Joseph's Brethren Return with Benjamin

431 And the famine was grievous in the land. 2 And it came to pass, when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, Go again, buy us a little food. 3 And Judah spoke to him, saying, The man did positively testify to us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, unless your brother be with you. 4 If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food; 5 but if thou do not send [him], we will not go down, for the man said to us, Ye shall not see my face, unless your brother be with you. 6 And Israel said, Why did ye deal [so] ill with me [as] to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? 7 And they said, The man asked very closely after us, and after our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye a brother? And we told him according to the tenor of these words. Could we at all know that he would say, Bring your brother down? 8 And Judah said to Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live, and not die, both we and thou and our little ones. 9 I will be surety for him: of my hand shalt thou require him; if I bring him not to thee, and set him before thy face, then shall I be guilty toward thee for ever. 10 For had we not lingered, we should now certainly have returned already twice.

11 And their father Israel said to them, If it is then so, do this: take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a gift: a little balsam and a little honey, tragacanth and ladanum, pistacia-nuts and almonds. 12 And take other money in your hand, and the money that was returned to you in the mouth of your sacks, carry back in your hand: perhaps it is an oversight. 13 And take your brother, and arise, go again to the man. 14 And the Almighty God give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother and Benjamin! And I, if I be bereaved of children, am bereaved.

15 And the men took that gift, and took double money in their hand, and Benjamin, and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and came before Joseph. 16 And Joseph saw Benjamin with them, and said to the [man] who was over his house, Bring the men into the house, and slaughter cattle, and make ready; for the men shall eat with me at noon. 17 And the man did as Joseph had said; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. 18 And the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph's house, and said, Because of the money that was returned to us in our sacks at the beginning are we brought in, that he may turn against us, and fall upon us and take us for bondmen, and our asses. 19 And they came up to the man that was over Joseph's house, and they spoke to him at the door of the house, 20 and said, Ah! my lord, we came indeed down at the first to buy food. 21 And it came to pass when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and behold, [every] man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money according to its weight; and we have brought it again in our hand. 22 And other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks. 23 And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; your money came to me. And he brought Simeon out to them. 24 And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses food. 25 And they made ready the gift for Joseph's coming at noon; for they had heard that they should eat bread there.

26 When Joseph came home, they brought him the gift that was in their hand, into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. 27 And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well—the old man of whom ye spoke? Is he yet alive? 28 And they said, Thy servant our father is well; he is yet alive. And they bowed, and made obeisance. 29 And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother of whom ye spoke to me? And he said, God be gracious to thee, my son! 30 And Joseph made haste, for his bowels burned for his brother; and he sought [a place] to weep, and he went into the chamber, and wept there. 31 And he washed his face, and came out, and controlled himself, and said, Set on bread. 32 And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. 33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth; and the men marvelled one at another. 34 And he had portions carried to them from before him. And Benjamin's portion was five times greater than the portions of them all. And they drank, and made merry with him.

The Missing Cup

441 And he commanded him who was over his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry; and put every man's money in the mouth of his sack. 2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain-money. And he did according to the word of Joseph which he had spoken. 3 In the morning, when it was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. 4 They were gone out of the city, [and] not [yet] far off, when Joseph said to him who was over his house, Up! follow after the men; and when thou overtakest them, thou shalt say to them, Why have ye rewarded evil for good? 5 Is not this [it] in which my lord drinks, and in which indeed he divines? Ye have done evil [in] what ye have done. 6 And he overtook them, and he spoke to them these words. 7 And they said to him, Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from thy servants to do such a thing! 8 Behold, the money that we found in our sacks' mouths we have brought again to thee from the land of Canaan; and how should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold? 9 With whomsoever of thy servants it is found, let him die; and we also will be my lord's bondmen. 10 And he said, Now also [let] it [be] according to your words: let him with whom it is found be my bondman, but ye shall be blameless. 11 And they hasted and laid down every man his sack on the ground, and opened every man his sack. 12 And he searched carefully: he began at the eldest, and ended at the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. 13 Then they rent their clothes, and loaded every man his ass, and they returned to the city. 14 And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; and he was still there; and they fell down before him to the ground. 15 And Joseph said to them, What deed is this which ye have done? Did ye not know that such a man as I can certainly divine? 16 And Judah said, What shall we say to my lord? what shall we speak, and how justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of thy servants; behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we, and he in whose hand the cup has been found. 17 And he said, Far be it from me to do so! The man in whose hand the cup has been found, he shall be my bondman; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.

