Genesis 44-49

Contemporary English Version

The Missing Cup

44 ^1-2 Later, Joseph told the servant in charge of his house, “Fill the men's grain sacks with as much as they can hold and put their money in the sacks. Also put my silver cup in the sack of the youngest brother.” The servant did as he was told.

³ Early the next morning, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. ⁴ But they had not gone far from the city when Joseph told the servant, “Go after those men! When you catch them, say, ‘My master has been good to you. So why have you stolen his silver cup? ⁵ Not only does he drink from his cup, but he also uses it to learn about the future. You have done a terrible thing.’ ”

⁶ When the servant caught up with them, he said exactly what Joseph had told him to say. ⁷ But they replied, “Sir, why do you say such things? We would never do anything like that! ⁸ We even returned the money we found in our grain sacks when we got back to Canaan. So why would we want to steal any silver or gold from your master's house? ⁹ If you find that one of us has the cup, then kill him, and the rest of us will become your slaves.”

¹⁰ “Good!” the man replied, “I'll do what you have said. But only the one who has the cup will become my slave. The rest of you can go free.”

¹¹ Each of the brothers quickly put his sack on the ground and opened it. ¹² Joseph's servant started searching the sacks, beginning with the one that belonged to the oldest brother. When he came to Benjamin's sack, he found the cup. ¹³ This upset the brothers so much that they began tearing their clothes in sorrow. Then they loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.

¹⁴ When Judah and his brothers got there, Joseph was still at home. So they bowed down to Joseph, ¹⁵ who asked them, “What have you done? Didn't you know I could find out?”

¹⁶ “Sir, what can we say?” Judah replied. “How can we say we are innocent, when God has shown we are guilty? And now all of us are your slaves, especially the one who had the cup.”

¹⁷ Joseph told them, “I would never punish all of you. Only the one who was caught with the cup will become my slave. The rest of you are free to go home to your father.”

Judah Pleads for Benjamin

¹⁸ Judah went over to Joseph and said:

Sir, you have as much power as the king^[a] himself, and I am only your slave. Please don't get angry if I speak. ¹⁹ You asked us if our father was still alive and if we had any more brothers. ²⁰ So we told you, “Our father is a very old man. In fact, he was already old when Benjamin was born. Benjamin's brother is dead. Now Benjamin is the only one of the two brothers who is still alive, and our father loves him very much.”

²¹ You ordered us to bring him here, so you could see him for yourself. ²² We told you that our father would die if Benjamin left him. ²³ But you warned us that we could never see you again, unless our youngest brother came with us. ²⁴ So we returned to our father and reported what you had said.

²⁵ Later our father sent us back here to buy more grain. ²⁶ But we told him, “We can't go back to Egypt without our youngest brother. We will never be let in to see the governor, unless he is with us.”

²⁷ Sir, our father then reminded us that his favorite wife had given birth to two sons. ²⁸ One of them was already missing and had not been seen for a long time. My father thinks the boy was torn to pieces by some wild animal, ²⁹ and he said, “I am an old man. If you take Benjamin from me, and something happens to him, I will die of a broken heart.”

³⁰ That's why Benjamin must be with us when I go back to my father. He loves him so much ³¹ that he will die if Benjamin doesn't come back with me. ³² I promised my father that I would bring him safely home. If I don't, I told my father he could blame me the rest of my life.

³³ Sir, I am your slave. Please let me stay here in place of Benjamin and let him return home with his brothers. ³⁴ How can I face my father if Benjamin isn't with me? I couldn't bear to see my father in such sorrow.

Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is

45 ^(A) Since Joseph could no longer control his feelings in front of his servants, he sent them out of the room. When he was alone with his brothers, he told them, “I am Joseph.” ² Then he cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him and told about it in the king's^[b] palace.

³ Joseph asked his brothers if his father was still alive, but they were too frightened to answer. ⁴ Joseph told them to come closer to him, and when they did, he said:

Yes, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. ⁵ Don't worry or blame yourselves for what you did. God is the one who sent me ahead of you to save lives.

