Genesis 42

VULGATA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Audiens autem Jacob quod alimenta venderentur in Ægypto, dixit filiis suis : Quare negligitis ?	1 When Jacob learned that grain rations were available in Egypt, he said to his sons: "Why do you keep gaping at one another?
2 audivi quod triticum venundetur in Ægypto : descendite, et emite nobis necessaria, ut possimus vivere, et non consumamur inopia.	2 I hear," he went on, "that rations of grain are available in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, that we may stay alive rather than die of hunger."
3 Descendentes igitur fratres Joseph decem, ut emerent frumenta in Ægypto,	3 So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy an emergency supply of grain from Egypt.
4 Benjamin domi retento a Jacob, qui dixerat fratribus ejus : Ne forte in itinere quidquam patiatur mali :	4 It was only Joseph's full brother Benjamin that Jacob did not send with the rest, for he thought some disaster might befall him.
5 ingressi sunt terram Ægypti cum aliis qui pergebant ad emendum. Erat autem fames in terra Chanaan.	5 Thus, since there was famine in the land of Canaan also, the sons of Israel were among those who came to procure rations.
6 Et Joseph erat princeps in terra Ægypti, atque ad ejus nutum frumenta populis vendebantur. Cumque adorassent eum fratres sui,	6 It was Joseph, as governor of the country, who dispensed the rations to all the people. When Joseph's brothers came and knelt down before him with their faces to the ground,
7 et agnovisset eos, quasi ad alienos durius loquebatur, interrogans eos : Unde venistis ? Qui responderunt : De terra Chanaan, ut emamus victui necessaria.	7 he recognized them as soon as he saw them. But he concealed his own identity from them and spoke sternly to them. "Where do you come from?" he asked them. They answered, "From the land of Canaan, to procure food."
8 Et tamen fratres ipse cognoscens, non est cognitus ab eis.	8 When Joseph recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him,
9 Recordatusque somniorum, quæ aliquando viderat, ait ad eos : Exploratores estis : ut videatis infirmiora terræ venistis.	9 he was reminded of the dreams he had about them. He said to them: "You are spies. You have come to see the nakedness of the land."
10 Qui dixerunt : Non est ita, domine, sed servi tui venerunt ut emerent cibos.	10 "No, my lord," they replied. "On the contrary, your servants have come to procure food.
11 Omnes filii unius viri sumus : pacifici venimus, nec quidquam famuli tui machinantur mali.	11 All of us are sons of the same man. We are honest men; your servants have never been spies."
12 Quibus ille respondit : Aliter est : immunita terræ hujus considerare venistis.	12 But he answered them: "Not so! You have come to see the nakedness of the land."
13 At illi : Duodecim, inquiunt, servi tui, fratres sumus, filii viri unius in terra Chanaan : minimus cum patre nostro est, alius non est super.	13 "We your servants," they said, "were twelve brothers, sons of a certain man in Canaan; but the youngest one is at present with our father, and the other one is gone."
14 Hoc est, ait, quod locutus sum : exploratores estis.	14 "It is just as I said," Joseph persisted; "you are spies.
15 Jam nunc experimentum vestri capiam : per salutem Pharaonis non egrediemini hinc, donec veniat frater vester minimus.	15 This is how you shall be tested: unless your youngest brother comes here, I swear by the life of Pharaoh that you shall not leave here.
16 Mittite ex vobis unum, et adducat eum : vos autem eritis in vinculis, donec probentur quæ dixistis utrum vera an falsa sint : alioquin per salutem Pharaonis exploratores estis.	16 So send one of your number to get your brother, while the rest of you stay here under arrest. Thus shall your words be tested for their truth; if they are untrue, as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!"
17 Tradidit ergo illos custodiæ tribus diebus.	17 With that, he locked them up in the guardhouse for three days.
18 Die autem tertio eductis de carcere, ait : Facite quæ dixi, et vivetis : Deum enim timeo.	18 On the third day Joseph said to them: "Do this, and you shall live; for I am a God-fearing man.
19 Si pacifici estis, frater vester unus ligetur in carcere : vos autem abite, et ferte frumenta quæ emistis, in domos vestras,	19 If you have been honest, only one of your brothers need be confined in this prison, while the rest of you may go and take home provisions for your starving families.
20 et fratrem vestrum minimum ad me adducite, ut possim vestros probare sermones, et non moriamini. Fecerunt ut dixerat,	20 But you must come back to me with your youngest brother. Your words will thus be verified, and you will not die." To this they agreed.
