Genesis 42

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

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

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

4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with them, for fear, as he said, that some evil might come to 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 with all the others to get grain: for they were very short of food 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 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.

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 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.

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

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

9 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.

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

“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; we have not come with any secret purpose.

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

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

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

13 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.

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

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

15 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.

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 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.

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 So he put them in prison for three days.

So Joseph imprisoned them for three days,

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

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

19 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;

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

24 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.

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 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.

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

and they loaded the grain on their donkeys and departed.

27 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.

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 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?

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

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

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

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

32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is dead, and the youngest is now 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 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;

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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, 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)

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)