Lettura e ascolto intermediate in inglese: A New World, chapter 23

INTRODUZIONE
“A New World” è il primo libro di Mosè, più noto come la Genesi, raccontato in modo unico. Versi scorrevoli in rima baciata ed un incalzante ritmo trasportano il lettore dalle delizie verdeggianti del Giardino dell’Eden, oltre Noè e l’alluvione e le avventure di Abramo e Isacco, fino all’arrivo di Giuseppe in Egitto e la sua ascesa al potere come braccio destro del Faraone. Uno stile scanzonato ma mai irriverente, porta in vita i personaggi di questa storia biblica e fa di ‘A New World’ una lettura molto piacevole sia per bambini che per adulti.

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Joseph’s
revelation

[Genesis 44:14]

Jo was waiting for them all, back at Pharaoh’s court.
“What have you to say?” he asked, his features grim and taut.
Judah took the cue from Jo, and speaking for the others,
He said, “Make servants out of us, me and all my brothers.”
But Joseph said the situation wasn’t quite that grave,
The one who stole his silver cup would be his only slave.

Then Judah made a woeful plea, he got down on his knees,
And said, in a broken voice, “I beg you, master, please!”
He caught at Joseph’s tunic, a teardrop filled his eye,
“If Benjamin stays here,” he said, “our dad will surely die.
I promised I’d protect him, so let me take his place,
Don’t deprive our father of Benjie’s precious face.”

At Judah’s moving, heartfelt speech, no matter how he tried,
Jo could not refrain from tears, and openly he cried.
Striving to control himself, he moved towards his brothers,
“Leave us on our own,” he said, politely to the others.
“I am Jo,” he quietly spoke, when all had left the room,
“The little brother that you sold and left to meet his doom.”

With bulging eyes and hanging jaws, they stared in disbelief,
Convinced by then that brother Jo had surely come to grief.
Joseph made it clear to them he wanted no vendetta,
Which helped to make the anxious brothers feel a little better.
He told them God had planned it all and they were not to blame,
He said if he’d been in their shoes, he would have done the same.

The famine was but two years old, and five were still to come,
Things would go from bad to worse, and many would succumb.
He told them all to go and fetch their father, flocks, and men,
The time had come for all of them to strike their tents again.
As he was Egypt’s governor, they had no need to fear,
He’d buy some land in Goshen, so they could all be near.

The brothers just kept staring, in silent, stunned surprise,
Till Jo at last persuaded them to trust their hearts and eyes.
He urged them all to tell their dad about his rise to fame,
And guaranteed they’d all be safe, protected by his name.
Then he hugged young Benjamin, he held him close and tight,
And all the brothers cried with joy and talked away the night.

When Pharaoh heard the story, he was thrilled for Jo,
And told him that his brothers should pack their bags and go.
“The sooner they get home,” he said, “the sooner they’ll be back,
Give them food supplies as well, as much as they can pack.
And let them take our wagons to protect them from the cold,
They’ll make the journey easier, especially for the old.”

Joseph did as Pharaoh said, at once, without delay,
And gave them all a set of clothes to change along the way.
He gave not one, but five new sets, to Benjamin the lad,
And then three hundred silver coins, almost all he had.
He loaded twenty donkeys with presents, corn and bread,
And told them not to squabble throughout the trip ahead.

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