⁶ There has already been a famine for two years, and for five more years no one will plow fields or harvest grain. ⁷ But God sent me on ahead of you to keep your families alive and to save you in this wonderful way. ⁸ After all, you weren't really the ones who sent me here—it was God. He made me the highest official in the king's court and placed me over all Egypt.

^9 (B) Now hurry back and tell my father that his son Joseph says, “God has made me ruler of Egypt. Come here as quickly as you can. ¹⁰ You will live near me in the region of Goshen with your children and grandchildren, as well as with your sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else you own. ¹¹ I will take care of you there during the next five years of famine. But if you don't come, you and your family and your animals will starve to death.”

¹² All of you, including my brother Benjamin, can tell by what I have said that I really am Joseph. ¹³ Tell my father about my great power here in Egypt and about everything you have seen. Hurry and bring him here.

¹⁴ Joseph and Benjamin hugged each other and started crying. ¹⁵ Joseph was still crying as he kissed each of his other brothers. After this, they started talking with Joseph.

¹⁶ When it was told in the palace that Joseph's brothers had come, the king and his officials were happy. ¹⁷ So the king said to Joseph:

Tell your brothers to load their donkeys and return to Canaan. ¹⁸ Tell them to bring their father and their families here. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they can eat and enjoy everything that grows there. ¹⁹ Also tell your brothers to take some wagons from Egypt for their wives and children to ride in. And be sure they bring their father. ²⁰ They can leave their possessions behind, because they will be given the best of everything in Egypt.

²¹ Jacob's sons agreed to do what the king had said. And Joseph gave them wagons and food for their trip home, just as the king had ordered. ²² Joseph gave some new clothes to each of his brothers, but to Benjamin he gave five new outfits and 300 pieces of silver. ²³ To his father he sent ten donkeys loaded with the best things in Egypt, and ten other donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other food for the return trip. ²⁴ Then he sent his brothers off and told them, “Don't argue on the way home!”

²⁵ Joseph's brothers left Egypt, and when they arrived in Canaan, ²⁶ they told their father that Joseph was still alive and was the ruler of Egypt. But their father was so surprised that he could not believe them. ²⁷ Then they told him everything Joseph had said. When he saw the wagons Joseph had sent, he felt much better ²⁸ and said, “Now I can believe you! My son Joseph must really be alive, and I will get to see him before I die.”

Jacob and His Family Go to Egypt

46 Jacob packed up everything he owned and left for Egypt. On the way he stopped near the town of Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God his father Isaac had worshiped. ² That night, God spoke to him in a dream and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”

“Here I am,” Jacob answered.

³ God said, “I am God, the same God your father worshiped. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation. ⁴ I will go with you to Egypt, and later I will bring your descendants back here. Your son Joseph will be at your side when you die.”

^5-7 (C) Jacob and his family set out from Beersheba and headed for Egypt. His sons put him in the wagon that the king^[c] had sent for him, and they put their small children and their wives in the other wagons. Jacob's whole family went to Egypt, including his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters. They took along their animals and everything else they owned.

^8-15 When Jacob went to Egypt, his children who were born in northern Syria^[d] also went along with their families.

Jacob and his wife Leah had a total of 33 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but two of their grandchildren had died in Canaan.

Their oldest son Reuben took his sons Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

Their son Simeon took his sons Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, whose mother was a Canaanite.

Their son Levi took his sons Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Their son Judah took his sons Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. Judah's sons Er and Onan had died in Canaan. Judah's son Perez took his sons Hezron and Hamul.

Their son Issachar took his sons Tola, Puvah, Jashub,^[e] and Shimron.

Their son Zebulun took his sons Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

Their daughter Dinah also went.

^16-18 Jacob and Zilpah, the servant woman Laban had given his daughter Leah, had a total of 16 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Their son Gad took his sons Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

Their son Asher took his sons Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, who took his sons, Heber and Malchiel.

Serah, the daughter of Asher, also went.

^19-22 (D) Jacob and Rachel had 14 children and grandchildren.

Their son Joseph was already in Egypt, where he had married Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of Heliopolis.^[f] Joseph and Asenath had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

Jacob and Rachel's son Benjamin took his sons Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

^23-25 Jacob and Bilhah, the servant woman Laban had given his daughter Rachel, had seven children and grandchildren.

