Genesis 42

1 And Jacob having seen that there was a sale [of corn] in Egypt, said to his sons, Why are ye indolent?

Now Jacob, hearing that there was grain in Egypt, said to his sons, Why are you looking at one another?

2 Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt; go down thither, and buy for us a little food, that we may live, and not die.

And he said, I have had news that there is grain in Egypt: go down there and get grain for us, so that life and not death may be ours.

3 And the ten brethren of Joseph went down to buy corn out of Egypt.

So Joseph's ten brothers went down to get grain from Egypt.

4 But [Jacob] sent not Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, with his brethren; for he said, Lest, haply, disease befall him.

But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with them, for fear, as he said, that some evil might come to him.

5 And the sons of Israel came to buy with those that came, for the famine was in the land of Chanaan.

And the sons of Israel came with all the others to get grain: for they were very short of food in the land of Canaan.

6 And Joseph was ruler of the land; he sold to all the people of the land. And the brethren of Joseph, having come, did reverence to him, [bowing] with the face to the ground.

Now Joseph was ruler over all the land, and it was he who gave out the grain to all the people of the land; and Joseph's brothers came before him and went down on their faces to the earth.

7 And when Joseph saw his brethren, he knew them, and estranged himself from them, and spoke hard words to them; and said to them, Whence are ye come? And they said, Out of the land of Chanaan, to buy food.

And when Joseph saw his brothers, it was clear to him who they were, but he made himself strange to them, and talking roughly to them, said, Where do you come from? And they said, From the land of Canaan, to get food.

8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.

Now though Joseph saw that these were his brothers, they had no idea who he was.

9 And Joseph remembered his dream, which he saw; and he said to them, Ye are spies; to observe the marks of the land are ye come.

Then the memory of his dreams about them came back to Joseph, and he said to them, You have come secretly to see how poor the land is.

10 But they said, Nay, Sir, we thy servants are come to buy food;

And they said to him, Not so, my lord: your servants have come with money to get food.

11 we are all sons of one man; we are peaceable, thy servants are not spies.

We are all one man's sons, we are true men; we have not come with any secret purpose.

12 And he said to them, Nay, but ye are come to observe the marks of the land.

And he said to them, No, but you have come to see how poor the land is.

13 And they said, We thy servants are twelve brethren, in the land of Chanaan; and, behold, the youngest is with our father to-day, but the other one is not.

Then they said, We your servants are twelve brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan; the youngest of us is now with our father, and one is dead.

14 And Joseph said to them, This is it that I spoke to you, saying, ye are spies;

And Joseph said, It is as I said; you have come with some secret purpose;

15 herein shall ye be manifested; by the health of Pharao, ye shall not depart hence, unless your younger brother come hither.

But in this way will you be put to the test: by the life of Pharaoh, you will not go away from this place till your youngest brother comes here.

16 Send one of you, and take your brother; and go ye to prison, till your words be clear, whether ye speak the truth or not; but, if not, by the health of Pharao, verily ye are spies.

Send one of your number to get your brother, and the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are true; if not, by the life of Pharaoh, your purpose is certainly secret.

17 And he put them in prison three days.

So he put them in prison for three days.

18 And he said to them on the third day, This do, and ye shall live, for I fear God.

And on the third day Joseph said to them, Do this, if you would keep your lives: for I am a god-fearing man:

19 If ye be peaceable, let one of your brethren be detained in prison; but go ye, and carry back the corn ye have purchased.

If you are true men, let one of you be kept in prison, while you go and take grain for the needs of your families;

20 And bring your younger brother to me, and your words shall be believed; but, if not, ye shall die. And they did so.

And come back to me with your youngest brother, so that your words may be seen to be true, and you will not be put to death. This is what you are to do.

21 And each said to his brother, Yes, indeed, for we are in fault concerning our brother, when we disregarded the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we hearkened not to him; and therefore has this affliction come upon us.

