Genesis 42

1 Now Jacob became aware that there was grain in Egypt. He said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”

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

2 He said, “See here, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy for us from there so 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 Joseph's ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.

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

4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob did not send with his brothers, for he feared that harm might come to 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 The sons of Israel came to buy among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

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 Now Joseph was the governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces 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 Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke harshly with them. He said to them, “Where have you come from?” They said, “From the land of Canaan 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 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

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

9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the undefended parts of the land.”

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 They said to him, “No, my master. Your servants have 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 one man's sons. We are honest men. Your servants are not spies.”

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

12 He said to them, “No, you have come to see the undefended parts of the land.”

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

13 They said, “We your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. See, the youngest is this day with our father, and one brother is no longer alive.”

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 Joseph said to them, “It is what I said to you; you are spies.

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

15 By this you will be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, you will not leave here, unless your youngest brother comes here.

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 yourselves and let him get your brother. You will remain in prison, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you.”

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 He put them all in custody for three days.

So he put them in prison for three days.

18 Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and 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 you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in this prison, but you go, carry grain for the famine of your houses.

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 Bring your youngest brother to me so your words will be verified and you will not die.” So 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 They said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us and we would not listen. Therefore this distress has 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 Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the boy,' but you would not listen? Now, see, his blood is required of us.”

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 They did not know 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 He turned from them and wept. He returned to them and spoke to them. He took Simeon from among 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 Then Joseph commanded his servants to fill his brothers' bags with grain, and to put every man's money back into his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. It was done for 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 The brothers loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed from there.

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

27 As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed in the lodging place, he saw his money. Behold, it was in the opening 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 He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back. Look at it; it is in my sack.” Their hearts sank and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “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 They went to Jacob, their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them. They said,

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 roughly with us and thought that we were spies in 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 We said to him, 'We are honest men. We are not spies.

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

32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no longer alive, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.'

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 The man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I will know that you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, take grain for the famine in your houses, and go your way.

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 Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. Then I will release your brother to you, and you will 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 It came about as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bag of silver was in his sack. When they and their father saw their bags of silver, 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 Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children. Joseph is no longer alive, Simeon is gone, and you will take Benjamin away. All these things are against 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 Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may kill my two sons if I do not bring Benjamin back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him to you again.”

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 Jacob said, “My son will not go down with you. For his brother is dead and he alone is left. If harm comes to him on the road in which you go, then you will bring down my gray hair with sorrow to Sheol.” (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)