Their son Dan took his son Hushim.

Their son Naphtali took his sons Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

²⁶ Sixty-six members of Jacob's family went to Egypt with him, not counting his daughters-in-law. ^27 (E) Jacob's two grandsons who were born there made it a total of 70 members of Jacob's family in Egypt.

²⁸ Jacob had sent his son Judah ahead of him to ask Joseph to meet them in Goshen. ²⁹ So Joseph got in his chariot and went to meet his father. When they met, Joseph hugged his father around the neck and cried for a long time. ³⁰ Jacob said to Joseph, “Now that I have seen you and know you are still alive, I am ready to die.”

³¹ Then Joseph said to his brothers and to everyone who had come with them:

I must go and tell the king^[g] that you have arrived from Canaan. ³² I will tell him that you are shepherds and that you have brought your sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else you own. ³³ The king will call you in and ask what you do for a living. ³⁴ When he does, be sure to say, “We are shepherds. Our families have always raised sheep.” If you tell him this, he will let you settle in the region of Goshen.

Joseph wanted them to say this to the king, because the Egyptians did not like to be around anyone who raised sheep.

47 ^1-2 Joseph took five of his brothers to the king and told him, “My father and my brothers have come from Canaan. They have brought their sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else they own to the region of Goshen.”

Then he introduced his brothers to the king, ³ who asked them, “What do you do for a living?”

“Sir, we are shepherds,” was their answer. “Our families have always raised sheep. ⁴ But in our country all the pastures are dried up, and our sheep have no grass to eat. So we, your servants, have come here. Please let us live in the region of Goshen.”

⁵ The king said to Joseph, “It's good that your father and brothers have arrived. ⁶ I will let them live anywhere they choose in the land of Egypt, but I suggest that they settle in Goshen, the best part of our land. I would also like for your finest shepherds to watch after my own sheep and goats.”

⁷ Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and introduced him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing, ⁸ and the king asked him, “How old are you?”

⁹ Jacob answered, “I have lived only 130 years, and I have had to move from place to place. My parents and my grandparents also had to move from place to place. But they lived much longer, and their life was not as hard as mine.” ¹⁰ Then Jacob gave the king his blessing once again and left. ¹¹ Joseph obeyed the king's orders and gave his father and brothers some of the best land in Egypt near the city of Rameses. ¹² Joseph also provided food for their families.

A Famine in Egypt

¹³ The famine was bad everywhere in Egypt and Canaan, and the people were suffering terribly. ¹⁴ So Joseph sold them the grain that had been stored up, and he put the money^[h] in the king's treasury. ¹⁵ But when everyone had run out of money, the Egyptians came to Joseph and demanded, “Give us more grain! If you don't, we'll soon be dead, because our money's all gone.”

¹⁶ “If you don't have any money,” Joseph answered, “give me your animals, and I'll let you have some grain.” ¹⁷ From then on, they brought him their horses and donkeys and their sheep and goats in exchange for grain.

Within a year Joseph had collected every animal in Egypt. ¹⁸ Then the people came to him and said:

Sir, there's no way we can hide the truth from you. We are broke, and we don't have any more animals. We have nothing left except ourselves and our land. ¹⁹ Don't let us starve and our land be ruined. If you'll give us grain to eat and seed to plant, we'll sell ourselves and our land to the king.^[i] We'll become his slaves.

²⁰ The famine became so severe that Joseph finally bought every piece of land in Egypt for the king ²¹ and made everyone the king's slaves,^{[j] 22} except the priests. The king gave the priests a regular food allowance, so they did not have to sell their land. ²³ Then Joseph said to the people, “You and your land now belong to the king. I'm giving you seed to plant, ²⁴ but one fifth of your crops must go to the king. You can keep the rest as seed or as food for your families.”

²⁵ “Sir, you have saved our lives!” they answered. “We are glad to be slaves of the king.” ²⁶ Then Joseph made a law that one fifth of the harvest would always belong to the king. Only the priests did not lose their land.

