Genesis 42

1 Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”

2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.

“Look,” he added, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”

3 And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy grain from Egypt.

So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.

4 But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure harm befall him.

But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm might befall him.”

5 And the sons of Israel came to buy among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

So the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since the famine had also spread to the land of Canaan.

6 And Joseph was the governor over the land; he it was that sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves to him with their faces to the earth.

Now Joseph was the ruler of the land; he was the one who sold grain to all its people. So when his brothers arrived, they bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.

7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly with them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.

And when Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where have you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We are here to buy food.”

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

Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”

10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.

“Not so, my lord,” they replied. “Your servants have come to buy food.

11 We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.

We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”

12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

“No,” he told them. “You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”

13 And they said, We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.

But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”

14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:

Then Joseph declared, “Just as I said, you are spies!

15 hereby ye shall be proved: by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.

And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.

Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be confined so that the truth of your words may be tested. If they are untrue, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”

17 And he put them all together into ward three days.

So Joseph imprisoned them for three days,

18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:

and on the third day he said to them, “I fear God. So do this and you will live:

19 if ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in your prison-house; but go ye, carry grain for the famine of your houses:

If you are honest, leave one of your brothers in custody while the rest of you go and take back grain to relieve the hunger of your households.

20 and bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.

Then bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be verified, that you may not die.” And to this they consented.

21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.

Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”

22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore also, behold, his blood is required.

And Reuben responded, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you would not listen. Now we must account for his blood!”

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

They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them.

24 And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and he returned to them, and spake to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him before their eyes.

And he turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.

25 Then Joseph commanded to fill their vessels with grain, and to restore every man’s money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus was it done unto them.

Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return each man’s silver to his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out,

26 And they laded their asses with their grain, and departed thence.

and they loaded the grain on their donkeys and departed.

27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the lodging-place, he espied his money; and, behold, it was in the mouth of his sack.

At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of the sack.

28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they turned trembling one to another, saying, What is this that God hath done unto us?

“My silver has been returned!” he said to his brothers. “It is here in my sack.” Their hearts sank, and trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

29 And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that had befallen them, saying,

When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they described to him all that had happened to them:

30 The man, the lord of the land, spake roughly with us, and took us for spies of the country.

“The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.

31 And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:

But we told him, ‘We are honest men, not spies.

32 we are twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’

33 And the man, the lord of the land, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men: leave one of your brethren with me, and take [grain for] the famine of your houses, and go your way;

Then the man who is lord of the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go.

34 and bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffic in the land.

But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.’”

35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack: and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid.

As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver! And when they and their father saw the bags of silver, they were dismayed.

36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.

Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”

37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.

Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I fail to bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him.”

38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left: if harm befall him by the way in which ye go, then will ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol. (Sheol h7585)

But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If any harm comes to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.” (Sheol h7585)