Judah Pleads for Benjamin

18 Then Judah came near to him, and said, Ah! my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant; for thou art even as Pharaoh. 19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? 20 And we said to my lord, We have an aged father, and a child born to him in his old age, [yet] young; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother; and his father loves him. 21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down to me, that I may set mine eye on him. 22 And we said to my lord, The youth cannot leave his father: if he should leave his father, [his father] would die. 23 And thou saidst to thy servants, Unless your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. 24 And it came to pass when we came up to thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25 And our father said, Go again, buy us a little food. 26 But we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down; for we cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us. 27 And thy servant my father said to us, Ye know that my wife bore me two [sons]; 28 and the one went out from me, and I said, He must certainly have been torn in pieces; and I have not seen him [again] hitherto. 29 And if ye take this one also from me, and mischief should befall him, ye will bring down my grey hairs with misery to Sheol. 30 And now, when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us,—seeing that his life is bound up with his life, 31 it will come to pass when he sees that the lad is not [there], that he will die; and thy servants will bring down the grey hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. 32 For thy servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, If I bring him not to thee, then I shall be guilty toward my father all my days. 33 And now, let thy servant stay, I pray thee, instead of the lad a bondman to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brethren; 34 for how should I go up to my father if the lad were not with me?—lest I see the evil that would come on my father.

Joseph Makes Himself Known to His Brethren

451 And Joseph could not control himself before all them that stood by him, and he cried, Put every man out from me! And no man stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brethren. 2 And he raised his voice in weeping; and the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard. 3 And Joseph said to his brethren, I am Joseph. Does my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him, for they were troubled at his presence. 4 And Joseph said to his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5 And now, be not grieved, and be not angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been these two years in the land; and yet there are five years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. 7 So God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance. 8 And now it was not you [that] sent me here, but God; and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and governor over all the land of Egypt. 9 Haste and go up to my father, and say to him, Thus says thy son Joseph: God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, tarry not. 10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near to me, thou, and thy sons, and thy sons' sons, and thy sheep, and thy cattle, and all that thou hast. 11 And there will I maintain thee; for yet there are five years of famine; in order that thou be not impoverished, thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast. 12 And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth which speaks to you. 13 And tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen, and haste and bring down my father hither. 14 And he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them; and after that his brethren talked with him.

16 And the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come. And it was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his bondmen. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Say to thy brethren, Do this: load your beasts and depart, go into the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households, and come to me; and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. 19 And thou art commanded—this do: take waggons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and take up your father, and come. 20 And let not your eye regret your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt shall be yours. 21 And the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them waggons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. 22 To each one of them all he gave changes of clothing; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred [pieces] of silver and five changes of clothing. 23 And to his father he sent this: ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with corn and bread, and food for his father by the way. 24 And he sent his brethren away, and they departed. And he said to them, Do not quarrel on the way.

25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. 26 And they told him, saying, Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And his heart fainted, for he did not believe them. 27 And they spoke to him all the words of Joseph, which he had spoken to them. And he saw the waggons that Joseph had sent to carry him. And the spirit of Jacob their father revived. 28 And Israel said, It is enough: Joseph my son is yet alive; I will go and see him before I die.

24 But the Pharisees, having heard [it], said, This [man] does not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub, prince of demons. 25 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not subsist. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom subsist? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, your sons, by whom do they cast [them] out? For this reason they shall be your judges. 28 But if I by [the] Spirit of God cast out demons, then indeed the kingdom of God is come upon you. 29 Or how can any one enter into the house of the strong [man] and plunder his goods, unless first he bind the strong [man]? and then he will plunder his house. 30 He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathers not with me scatters. 31 For this reason I say unto you, Every sin and injurious speaking shall be forgiven to men, but speaking injuriously of the Spirit shall not be forgiven to men. 32 And whosoever shall have spoken a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming [one]. 33 Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt. For from the fruit the tree is known. 34 Offspring of vipers! how can ye speak good things, being wicked? For of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man out of the good treasure brings forth good things; and the wicked man out of the wicked treasure brings forth wicked things. 36 But I say unto you, that every idle word which men shall say, they shall render an account of it in judgment-day: 37 for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

An Evil Generation Seeks a Sign

38 Then answered him some of the scribes and Pharisees, saying, Teacher, we desire to see a sign from thee. 39 But he, answering, said to them, A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it save the sign of Jonas the prophet. 40 For even as Jonas was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, thus shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 Ninevites shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, more than Jonas [is] here. 42 A queen of [the] south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, more than Solomon [is] here.

The Return of the Unclean Spirit

43 But when the unclean spirit has gone out of the man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and does not find [it]. 44 Then he says, I will return to my house whence I came out; and having come, he finds [it] unoccupied, swept, and adorned. 45 Then he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits worse than himself, and entering in, they dwell there; and the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first. Thus shall it be to this wicked generation also.

