Then Judah said, “Let her keep the things (pledge articles) for herself, otherwise we will be a laughingstock [searching everywhere for her]. After all, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her.”

About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the [role of a] prostitute, and she is with child because of her immorality.” So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned [to death as punishment]!”

Judah recognized the articles, and said, “She has been more righteous [in this matter] than I, because I did not give her to my son Shelah [as I had promised].” And Judah did not have [intimate] relations with her again.

But he pulled back his hand, and his brother was born first. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself [to be the firstborn]!” So he was named Perez (breach, break forth).

Then after a time his master’s wife looked at Joseph with desire, and she said, “Lie with me.”

But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me in the house, my master does not concern himself with anything; he has put everything that he owns in my charge.

she called to the men of her household and said to them, “Look at this, your master has brought a Hebrew [into the household] to mock and insult us; he came to me to lie with me, and I screamed.

And they said to him, “We have [each] dreamed [distinct] dreams and there is no one to interpret them.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell me [your dreams].”

So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream there was a grapevine in front of me;

Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches represent three days;

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation [of the dream] was good, he said to Joseph, “I also dreamed, and [in my dream] there were three cake baskets on my head;

Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would mention my faults today.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you that you can understand a dream and interpret it.”

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile;

Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The [two] dreams are one [and the same and have one interpretation]; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.

So Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this [a man equal to Joseph], in whom is the divine spirit [of God]?”

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since [your] God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and clear-headed and wise as you are.

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you [in charge] over all the land of Egypt.”

Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission shall no man raise his hand [to do anything] or set his foot [to go anywhere] in all the land of Egypt [all classes of people shall submit to your authority].”

Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh (causing to forget), for he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and hardship and all [the sorrow of the loss of] my father’s household.”

He named the second [son] Ephraim (fruitfulness), for “God has caused me to be fruitful and very successful in the land of my suffering.”

the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said [they would]; the famine was in all the [surrounding] lands, but in the land of Egypt there was bread (food).

So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; do whatever he says to you.”

Now when Jacob (Israel) learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another [in bewilderment and not taking action]?”

He said, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy [some] grain for us, so that we may live and not die [of starvation].”

But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s [younger] brother, with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that some harm or injury may come to him.”

When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but [hiding his identity] he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them. He said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”

Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies; you have come [with a malicious purpose] to observe the undefended parts of our land.”

But they said to him, “No, my lord, for your servants have [only] come to buy food.

Yet he said to them, “No, you have come to see the undefended parts of our land.”

But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers [in all], the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; please listen: the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive.”

Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies.

Now Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and [you may] live, for I fear God:

And they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty regarding our brother [Joseph], because we saw the distress and anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us [to let him go], yet we would not listen [to his cry]; so this distress and anguish has come on us.”

And he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned! Here it is in my sack!” And their hearts sank, and they were afraid and turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”

But we told him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies.

And the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this [test] I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers here with me and take grain for your starving households and go.

Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me [by causing the loss] of my children. Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin [from me]. All these things are [working] against me.”

Then Reuben spoke to his father, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring Benjamin back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you.”

But Jacob said, “My son shall not go down [to Egypt] with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left [of Rachel’s children]. If any harm or accident should happen to him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol (the place of the dead) in sorrow.”

And it happened that when the families of Jacob’s sons had finished eating [all of] the grain which they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.”

But Judah said to him, “The man [representing Pharaoh] solemnly and sternly warned us, saying, ‘You will not see my face [again] unless your brother is with you.’

But if you will not send him, we will not go down there; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”

And Israel (Jacob) said, “Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man that you had another brother?”

And they said, “The man asked us straightforward questions about ourselves and our relatives. He said, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down [here to Egypt]’?”

Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the young man with me and we will get up and go [buy food], so that we may live and not die [of starvation], we as well as you and our little ones.

Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this; take some of the choicest products of the land in your sacks, and carry it as a present [of tribute] to the man [representing Pharaoh], a little balm and a little honey, aromatic spices or gum, resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds.

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and kill an animal and make [a meal] ready; for the men will dine with me at noon.”

