< Genesis 42 >

1 When someone told Jacob that there was grain in Egypt that people could buy, he said to his sons, “(Why do you just sit there looking at each other?/Do not just sit there looking at each other!) [RHQ] We need some grain!”
Egypt ah cangtham a om te Jakob loh a hmuh vaengah a ca rhoek te Jakob loh, “Ba dongah lae sut na sawt uh thae?” a ti nah.
2 He said to them, “Someone told me that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, in order that we will not die!”
Te phoeiah, “Egypt ah cangtham om tila ka yaak dongah he, n'duek uh pawt tih n'hing uh mak atah te lam khaw cet uh lamtah mah hamla koivawn uh saw,” a ti nah.
3 So Joseph’s ten [older] brothers went down to Egypt to buy some grain.
Te dongah Joseph kah a maya hlang rha rhoek loh Egypt kah cang lai ham suntla uh.
4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s [younger] brother, to go with the others, because he was afraid/worried that something terrible might happen to him like what happened to Joseph.
Tedae Joseph mana Benjamin te tah nganboh yook ve a ti dongah a maya rhoek taengah Jakob loh tueih pawh.
5 So Jacob’s other sons went down from Canaan to Egypt to buy grain, and others from there went too, because there was a famine in Canaan also.
Kanaan kho te khokha a om dongah koivawn ham aka cet rhoek lakli ah Israel ca rhoek khaw cet uh.
6 At that time Joseph was the governor of Egypt. He was the one who sold grain to people who came from all over Egypt and from many other countries [HYP] to buy grain. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, [they were told that it was necessary for them to talk with Joseph. So they went to him and] prostrated themselves before him with their faces to the ground.
Te vaengah Joseph tah a kho kah boei neh diklai pilnam boeih ham cang a yoih. Te dongah Joseph kah a maya rhoek te a caeh uh vaengah anih taengah a maelhmai neh diklai la bakop uh.
7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he pretended that he did not know them. He spoke harshly to them, saying, “Where do you come from?” One of them replied, “We have come from Canaan, to buy some grain.”
A hmuh vaengah Joseph loh a maya rhoek te a hmat ngawn dae amih taengah muet uh tih rhaprhap a voek phoeiah, “Me lamkah lae na lo uh,” a ti nah hatah, “Caak lai ham Kanaan kho lamkah ka lo,” a ti na uh.
8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.
Joseph loh a maya rhoek te a hmat ngawn dae amih loh Joseph te hmat uh pawh.
9 And then Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about them many years previously. [But he decided not to tell them yet that he was their younger brother]. He said to them, “You are spies! You have come to find out whether we will be able to defend ourselves [if you attack us]!”
Te vaengah Joseph loh amih kawng a man vaengkah mueimang te a poek. Te dongah amih te, “Nangmih he rhalyuep ni, khohmuen kah a yah te sawt ham ni na lo uh,” a ti nah.
10 One of them replied, “No, sir! We have come to buy grain.
Tedae amah taengah “Pawh, ka boeipa, na salpa rhoek halo he caak lai ham ngawn ni.
11 We are all sons of one man. We are honest men, not spies.”
Kaimih he hlang pakhat kah a ca rhoek boeih ni. Kaimih hmantang rhoek ni, na sal kaimih ah he longyam a om moenih,” a ti uh.
12 He said to them, “[I do not believe you]. You have come just to see whether we would be able to defend ourselves if we were attacked!”
Tedae amih te Joseph loh, “Khohmuen kah a yah dongah sawt ham na lo uh pawt het nim,” a ti nah.
13 But one of them replied, “No, that is not true! Originally there were twelve of us who were brothers, the sons of one man. Our younger brother is with our father. One [younger] brother has died. [EUP]”
Tevaengah “Na sal rhoek kaimih boeinaphung he hlang pakhat kah a ca rhoek la Kanaan kho ah hlai nit ka lo uh tih a poeih tah tahae ah a pa neh om rhoi dae pakhat te om voelpawh,” a ti na uh.
14 Joseph replied, “[You are lying! I think] it is just as I told you. You are spies!
Tedae amih te Joseph loh, “Nangmih taengah ka thui bangla nangmih he longyam ni ka ti,
15 But this is how I will determine whether what you are saying is true. I think that as surely as the king lives, you are spies. And you will not leave this place until your youngest brother comes here!