Jesus' Mother and Brethren

46 But while he was yet speaking to the crowds, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him. 47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren are standing without, seeking to speak to thee. 48 But he answering said to him that spoke to him, Who is my mother, and who are my brethren? 49 And, stretching out his hand to his disciples, he said, Behold my mother and my brethren; 50 for whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in [the] heavens, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 12:24-50

Commentary on Matthew 12:22-30

(Read Matthew 12:22-30)

A soul under Satan's power, and led captive by him, is blind in the things of God, and dumb at the throne of grace; sees nothing, and says nothing to the purpose. Satan blinds the eyes by unbelief, and seals up the lips from prayer. The more people magnified Christ, the more desirous the Pharisees were to vilify him. It was evident that if Satan aided Jesus in casting out devils, the kingdom of hell was divided against itself; how then could it stand! And if they said that Jesus cast out devils by the prince of the devils, they could not prove that their children cast them out by any other power. There are two great interests in the world; and when unclean spirits are cast out by the Holy Spirit, in the conversion of sinners to a life of faith and obedience, the kingdom of God is come unto us. All who do not aid or rejoice in such a change are against Christ.

Commentary on Matthew 12:31-32

(Read Matthew 12:31-32)

Here is a gracious assurance of the pardon of all sin upon gospel terms. Christ herein has set an example to the sons of men, to be ready to forgive words spoken against them. But humble and conscientious believers, at times are tempted to think they have committed the unpardonable sin, while those who have come the nearest to it, seldom have any fear about it. We may be sure that those who indeed repent and believe the gospel, have not committed this sin, or any other of the same kind; for repentance and faith are the special gifts of God, which he would not bestow on any man, if he were determined never to pardon him; and those who fear they have committed this sin, give a good sign that they have not. The trembling, contrite sinner, has the witness in himself that this is not his case.

Commentary on Matthew 12:33-37

(Read Matthew 12:33-37)

Men's language discovers what country they are of, likewise what manner of spirit they are of. The heart is the fountain, words are the streams. A troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring, must send forth muddy and unpleasant streams. Nothing but the salt of grace, cast into the spring, will heal the waters, season the speech, and purify the corrupt communication. An evil man has an evil treasure in his heart, and out of it brings forth evil things. Lusts and corruptions, dwelling and reigning in the heart, are an evil treasure, out of which the sinner brings forth bad words and actions, to dishonour God, and hurt others. Let us keep constant watch over ourselves, that we may speak words agreeable to the Christian character.

Commentary on Matthew 12:38-45

(Read Matthew 12:38-45)

Though Christ is always ready to hear and answer holy desires and prayers, yet those who ask amiss, ask and have not. Signs were granted to those who desired them to confirm their faith, as Abraham and Gideon; but denied to those who demanded them to excuse their unbelief. The resurrection of Christ from the dead by his own power, called here the sign of the prophet Jonah, was the great proof of Christ's being the Messiah. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale, and then came out again alive, thus Christ would be so long in the grave, and then rise again. The Ninevites would shame the Jews for not repenting; the queen of Sheba, for not believing in Christ. And we have no such cares to hinder us, we come not to Christ upon such uncertainties. This parable represents the case of the Jewish church and nation. It is also applicable to all those who hear the word of God, and are in part reformed, but not truly converted. The unclean spirit leaves for a time, but when he returns, he finds Christ is not there to shut him out; the heart is swept by outward reformation, but garnished by preparation to comply with evil suggestions, and the man becomes a more decided enemy of the truth. Every heart is the residence of unclean spirits, except those which are temples of the Holy Ghost, by faith in Christ.

Commentary on Matthew 12:46-50

(Read Matthew 12:46-50)

Christ's preaching was plain, easy, and familiar, and suited to his hearers. His mother and brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him, when they should have been standing within, desiring to hear him. Frequently, those who are nearest to the means of knowledge and grace are most negligent. We are apt to neglect that which we think we may have any day, forgetting that to-morrow is not ours. We often meet with hinderances in our work from friends about us, and are taken off by care for the things of this life, from the concerns of our souls. Christ was so intent on his work, that no natural or other duty took him from it. Not that, under pretence of religion, we may be disrespectful to parents, or unkind to relations; but the lesser duty must stand by, while the greater is done. Let us cease from men, and cleave to Christ; let us look upon every Christian, in whatever condition of life, as the brother, sister, or mother of the Lord of glory; let us love, respect, and be kind to them, for his sake, and after his example.