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.”
Aamwahe yaJosef taa ka landa iilya kuEgipiti
1 Jakob sho a kundana kutya kuEgipiti oku na iilya, okwa lombwele oyana a ti: “Otamu talathana ngiini? 2 Ondu uvu kutya kuEgipiti oku na iilya. Indeni ko, mu ka lande iilya, opo twaa se kondjala.” 3 Aamwahe yaJosef omulongo oya ka landa iilya kuEgipiti, 4 ihe Jakob ina tuma onkelo Benjamin, omumwayina gwaJosef, oshoka a li a tila, pamwe ota adhika koshiponga.
5 Aana yaJakob pamwe nayalwe wo oye ya, ya lande iilya, oshoka muKaanan omwa li mu na ondjala. 6 Josef okwa li omupangeli gwoshilongo nokwa landitha po iilya kaantu yomuuyuni auhe. Aamwahe yaJosef oye ya e taa inyongamene kuye ya tsa iipala mevi. 7 Josef sho a mono aamwahe, okwe ya dhimbulula, ihe okwe ya idhimbike a fa kee ya shi. Okwe ya pula nomagandambadhi a ti: “Otamu zi peni?”
Oya yamukula ya ti: “Otwa zi kuKaanan, twe ya okulanda iilya.”
8 Josef okwa dhimbulula aamwahe, ihe yo inaye mu dhimbulula. 9 Okwa dhimbulukwa oondjodhi ndhoka a yagumine e ta ti kuyo: “One oondaadhi; omwe ya okutala, oshilongo ngele osha nengena.”
10 Oya yamukula ya ti: “Aawe, tatekulu. Tse aapika yoye twe ya okulanda iilya. 11 Tse atuhe aantu naamwayina. Katu shi oondaadhi; tse aantu aayinekelwa.”
12 Josef okwa ti: “Aawe, omwe ya owala mu tale, oshilongo shetu ngele osha nengena.”
13 Oya ti: “Otwa li atuhe kumwe aantu naamwayina omulongo nayaali, aana yomusamane gumwe mevi lyaKaanan. Mukwetu okwa sa, nonkelo oyi li putate kegumbo.”
14 Josef okwa yamukula a ti: “Osho naanaa, ngaashi nda ti: one oondaadhi. 15 Natu taleni, ngele otamu popi oshili. Ote gana medhina lyomukwaniilwa kutya itamu zi po mpaka, manga ondenge yeni onkelo inee ya mpaka. 16 Gumwe gwomune na ye e ke mu tale, yamwe manga taa kala po ya dhigininwa, sigo oshili tayi holoka, ngaashi mwa ti. Ngele hasho, one oondaadhi. Osho oshili, ngaashi omukwaniilwa e na omwenyo.” 17 Nena okwe ya tula mondjedhililo e taa kala mo omasiku gatatu.
18 Mesiku etitatu Josef okwa ti kuyo: “Ngame omutilikalunga nonda hala okuhupitha oomwenyo dheni, ngele otamu ningi ngeyi: 19 Opo tu mone kutya one aantu aayinekelwa, gumwe gwomune na kale mondjedhililo moka mu li, manga yalwe tamu faalele aanaluhepo iilya mbyoka mwa landa. 20 Nena omu na okweetela ndje omumwanyoko onkelo, opo shi ninge ekoleko kutya omwa lombwela ndje oshili, ne mwaa dhipagwe.”
21 Oya zimine e taa lombwelathana taa ti: “Eeno, otatu hepekwa naanaa molwashoka twa ningile omumwamene. Otwa mwene uudhigu we uunene, sho a li e tu indile ohenda, ihe tse inatu pulakena ko. Omolwashoka tu li muudhigu wa tya ngaaka.”
22 Reuben okwa ti: “Inandi mu lombwela, mwaa ehameke omunona, ihe inamu pulakena? Ngashingeyi otatu pulwa ombinzi ye.” 23 Josef oku uvu shoka taa ti, ihe yo inaye shi tseya, oshoka oya popile naye nomutoloki. 24 Josef okwa zi puyo e ta lili. Sho a fudha po, okwa galuka e ta kutha Simeon mokati kawo e te mu mangitha montaneho yawo.
Aamwahe yaJosef taa shuna kuKaanan
25 Josef okwa ti, oompunda dhawo nadhi udhithwe iilya, iimaliwa yawo yi tulwe mompunda yashaa ngoka, yo ya pewe onguta yomondjila. Shika osha ningwa. 26 Aamwahe oya kutile uusino wawo iilya mbyoka ye yi landa e taa yi. 27 Montanda gumwe okwa dhitulula ompunda ye, a paluthe okasino ke e ta mono iimaliwa mokana kompunda. 28 Okwa lombwele aamwayina a ti: “Iimaliwa yandje oya galukila ndje, oyo mbika mompunda yandje!” Omitima dhawo odha kukuka, nomuumbanda oya lombwelathana ya ti: “Akwetu, Kalunga okwe tu ningi ngiini?”
29 Sho ya thiki kuhe kuKaanan, oye mu hokololele ayihe mbyoka ya ningilwa ya ti: 30 “Omupangeli gwaEgipiti okwe tu popitha nomagandambadhi e te tu pe oombedhi dhokundaadha oshilongo she. 31 Otwa yamukula twa ti: ‘Tse katu shi oondaadhi, tse aantu aainekelwa. 32 Otwa li aantu naamwayina omulongo nayaali, aana yahe gumwe. Omumwameme gumwe okwa sa, nonkelo oku li kuKaanan putate.’ 33 Omulumentu omupangeli okwa yamukula a ti: ‘Ningeni ngeyi, opo ku monike kutya ne aantu aainekelwa: Gumwe gwomune na kale pungame, manga yalwe taa ka faalela aanaluhepo iilya. 34 Etelii ndje omumwanyoko onkelo, nena otandi ka tseya kutya ne kamu shi oondaadhi, ihe aayinekelwa. Otandi mu galulile omumwanyoko, opo tamu vulu okweenda noshilongo ashihe.’ ” 35 Sho taa pimpi oompunda dhawo, shaa ngoka okwa mono okampunda ke kiimaliwa. Sho ya mono uumpunda wiimaliwa, oyo pamwe nahe Jakob oya li ya tila. 36 He okwa ti kuyo: “Omwa hala mu yuge ndje aamwandje? Josef ke po; Simeon ke po; ngashingeyi omwa hala mu kuthe ndje Benjamin. Ayihe otayi ehameke ndje.”
37 Reuben okwa ti kuhe: “Ngele itandi ku galulile Benjamin, oto vulu okudhipaga po aamwandje aamati yaali. Mu tula mesiloshimpwiyu lyandje, notandi mu galulile kungoye.” 38 Ihe Jakob okwa ti: “Omumwandje ita yi nane. Omumwayina okwa sa, oye awike a kala po. Ota ningi a adhike koshiponga mondjila. Onda kulupa, noluhodhi ndoka tamu etele ndje, otalu dhipaga ndje.”
