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.”
Bakulu ba Josefa banoyenda ku Egipiti
1 Jakubo kati ahwa kuti kuna mathunde ku Egipiti kati ku bakololo babe, “Mugelileni makalingana saikoku? 2 Ndakahwa kuti kuna mathunde ku Egipiti. Yendani munotitengela mathunde kuti titjile tisife nge zhala.” 3 Ndizo bakulu ba Josefa bali gumi bakayenda kunotenga mathunde ku Egipiti. 4 Koga Jakubo kasitume Bhenjamini nnung'una wa Josefa ne bamwe ngoti wakabe etja kuti pamwe tjakabipa tjingan'wila.
5 Ndizo bakololo ba Iziraela bakabe bali bamwe bakabe bayenda kunotenga mathunde ngoti zhala yakabe yaswika ne ku Kanana. 6 Tjibaka itjetjo Josefa wakabe ali mbusi we shango iyeyo, ndiye wakabe etengesa mathunde ku bathu bose, ndizo bakulu ba Josefa bakazha bakanthigamila. 7 Josefa kati ebona bakulu babe kabaziba, koga kazwitola se ntaya kabalebesa nge kubakaikanya ebhuzwa eti, “Madwa ngayi?” Ibo bakashandula beti, “Tadwa ku Kanana tawotenga zojiwa.”
8 Nenguba Josefa akaziba bakulu babe ibo abazonziba. 9 Ipapo kakumbula mawoloto awe nge kwabo ngono kati ku bali, “Imwi mu shodzi! Mazha kuwoshola shango yedu kuwobona paisakasima.”
10 Bakadabila beti, “Tetshi wedu, akuzojalo, tazha kuwotenga zojiwa. 11 Tose ti bana be nthu. Ti balume banogalikabgwe, iswi balanda benyu ate tili shodzi.”
12 Josefa kabe eti ku bali, “Akuna! Mazha kuwoshola shango kubona paisakasima.”
13 Bakashandula beti, “Iswi takabe tili gumi lina babili, tili bana be nthu, bakololo be mmwe nlume unogala ku Kanana. Kologwe tjedu tjasala na tate bedu, mmwe aatjipo wakatisiya.”
14 Josefa kati ku bali, “Konga sekwa ndaleba koga. Imwi mu shodzi! 15 Koga zila ya munowoshogwa ndiyo eyi: Ndotuna na Faro, amungadwe mu magalo iyawa kuzhe kwe kuti nnung'una wenyu abe azha ipapa. 16 Tumani mmwe wenyu anotola nnung'una wenyu, bamwe bose banowosala mu busungwa kuti matama enyu ashogwe kuti kene malebeswa. Ha musingalebese, ndotuna na Faro, mu shodzi!” 17 Josefa kabalonga mu ng'umba ye busungwa mazhuba ali matatu.
18 Mu zhuba le butatu Josefa kabadwa kati, “Imi ndotja Ndzimu, ndizo thamani tjandinoleba mutjile. 19 Kulakidza kuti mu bathu banogalikabgwe, mmwe wenyu ngaasale mu busungwa ha bamwe beyisa mathunde ku misha yenyu inofa nge zhala. 20 Muzhise kologwe tjenyu kundili kuti matama enyu azhadzisike kuti ndizo musife nge zhala.”
Ngono bakadumana nako. 21 Bakalebesana tjekwabo beti, “Malebeswa tina nlandu ngekwe nnung'una wedu. Takabona dumbu kudziyidzika kukwe etikumbila koga iswi tikasihwilile, ndizo wali kudziyidzika ikoku kwatiwila.”
22 Rubheni kabe eti, “Apa andizomudwa ati musithame mbisana tjimwe tjakabipa kene? Koga amuzohwilila! Ndizo ngwenu lopa lile loshakwa mutili.” 23 Bakabe basingazibe kuti Josefa wakabe ebahwa se akabe eshingisa ntoloki. 24 Josefa kadwa pabali kanolila, koga kabuya kulebeleka nabo kakale. Katola Simiyoni mu bali kasungwa mbeli kwabo.
Bakulu ba Josefa banobgwilila ku Kanana
25 Josefa kalaya kuti hwomo dzabo dzipakiwe dzizhale mathunde. Ne kuti mmwe ne mmwe wabo abgwilizigwe mari mu hwomo iye, bapiwe mbuba dze gwendo gwabo. Bakathamigwa saikoko. 26 Bakabelesa hwomo dzabo mu madonki abo bakayenda. 27 Pa bakalala mmwe wabo kazhula hwomo kupa donki iye zojiwa ngono kawana mari awe pa nlomo we hwomo iye. 28 Kabe eti ku bamwe, “Mari angu abgwiliziwa, awawa mu hwomo yangu.” Bakalobgwa nge hana, bakalingana betetema ngono bakati, “Ini ikoku Ndzimu kwawatithamila kene?”
29 Bakati beswika kuna Jakubo tate babo mu shango ye Kanana, bakababudza kose kwakabashingikalila. Bakati, 30 “Mbusi we shango iyeyije wakatilebesa nge bushongola, katitola se shodzi dzinoshola shango. 31 Koga iswi takandwa tikati, ‘Iswi ti bathu banogalikabgwe, ate tili shodzi. 32 Takabe tili bana be nthu tili gumi lina babili, mmwe wakatisiya, kologwe tjakasala na tate bedu ku Kanana.’ 33 Nlume iwoyo kabe eti, ‘Ndowoziba kuti mu balume banogalikabgwe nge zila eyi, mmwe wenyu unowosala nami, bamwe banowotola mathunde bakaayisa ku misha yabo inofa nge zhala. 34 Muzhise kologwe tjenyu kundili. Ipapo ndowoziba kuti ate muli shodzi, koga mu balume banogalikabgwe. Ndizo ndowosunungula mmwe wenyu kuti ndizo mukowoshaba zwenyu mu shango iyeyi.’ ”
35 Bakati bopipha hwomo dzabo bakawana hwomwana dze mari mu hwomo ye mmwe ne mmwe wabo ina mari ayo. Bakati bebona mari bose na tate babo bakapaluka moyo. 36 Tate babo Jakubo bakati ku bali, “Manditolela bana bangu. Josefa aatjipo na Simiyoni aatjipo, ngono ngwenu moshakatola Bhenjamini. Tjimwe ne tjimwe tjogwisana nami.”
37 Ipapo Rubheni kabe eti, “Mundipe iye ndowontjengeta. Andingasambuza mubulaye bakololo bangu bose babili.”
38 Koga Jakubo kabe eti, “Nkololo wangu aatowoyenda ikweno namwi, nkulu uwe wakafa iye ndiye yega wakasala. Ha tjimwe tjakabipa tjingan'wila mu gwendo gwamunotola, mowobe mathama kuti ndidzine ndife nge moyo una shungu.”