21 et locuti sunt ad invicem : Merito hæc patimur, quia peccavimus in fratrem nostrum, videntes angustiam animæ illius, dum deprecaretur nos, et non audivimus : idcirco venit super nos ista tribulatio.	21 To one another, however, they said: "Alas, we are being punished because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us, yet we paid no heed; that is why this anguish has now come upon us."
22 E quibus unus Ruben, ait : Numquid non dixi vobis : Nolite peccare in puerum : et non audistis me ? en sanguis ejus exquiritur.	22 "Didn't I tell you," broke in Reuben, "not to do wrong to the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now comes the reckoning for his blood."
23 Nesciebant autem quod intelligeret Joseph, eo quod per interpretem loqueretur ad eos.	23 They did not know, of course, that Joseph understood what they said, since he spoke with them through an interpreter.
24 Avertitque se parumper, et flevit : et reversus locutus est ad eos.	24 But turning away from them, he wept. When he was able to speak to them again, he had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.
25 Tollensque Simeon, et ligans illis præsentibus, jussit ministris ut implerent eorum saccos tritico, et reponerent pecunias singulorum in sacculis suis, datis supra cibariis in viam : qui fecerunt ita.	25 Then Joseph gave orders to have their containers filled with grain, their money replaced in each one's sack, and provisions given them for their journey. After this had been done for them,
26 At illi portantes frumenta in asinis suis, profecti sunt.	26 they loaded their donkeys with the rations and departed.
27 Apertoque unus sacco, ut daret jumento pabulum in diversorio, contemplatus pecuniam in ore sacculi,	27 At the night encampment, when one of them opened his bag to give his donkey some fodder, he was surprised to see his money in the mouth of his bag.
28 dixit fratribus suis : Reddita est mihi pecunia, en habetur in sacco. Et obstupefacti, turbatique, mutuo dixerunt : Quidnam est hoc quod fecit nobis Deus ?	28 "My money has been returned!" he cried out to his brothers. "Here it is in my bag!" At that their hearts sank. Trembling, they asked one another, "What is this that God has done to us?"
29 Veneruntque ad Jacob patrem suum in terram Chanaan, et narraverunt ei omnia quæ accidissent sibi, dicentes :	29 When they got back to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them.
30 Locutus est nobis dominus terræ dure, et putavit nos exploratores esse provinciæ.	30 "The man who is lord of the country," they said, "spoke to us sternly and put us in custody as if we were spying on the land.
31 Cui respondimus : Pacifici sumus, nec ullas molimur insidias.	31 But we said to him: 'We are honest men; we have never been spies.
32 Duodecim fratres uno patre geniti sumus : unus non est super, minimus cum patre nostro est in terra Chanaan.	32 There were twelve of us brothers, sons of the same father; but one is gone, and the youngest one is at present with our father in the land of Canaan.'
33 Qui ait nobis : Sic probabo quod pacifici sitis : fratrem vestrum unum dimittite apud me, et cibaria domibus vestris necessaria sumite, et abite,	33 Then the man who is lord of the country said to us: 'This is how I shall know if you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, while the rest of you go home with rations for your starving families.
34 fratremque vestrum minimum adducite ad me, ut sciam quod non sitis exploratores : et istum, qui tenetur in vinculis, recipere possitis : ac deinceps quæ vultis, emendi habeatis licentiam.	34 When you come back to me with your youngest brother, and I know that you are honest men and not spies, I will restore your brother to you, and you may move about freely in the land.'"
35 His dictis, cum frumenta effunderent, singuli repererunt in ore saccorum ligatas pecunias, exterritisque simul omnibus,	35 When they were emptying their sacks, there in each one's sack was his moneybag! At the sight of their moneybags, they and their father were dismayed.
36 dixit pater Jacob : Absque liberis me esse fecistis : Joseph non est super, Simeon tenetur in vinculis, et Benjamin auferetis : in me hæc omnia mala reciderunt.	36 Their father Jacob said to them: "Must you make me childless? Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and now you would take away Benjamin! Why must such things always happen to me?"
37 Cui respondit Ruben : Duos filios meos interfice, si non reduxero illum tibi : trade illum in manu mea, et ego eum tibi restituam.	37 Then Reuben told his father: "Put him in my care, and I will bring him back to you. You may kill my own two sons if I do not return him to you."
38 At ille : Non descendet, inquit, filius meus vobiscum : frater ejus mortuus est, et ipse solus remansit : si quid ei adversi acciderit in terra ad quam pergitis, deducetis canos meos cum dolore ad inferos.	38 But Jacob replied: "My son shall not go down with you. Now that his full brother is dead, he is the only one left. If some disaster should befall him on the journey you must make, you would send my white head down to the nether world in grief."