje vandje. Josef ke po, Simeon ke po; nambano mamu vanga okutwara Benjamin wina. Oruhoze aruhe ndwi ru ri kombanda yandje.”
37 Ruben arire tja tja ku ihe: “Tji mbi ha kotorere Benjamin kove, zepa ovazandu vandje vevari. Mu vara kutja uri kehi youvara nondjeverero yandje, nu ami me mu kotora kove.”
38 Nungwari Jakob wa tja: “Omuzandu wandje ke nakuyenda ko puna eṋe. Erumbi re wa ṱa, neye erike ongwa sewa po. Nu ndoovazu wa kamuna otjipo mondjira, mamu pundisa ozonḓi zandje noruhoze meyendo.”