And they said to one another, Truly, we did wrong to our brother, for we saw his grief of mind, and we did not give ear to his prayers; that is why this trouble has come on us.

22 And Ruben answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Hurt not the boy, and ye heard me not? and, behold, his blood is required.

And Reuben said to them, Did I not say to you, Do the child no wrong? but you gave no attention; so now, punishment has come on us for his blood.

23 But they knew not that Joseph understood them; for there was an interpreter between them.

They were not conscious that the sense of their words was clear to Joseph, for he had been talking to them through one who had knowledge of their language.

24 And Joseph turned away from them, and wept; and again he came to them, and spoke to them; and he took Symeon from them, and bound him before their eyes.

And turning away from them, he was overcome with weeping; then he went on talking to them again and took Simeon and put chains on him before their eyes.

25 And Joseph gave orders to fill their vessels with corn, and to return their money to each into his sack, and to give them provision for the way; and it was so done to them.

Then Joseph gave orders for their bags to be made full of grain, and for every man's money to be put back into his bag, and for food to be given them for the journey: which was done.

26 And having put the corn on the asses, they departed thence.

Then they put the bags of grain on their asses and went away.

27 And one having opened his sack to give his asses fodder, at the place where they rested, saw also his bundle of money, for it was on the mouth of his sack.

Now at their night's resting-place one of them, opening his bag to give his ass some food, saw his money in the mouth of the bag.

28 And he said to his brethren, My money has been restored to me, and behold this is in my sack. And their heart was wonder-struck, and they were troubled, saying one to another, What is this that God has done to us?

And he said to his brothers, My money has been given back: it is in my bag; then their hearts became full of fear, and turning to one another they said, What is this which God has done to us?

29 And they came to their father, Jacob, into the land of Chanaan, and reported to him all that had happened to them, saying,

So when they came to Jacob their father, in the land of Canaan, they gave him an account of all their experiences, saying,

30 The man, the lord of the land, spoke harsh words to us, and put us in prison as spies of the land.

The man who is the ruler of the country was rough with us and put us in prison, saying that we had come with a secret evil purpose.

31 And we said to him, We are men of peace, we are not spies.

And we said to him, We are true men, we have no evil designs;

32 We are twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is with his father to-day in the land of Chanaan.

We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is dead, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.

33 And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, Herein shall I know that ye are peaceable; leave one brother here with me, and having taken the corn ye have purchased for your family, depart.

And the ruler of the land said, In this way I may be certain that you are true men; let one of you be kept here with me, while you go and take grain for the needs of your families;

34 And bring to me your younger brother; then I shall know that ye are not spies, but that ye are men of peace: and I will restore you your brother, and ye shall trade in the land.

And come back to me with your youngest brother: then I will be certain that you are true men, and I will give your brother back to you and let you do trade in the land.

35 And it came to pass as they were emptying their sacks, there was each man's bundle of money in his sack; and they and their father saw their bundles of money, and they were afraid.

And when they took the grain out of their bags, it was seen that every man's parcel of money was in his bag; and when they and their father saw the money, they were full of fear.

36 And their father Jacob said to them, Ye have bereaved me. Joseph is not, Symeon is not, and will ye take Benjamin? all these things have come upon me.

And Jacob their father said to them, You have taken my children from me: Joseph is gone and Simeon is gone, and now you would take Benjamin away; all these things have come on me.

37 And Ruben spoke to his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee; give him into my hand, and I will bring him back to thee.

And Reuben said, Put my two sons to death if I do not come back to you with him; let him be in my care and I will give him safely back to you.

38 But he said, My son shall not go down with you, because his brother is dead, and he only has been left; and [suppose] it shall come to pass that he is afflicted by the way by which ye go, then ye shall bring down my old age with sorrow to Hades. (Sheol h7585)

And he said, I will not let my son go down with you; for his brother is dead and he is all I have: if evil overtakes him on the journey, then through you will my grey head go down to the underworld in sorrow. (Sheol h7585)