Genesis 42

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

And Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, Why do ye look one upon 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.

And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down thither and buy [grain] for us from thence, in order that we may live, and not die.

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

And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy [grain] out of 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 Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest mischief may 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 came to buy [grain] among those that came; for the famine was in 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.

And Joseph, he was the governor over the land — he it was that sold [the corn] to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brethren came and bowed down to him, the face to the earth.

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

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

And Joseph knew his brethren, but they did not know 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.

And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamt of them; and he said to them, Ye are spies: to see the exposed places of the land ye are come.

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

And they said to him, No, my lord; but to buy food are thy servants come.

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

We are all one man's sons; we are honest: thy servants are not spies.

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

And he said to them, No; but to see the exposed places of the land are ye come.

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.

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

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

And Joseph said to them, That is it that I have spoken to you, saying, Ye 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.

By this ye shall be put to the proof: as Pharaoh lives, ye shall not go forth hence, unless your youngest brother come hither!

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 you, that he may fetch your brother, but ye shall be imprisoned, and your words shall be put to the proof, whether the truth is in you; and if not, as Pharaoh lives, ye are spies.

17 So he put them in prison for three days.

And he put them in custody 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 Joseph said to them the third day, This do, that ye may live: I fear God.

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 ye are honest, let one of your brethren remain bound in the house of your prison, but go ye, carry grain for 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.

and bring your youngest brother to me, in order that your words be verified, and that ye may not die. And they did so.

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 one to another, We are indeed guilty concerning our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw when he besought us, and we did not hearken; therefore this distress is 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 answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Do not sin against the lad? But ye did not hearken; and now behold, his blood also is required.

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.

And they did not know that Joseph understood, for the interpreter was 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. And he returned to them, and spoke to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him 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.

And Joseph gave orders to fill their vessels with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way. And thus did they to them.

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

And they loaded their asses with their grain, and departed thence.

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.

And one of them opened his sack to give his ass food in the inn, and saw his money, and behold, it was in the mouth of his 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?

And he said to his brethren, My money is returned [to me], and behold, it is even in my sack. And their heart failed [them], and they were afraid, saying one to another, 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,

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

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, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us, and treated us as spies of the land.

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

And we said to him, We are honest; we are 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 brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day 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;

And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, Hereby shall I know that ye are honest: leave one of your brethren with me, and take [for] 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.

and bring your youngest brother to me, and I shall know that ye are not spies, but are honest. Your brother will I give up to you; and ye may 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.

And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that behold, every man had his bundle of money in his sack; and they saw their bundles of money, they and their father, and were afraid.

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.

And Jacob their father said to them, Ye have bereaved me of children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin! All these things are 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.

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

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 he said, My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left; and if mischief should befall him by the way in which ye go, then would ye bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to Sheol. (Sheol h7585)