The men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and [expecting the worst] they said, “It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time [we came] that we are being brought in, so that he may find a reason to accuse us and assail us, and take us as slaves, and seize our donkeys.”

and said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down here the first time to buy food;

But the steward [encouraged them and] said, “Peace be to you, do not be afraid; your God and the God of your father has [miraculously] given you treasure in your sacks. I [already] had your money [which you paid to us].” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

He asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

And he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s [only other] son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” And Joseph said, “God be gracious to you and show you favor, my son.”

Then he washed his face and came out, and, restraining himself, said, “Let the meal be served.”

Put my [personal] cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his grain money.” And the steward did as Joseph had told him.

When they had left the city, and were not yet far away, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up, follow after the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil [to us] for good [paid to you]?

So the steward overtook them and he said these words to them.

They said to him, “Why does my lord speak these things? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing!

And the steward said, “Now let it be as you say; he with whom the cup is found will be my slave, but the rest of you shall be blameless.”

Joseph spoke harshly to them, “What is this thing that you have done? Do you not realize that such a man as I can indeed practice divination and foretell [everything you do without outside knowledge of it]?”

So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we reply? Or how can we clear ourselves, since God has exposed the sin and guilt of your servants? Behold, we are my lord’s slaves, the rest of us as well as he with whom the cup is found.”

But Joseph said, “Far be it from me that I should do that; but the man in whose hand the cup has been found, he will be my servant; and as for [the rest of] you, get up and go in peace to your father.”

Then Judah approached him, and said, “O my lord, please let your servant say a word to you in private, and do not let your anger blaze against your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh [so I speak as if directly to him].

We said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a young [brother, Benjamin, the] child of his old age. Now his brother [Joseph] is dead, and he alone is left of [the two sons born of] his mother, and his father loves him.’

Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me that I may actually see him.’

But we said to my lord, ‘The young man cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’

So when we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.

Our father said, ‘Go back [to Egypt], and buy us a little food.’

But we said, ‘We cannot go down [to Egypt]. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down [there]; for we [were sternly told that we] cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’

Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife [Rachel] bore me [only] two sons.

And one [son] went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless, for they were stunned and dismayed by [the fact that they were in] Joseph’s presence.

And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they approached him. And he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: load your animals and return to the land of Canaan [without delay],

So he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “See that you do not quarrel on the journey [about how to explain this to our father].”

and they said to him, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But Jacob was stunned and his heart almost stopped beating, because he did not believe them.

When they told him everything that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

And Israel (Jacob) said, “It is enough! Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.”

And He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you (your descendants) a great nation there.

And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die [in peace], since I have seen your face [and know] that you are still alive.”

Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me;

And Pharaoh said to his brothers [as Joseph expected], “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers [before us].”

Moreover, they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live temporarily (sojourn) in the land [of Egypt], for there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants [in our land], for the famine is very severe in Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.”

Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. Few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, and they have not reached the years that my fathers lived during the days of their pilgrimage.”

And when the money was exhausted in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes? For our money is gone.”

Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, since the money is gone.”

When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord [the fact] that our money is spent; my lord also has our herds of livestock; there is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.

Then Joseph said to the people, “Look, today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you shall plant the land.

And they said, “You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”

And when the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh and [promise to] deal loyally and faithfully with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,

but when I lie down with my fathers [in death], you will carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place [at Hebron in the cave of Machpelah].” And Joseph said, “I will do as you have directed.”

Then he said, “Swear to me [that you will do it].” So he swore to him. Then Israel (Jacob) bowed in worship at the head of the bed.

Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz (Bethel) in the land of Canaan and blessed me,

and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a great company of people, and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’

When Israel [who was almost blind] saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?”

Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here [in Egypt].” So he said, “Please bring them to me, so that I may bless them.”

Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face, but see, God has shown me your children as well.”

Then Jacob (Israel) blessed Joseph, and said,

“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked [in faithful obedience],
The God who has been my Shepherd [leading and caring for me] all my life to this day,

Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn; place your right hand on Manasseh’s head.”