Pharaoh kah a hingnah vanbangla he nen he kan noem ni. Na mana a poeih te he la halo pawt atah he lamloh na voei uh mahpawh.
16 Send one of your group to go and get your younger brother and bring him here. I will put the rest of you in prison, in order that I may test what you have said to find out whether what you are telling me is true. If the one who goes does not bring your younger brother here, then, just as surely as the king lives, it will be clear that you are lying and that you are spies.”
Nangmih khuikah pakhat te tueih uh lamtah na mana te lo saeh. Nangmih ngawntah kang khoh uh vetih nangmih kah olka te na khuikah oltak la a om atah kan nuemnai pueng ni. Te pawt koinih Pharaoh kah a hingnah vanbangla nangmih he longyam ni,” a ti nah.
17 Then Joseph put them all in prison for three days.
Te dongah amih te thongim ah hnin thum a khoh.
18 On the third day, Joseph went to the prison and said to them, “I am a man who fears that God [will punish me if I do not do what I promise]. So do what I tell you, and I will spare your lives.
Tedae a thum khohnin ah Joseph loh a maya rhoek te, “He tlam he ka saii dae, kai khaw aka hing Pathen te ka rhih van.
19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, and the rest of you can take some grain back to your families who are very hungry because of the famine.
Na thuem uh atah na manuca khat te im kah thongim khuiah khoh saeh. Te vaengah nangmih te cet uh lamtah na im kah aka lamlum ham cang khuen pa uh.
20 But if you come back here again, you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that you can prove that what you told me is true, and as a result I will not have you executed.” So they agreed to do that.
Tedae na mana a poeih te kai taengah nan khuen uh vaengah nangmih kah olka te khaw cak vetih na duek uh van mahpawh,” a ti nah dongah te tlam te a rhoi uh.
21 They said to each other, “It is surely because of what we did to our [younger] brother that (we are being punished/God is punishing us)! We saw that he [SYN] was very distressed when he pleaded with us not to harm him. But we did not pay any attention to him, and that is why we are having this trouble!”
Te vaengah amah boeinaphung te khat khat ah, “Manuca a hinglu kah citcai te hmuh uh tih mamih taengah calcal a pang lalah n'yaak pah uh pawt dongah tekah citcai loh m'mah taengla ha thoeng tih mamih he rheprhep n'rhaem coeng,” a ti uh.
22 Reuben said to them, “I told you not to harm the boy [RHQ], but you did not pay attention to what I said! Now we are being (paid back/punished) for killing him [MTY]!”
Te vaengah Reuben loh amih te a doo tih, “Nangmih taengah ka thui moenih a? Camoe te veet uh boeh ka ti lalah na ya uh pawt tih a thii han suk coeng he,” a ti nah.
23 While they were talking with Joseph, they were speaking through (an interpreter/someone who knew their language and the Egyptian language), but when they said these things among themselves, they were speaking in their own language, and they did not know that Joseph could understand their language, and that he could understand what they were saying.
Tedae amih laklo ah oldoe a om dongah Joseph loh a yakming te amih loh ming uh pawh.
24 [Because of what they said, Joseph realized that they admitted that what they had done to him many years previously was wrong]. He could not keep from crying, [and he did not want them to see him crying], so he left them and went outside the room and began to cry. But then he returned to them and talked to them again. Then he took Simeon, and while they were watching, he told his servants to tie him up. He left Simeon in the prison and told the others that they could go.
Te dongah Joseph loh amih taeng lamkah mael tih a rhah phoeiah amih taengla koep halo. Tedae amih te a voek phoeiah amih khui kah Simeon te a loh tih amamih kah mikhmuh ah a khoh pah.
25 Joseph told his servants to fill the men’s sacks with grain, but he also told them to put the money that each one had paid for the grain in the top of his sack. He also told them to give them food to eat along the way. After the servants did those things for Joseph’s older brothers,
Tedae Joseph loh a uen coeng dongah amih kah hnopai te cang a sang thil uh. Te vaengah a tangka te a tolkhui khuiah rhip a khueh ham khaw, amih ham te longpueng kah lampu a paek ham khaw, a saii pah.
26 his older brothers loaded the sacks of grain on their donkeys and left.
Te dongah amamih kah cang te laak dongla a pom hang uh tih pahoi cet uh.
27 At the place where they stopped to sleep that night, one of them opened his sack to get some grain for his donkey. He was amazed to see his money in the top of the sack.
