Genesis 42
1 When Jacob found out grain was available in Egypt, he asked his sons, “Why do you keep on looking at each other to do something?
And Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
2 I've heard there's grain in Egypt. Go there and buy some for us so we can stay alive—if not, we're going to die!”
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 ten of Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to buy grain.
And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy [grain] out of Egypt.
4 But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his other brothers, for he said, “I'm afraid something bad might happen to him.”
But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest mischief may befall him.
5 So Israel's sons went to buy grain along with everyone else, because there was famine in Canaan too.
So the sons of Israel came to buy [grain] among those that came; for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6 Joseph was the governor of the country and he sold grain to all the people there. So Joseph's brothers went to him, and bowed low before him with their faces to the ground.
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 Joseph recognized them as soon as he saw them, but he acted like a stranger towards them and spoke to them in a severe way, saying, “Where are you from?” “From the country of Canaan,” they replied. “We've come to buy 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 Even though Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn't recognize him.
And Joseph knew his brethren, but they did not know him.
9 Joseph thought back to the dreams he'd had about them, and told them, “No! You're spies! You've come to discover our country's weaknesses!”
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 “That's not true, my lord!” they responded. “We, your servants, have just come to buy food.
And they said to him, No, my lord; but to buy food are thy servants come.
11 We're all the sons of one man and we're honest. We're not spies!”
We are all one man's sons; we are honest: thy servants are not spies.
12 “No! You've come to find our country's weaknesses!” he insisted.
And he said to them, No; but to see the exposed places of the land are ye come.
13 “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man living in the country of Canaan,” they explained. “The youngest is right now with our father, and one has passed away.”
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 “As I said before, you're spies!” Joseph declared.
And Joseph said to them, That is it that I have spoken to you, saying, Ye are spies.
15 “This is how your story will be checked. I swear on Pharaoh's life that you'll never leave this country unless your younger 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 One of you go back and bring your other brother here. The others of you will be kept here in prison until it's clear that you're telling the truth. If not, then I swear on Pharaoh's life it proves you're spies!”
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 Joseph put all of them in prison for three days.
And he put them in custody three days.
18 On the third day he told them, “Since I'm someone who respects God, do as I tell you and you'll live.
And Joseph said to them the third day, This do, that ye may live: I fear God.
19 If you're truly honest, choose one of your brothers to stay here in prison. The rest of you can go back home with grain for your hungry 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 But you must bring your youngest brother here to me to prove what you're saying is true. If not, you will all die.” They agreed to do this.
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 “Clearly we're being punished for what we did to our brother,” they said to each other. “We watched him in agony pleading with us for mercy, but we refused to listen to him. That's why we're in all this trouble.”
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 Reuben said to them, “Didn't I tell you, ‘Don't harm the boy!’ But you didn't listen to me. Now we're paying the price for what we did to him.”
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 didn't realize that Joseph understood what they were saying because they were talking to him through an interpreter.
And they did not know that Joseph understood, for the interpreter was between them.
24 Joseph stepped away from them because he started crying. He came back when he was able to speak to them again. He chose Simeon and had him tied up as they watched.
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 Joseph gave the order to fill up their sacks with grain, and also to return the money they had paid by placing it in the sacks as well. He also ordered that they should be provided with food for their journey home. All this 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 The brothers loaded the grain onto their donkeys and then set off.
And they loaded their asses with their grain, and departed thence.
27 On their way they stopped for the night, and one of them opened up his sack to give his donkey something to eat and saw his money there at the top of the sack.
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 He told his brothers, “My money's been returned to me. It's right here at the top of my sack!” They were horrified! Trembling with fear they asked each other, “What is this that God's 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 When they arrived home in Canaan, they told their father Jacob everything that had happened.
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 country's governor spoke to us in a severe way, and accused us of spying on the land,” they explained.
The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us, and treated us as spies of the land.
31 “We told him, ‘We are honest men. We're not spies!
And we said to him, We are honest; we are not spies:
32 We are twelve brothers, the sons of one father. One has passed away and the youngest is right now with our father in the country 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 Then the man who is the country's governor said to us, ‘This is how I'll find out if you're telling the truth: you are to leave one of your brothers here with me while the rest take grain home for your hungry 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 Then bring your youngest brother to me. That way I'll know you're not spies but you're telling the truth. I'll release your brother to you, and you can stay in the country and trade.’”
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 As they emptied their sacks, each one's money bag was there in his sack! When they and their father saw the money bags, they were horrified.
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 Jacob their father accused them, “You have taken Joseph from me—he's gone! Simeon is gone too! Now you want to take Benjamin away! I'm the one who's suffering from all of this!”
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 “You can kill my two sons if I don't bring him back to you,” Reuben assured him. “Trust me with him, and I will bring him home to you myself.”
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 “My son won't go there with you!” Jacob declared. “His brother is dead, and he's the only one I have left. If anything bad happens to him on the journey you're planning, you'll send this old man to his grave in grief.” (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)