Jacob Becomes an Old Man

²⁷ The people of Israel made their home in the land of Goshen, where they became prosperous and had large families. ²⁸ Jacob himself lived there for 17 years, before dying at the age of 147. ^29 (F) When Jacob knew he did not have long to live, he called in Joseph and said, “If you really love me, you must make a solemn promise not to bury me in Egypt. ³⁰ Instead, bury me in the place where my ancestors are buried.”

“I will do what you have asked,” Joseph answered.

³¹ “Will you give me your word?” Jacob asked.

“Yes, I will,” Joseph promised. After this, Jacob bowed down and prayed at the head of his bed.

Jacob Blesses Joseph's Two Sons

48 Joseph was told that his father Jacob had become very sick. So Joseph went to see him and took along his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ² When Joseph arrived, someone told Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” Jacob sat up in bed, but it took almost all his strength.

^3 (G) Jacob told Joseph:

God All-Powerful appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, where he gave me his blessing ⁴ and promised, “I will give you a large family with many descendants that will grow into a nation. And I am giving you this land that will belong to you and your family forever.”

⁵ Then Jacob went on to say:

Joseph, your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh were born in Egypt, but I accept them as my own, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. ⁶ Any children you have later will be considered yours, but their inheritance will come from Ephraim and Manasseh. ^7 (H) Unfortunately, your mother Rachel died in Canaan after we had left northern Syria^[k] and before we reached Bethlehem.^[l] And I had to bury her along the way.

^8-10 Jacob was very old and almost blind. He did not recognize the two boys, and so he asked Joseph, “Who are these boys?”

Joseph answered, “They are my sons. God has given them to me here in Egypt.”

“Bring them to me,” Jacob said. “I want to give them my blessing.” Joseph brought the boys to him, and he hugged and kissed them.

¹¹ Jacob turned to Joseph and told him, “For many years I thought you were dead and that I would never see you again. But now God has even let me live to see your children.” ¹² Then Joseph made his sons move away from Jacob's knees,^[m] and Joseph bowed down in front of him with his face to the ground.

¹³ After Joseph got up, he brought his two sons over to Jacob again. He led his younger son Ephraim to the left side of Jacob and his older son Manasseh to the right. ¹⁴ But before Jacob gave them his blessing, he crossed his arms, putting his right hand on the head of Ephraim and his left hand on the head of Manasseh. ¹⁵ Then he gave Joseph his blessing and said:

My grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac worshiped the Lord God. He has been with me all my life, ¹⁶ and his angel has kept me safe. Now I pray that he will bless these boys and that my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac will live on because of them. I ask God to give them many children and many descendants as well.

¹⁷ Joseph did not like it when he saw his father place his right hand on the head of the younger son. So he tried to move his father's right hand from Ephraim's head and place it on Manasseh. ¹⁸ Joseph said, “Father, you have made a mistake. This is the older boy. Put your right hand on him.”

¹⁹ But his father said, “Son, I know what I am doing. It's true that Manasseh's family will someday become a great nation. But Ephraim will be even greater than Manasseh, because his descendants will become many great nations.”

^20 (I) Jacob told him that in the future the people of Israel would ask God's blessings on one another by saying, “I pray for God to bless you as much as he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh.” Jacob put Ephraim's name first to show that he would be greater than Manasseh. ²¹ After that, Jacob said, “Joseph, you can see that I won't live much longer. But God will be with you and will lead you back to the land he promised our family long ago. ²² Meanwhile, I'm giving you the hillside^[n] I captured from the Amorites.”

Jacob Blesses His Sons

49 Jacob called his sons together and said:

²⁸ These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is how Jacob gave each of them their proper blessings.

Jacob's Death

^29-31 (K) Jacob told his sons:

Soon I will die, and I want you to bury me in Machpelah Cave. Abraham bought this cave as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, and it is near the town of Mamre in Canaan. Abraham and Sarah are buried there, and so are Isaac and Rebekah. I buried Leah there too. ³² Both the cave and the land that goes with it were bought from the Hittites.

^33 (L) When Jacob had finished giving these instructions to his sons, he lay down on his bed and died.