Genesis 42

1 And Jacob hearing that food was sold in Egypt, said to his sons: Why are ye careless?

And Jacob sees that there is grain in Egypt, and Jacob says to his sons, “Why do you look at each other?”

2 I have heard that wheat is sold in Egypt: go ye down, and buy us necessaries, that we may live, and not be consumed with want.

He also says, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt, go down there, and buy for us from there, and we live and do not die”;

3 So the ten brethren of Joseph went down, to buy corn in Egypt:

and the ten brothers of Joseph go down to buy grain in Egypt,

4 Whilst Benjamin was kept at home by Jacob, who said to his brethren: Lest perhaps he take any harm in the journey.

and Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob has not sent with his brothers, for he said, “Lest harm meet him.”

5 And they entered into the land of Egypt with others that went to buy. For the famine was in the land of Chanaan.

And the sons of Israel come to buy in the midst of those coming, for the famine has been in the land of Canaan,

6 And Joseph was governor in the land of Egypt, and corn was sold by his direction to the people. And when his brethren had bowed down to him,

and Joseph is the ruler over the land, he who is selling to all the people of the land, and Joseph’s brothers come and bow themselves to him—face to the earth.

7 And he knew them, he spoke as it were to strangers somewhat roughly, asking them: Whence came you? They answered: From the land of Chanaan, to buy necessaries of life.

And Joseph sees his brothers, and discerns them, and makes himself strange to them, and speaks sharp things with them, and says to them, “From where have you come?” And they say, “From the land of Canaan—to buy food.”

8 And though he knew his brethren, he was not known by them.

And Joseph discerns his brothers, but they have not discerned him,

9 And remembering the dreams, which formerly he had dreamed, he said to them: You are spies. You are come to view the weaker parts of the land.

and Joseph remembers the dreams which he dreamed of them and says to them, “You [are] spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

10 But they said: It is not so, my lord, but thy servants are come to buy food.

And they say to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food;

11 We are all the sons of one man: we are come as peaceable men, neither do thy servants go about any evil.

we [are] all of us sons of one man, we [are] right men; your servants have not been spies”;

12 And he answered them: It is otherwise: you are come to consider the unfenced parts of this land.

and he says to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land”;

13 But they said: We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Chanaan: the youngest is with our father, the other is not living.

and they say, “Your servants [are] twelve brothers; we [are] sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the young one [is] with our father today, and one is not.”

14 He saith: This is it that I said: You are spies.

And Joseph says to them, “This [is] that which I have spoken to you, saying, You [are] spies,

15 I shall now presently try what you are: by the health of Pharao you shall not depart hence, until your youngest brother come.

by this you are proved: [as] Pharaoh lives, if you go out from this—except by your young brother coming here;

16 Send one of you to fetch him: and you shall be in prison, till what you have said be proved, whether it be true or false: or else by the health of Pharao you are spies.

send one of you, and let him bring your brother, and you, remain bound, and let your words be proved, whether truth be with you: and if not, [as] Pharaoh lives, surely you [are] spies”;

17 So he put them in prison three days.

and he gathers them into confinement [for] three days.

18 And the third day he brought them out of prison, and said: Do as I have said, and you shall live: for I fear God.

And Joseph says to them on the third day, “Do this and live; I fear God!

19 If you be peaceable men, let one of your brethren be bound in prison: and go ye your ways and carry the corn that you have bought, unto your houses.

If you [are] right men, let one of your brothers be bound in the house of your confinement, and you, go, carry in grain [for] the famine of your houses,

20 And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may find your words to be true, and you may not die. They did as he had said.

and you bring your young brother to me, and your words are established, and you do not die”; and they do so.

21 And they talked one to another: We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned against our brother, seeing the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear: therefore is this affliction come upon us.

And they say to one another, “Truly we [are] guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul, in his making supplication to us, and we did not listen: therefore this distress has come on us.”

22 And Ruben one of them, said: Did not I say to you: Do not sin against the boy: and you would not hear me? Behold his blood is required.

And Reuben answers them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, Do not sin against the boy? And you did not listen; and his blood also, behold, it is required.”

23 And they knew not that Joseph understood, because he spoke to them by an interpreter.

And they have not known that Joseph understands, for the interpreter [is] between them;

24 And he turned himself away a little while, and wept: and returning he spoke to them.

and he turns around from them, and weeps, and turns back to them, and speaks to them, and takes Simeon from them, and binds him before their eyes.

25 And taking Simeon, and binding him in their presence, he commanded his servants to fill their sacks with wheat, and to put every man’s money again in their sacks, and to give them besides provisions for the way: and they did so.

And Joseph commands, and they fill their vessels [with] grain, also to put back the money of each of them into his sack, and to give to them provision for the way; and one does to them so.

26 But they having loaded their asses with the corn, went their way.

And they lift up their grain on their donkeys, and go from there,

27 And one of them opening his sack, to give his beast provender in the inn, saw the money in the sack’s mouth;

and the one opens his sack to give provender to his donkey at a lodging-place, and he sees his money, and behold, it [is] in the mouth of his bag,

28 And said to his brethren: My money is given me again, behold it is in the sack. And they were astonished, and troubled, and said to one another: What is this that God hath done unto us?

and he says to his brothers, “My money has been put back, and also, behold, in my bag”: and their heart goes out, and they tremble, to one another saying, “What [is] this God has done to us!”

29 And they came to Jacob their father in the land of Chanaan, and they told him all things that had befallen them, saying:

And they come to their father Jacob, to the land of Canaan, and they declare to him all the things meeting them, saying,

30 The lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us to be spies of the country.

“The man, the lord of the land, has spoken with us sharp things, and makes us as spies of the land;

31 And we answered him: We are peaceable men, and we mean no plot.

and we say to him, We [are] right men, we have not been spies,

32 We are twelve brethren born of one father: one is not living, the youngest is with our father in the land of Chanaan.

we [are] twelve brothers, sons of our father, one is not, and the young one [is] today with our father in the land of Canaan.

33 And he said to us: Hereby shall I know that you are peaceable men: Leave one of your brethren with me, and take ye necessary provision for your houses, and go your ways.

And the man, the lord of the land, says to us, By this I know that you [are] right men—leave one of your brothers with me, and take [for] the famine of your houses and go,

34 And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may know you are not spies: and you may receive this man again, that is kept in prison: and afterwards may have leave to buy what you will.

and bring your young brother to me, and I know that you [are] not spies, but you [are] right men; I give your brother to you, and you trade with the land.”

35 When they had told this, they poured out their corn and every man found his money tied in the mouth of his sack: and all being astonished together,

And it comes to pass, they are emptying their sacks, and behold, the bundle of each man’s silver [is] in his sack, and they see their bundles of silver, they and their father, and are afraid;

36 Their father Jacob said: You have made me to be without children: Joseph is not living, Simeon is kept in bonds, and Benjamin you will take away: all these evils are fallen upon me.

and their father Jacob says to them, “You have bereaved me; Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and Benjamin you take—all these [things] have been against me.”

37 And Ruben answered him: Kill my two sons if I bring him not again to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will restore him to thee.

And Reuben speaks to his father, saying, “You put to death my two sons, if I do not bring him to you; give him into my hand, and I bring him back to you”;

38 But he said: My son shall not go down with you: his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if any mischief befall him in the land to which you go, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to hell. (Sheol h7585)

and he says, “My son does not go down with you, for his brother [is] dead, and he by himself is left; when harm has met him in the way in which you go, then you have brought down my grey hairs in sorrow to Sheol.” (Sheol h7585)