Tedae rhaehim ah tah pakhat loh laak rhamcak loh ham a tolkhui te a hlam hatah a tangka te sungkoi kah a rhai ah lawt a hmuh tarha.
28 He exclaimed to his brothers, “Someone has returned my money! Here it is in my sack!” They started shaking with fear, and said to each other, “What is this that God has done to us?”
Te dongah a manuca rhoek taengah, “Kai kah sungkoi dongah kamah kah tangka koep ham mael bal he,” a ti nah hatah amih lungbuei khaw a mawth sut dongah lakueng uh tih a boeinaphung khat rhip loh, “Pathen loh mamih ham balae a saii he,” a ti uh.
29 When they returned to their father in Canaan land, they told him all that had happened to them. One of them said,
Te dongah Kanaan kho kah a napa Jakob taengla a pha uh vaengah amih taengah aka thoeng boeih te amah taengah puen uh.
30 “The man who governs the whole land of Egypt talked very harshly to us. He acted toward us as though we were spying on his country.
“Tekah hlang, a kho kah boei te kaimih taengah rhaprhap cal tih kaimih te a kho kah longyam bangla n'khueh.
31 But we told him, ‘We are honest men! We are not spies.
Tedae anih taengah, ‘hmantang ah kaimih he longyam la ka om moenih.
32 Originally there were twelve of us who were brothers, the sons of one father. One has died [EUP], and our youngest brother is with our father in Canaan.’
A pa kah ca rhoek la ka boeinaphung ah hlai nit ka lo uh dae pakhat om voelpawt tih a poeih ngawn tah tihnin ah khaw a pa neh Kanaan kho ah hmaih om,’ ka ti na uh.
33 The man who is the governor of the land [did not believe us], so he said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are truly honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me. Then the rest of you can take some grain for your families that are starving from hunger and go.
Tedae tekah hlang, a kho kah boei loh kaimih te, ‘boeinaphung kah pakhat te kai taengah na caehtak uh tih te nen te nangmih na thuem ka ming phoeiah na im kah aka lamlum ham caak khuen uh lamtah cet uh.
34 But when you return, bring your youngest brother to me, in order that I will know that you are not spies, but instead, that you are honest men. Then I will release your brother for you. And then you can buy whatever you want in this country.’”
Tedae na mana a poeih te kai taengah han khuen uh. Te daengah ni nangmih te longyam rhoek pawt tih na hmantang tila ka ming eh. Na manuca te nangmih taengla kan paek vetih khohmuen ah na thenpom uh bitni,’ a ti,” a ti uh.
35 As they were emptying their sacks, they were surprised that in each man’s sack was his pouch of money! When they and their father saw all the pouches of money, they were frightened.
Te dongah amamih kah tolkhui te a kong uh hatah a tangka cun te tolkhui dongah rhip tarha om tih tangka cun a hmuh uh vaengah amamih long khaw a napa long khaw a rhih uh.
36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have caused two of my children to be taken from me! Joseph is dead, and Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin from me! It is I who am suffering because of all these things that are happening!”
Te vaengah a napa Jakob loh amih te, “Kai taengah, Joseph na hlong uh tih om voelpawh. Simeon khaw om voelpawh. Tahae ah Benjamin bal atah kai taengkah aka om boeih te lo ne,” a ti nah.
37 Reuben said to his father, “I will be responsible for Benjamin. [I will take him to Egypt and] bring him back to you. Let me take care of him. If I do not bring Benjamin back to you, you may kill both of my sons.”
Te dongah Reuben loh a napa taengah, “Anih te namah taengla kan khuen pawt atah kai ca rhoi khaw ngawn mai. Ka kut dongah han tloeng lamtah kamah loh nang taengla kang khuen bit ni,” a ti nah tih a thui pah.
38 But Jacob said, “No, I will not let my son go down there with you. His [older] brother is dead, and he is the only [one of my wife Rachel’s] sons who is left! If something harms him while you are traveling, you would cause me, a gray-haired old man, to die because of sorrow.” (Sheol h7585)
Tedae anih loh, “Ka ca te a maya duek tih amah bueng a sueng dongah nangmih taengla ha suntla boel saeh. Longpueng na caeh uh vaengah yoethae puei vetih kai sampok he saelkhui ah kothae la nan hla uh ve,” a ti nah. (Sheol h7585)

< Genesis 42 >