Genesis 42

1 And when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look at one another?

Now Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, so Jacob said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?"

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

He said, "Look, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us from there, so that we may live and not die."

3 And ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy corn in Egypt,

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

4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brothers; for he said, Lest mischief befall him.

But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, "Some harm might happen to him."

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

So the sons of Israel went to buy among the other travelers, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

6 And Joseph—he was the governor over the land, it was he that sold corn to all the people of the land; and Joseph's brothers came, and bowed themselves down before him with the face to the earth.

Now Joseph was the ruler over the country, and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves down to him with their faces to the ground.

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

Joseph saw his brothers, and he recognized them, but he acted like he did not know them, and spoke harshly with them. And he said to them, "Where do you come from?" And they said, "From the land of Canaan to buy food."

8 And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they recognized not him.

So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

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

Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed about them, and said to them, "You are spies. You have come to look for the vulnerabilities of the country."

10 And they said unto him, No, my lord, thy servants are only come to buy food.

But they said to him, "No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food.

11 We are all sons of one man; we are true men; thy servants have never been spies.

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

12 And he said unto them, No! but to see the nakedness of the land are ye come.

But he said to them, "No, but you have come to look for the vulnerabilities of the country."

13 And they said, We, thy servants, are twelve brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.

But they said, "We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and look, the youngest is now with our father, and one is no more."

14 And Joseph said unto them, It is as I have spoken unto you, saying, Ye are spies;

But Joseph said to them, "It is as I said to you, saying, 'You are spies.'

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

This is how you will be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, you will not leave from here until your youngest brother comes here.

16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether the truth be with you; and if not, by the life of Pharaoh, ye are surely spies.

Send one of you, and let him get your brother, and you will stay in prison, so that your words can be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies."

17 And he put them together into ward three days.

So he put all of them together in prison for three days.

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

Then Joseph said to them the third day, "Do what I say, and live, for I fear God.

19 If ye be true men, let one of your brothers remain imprisoned in the house of your confinement; but ye, go, carry home what you have bought for the want of your household.

If you are honest, then let one of your brothers remain confined in your prison; but you go and carry grain for the hunger of your households.

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

But bring your youngest brother to me so that your words will be verified, and you won't die." To this they agreed.

21 And they said to one another, Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish 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, "We are certainly guilty concerning our brother, because we saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us, and we wouldn't listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us."

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

Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not tell you, saying, 'Do not sin against the boy,' but you wouldn't listen? Therefore, look, now comes a reckoning for his blood."

23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spoke unto them by an interpreter.

Now they did not know that Joseph could understand them, since he was speaking through an interpreter.

24 And he turned himself away from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and spoke with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.

He stepped away from them and wept. Then he returned to them and talked with them. Then he took Simeon from them and bound him in front of them.

25 And Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way; and he did unto them thus.

Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to restore every man's silver into his sack, and to give them food for the journey. And it was done for them.

26 And they loaded their asses with their corn, and departed thence.

They loaded their donkeys with their grain, and departed from there.

27 And one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn: when he espied his money, for, behold, it was in the mouth of his sack.

As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey food at the lodging place, he saw his silver. Look, it was in the mouth of his sack.

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

He said to his brothers, "My silver has been returned. Look, it is in my sack." And they were dismayed, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, "What is this that God has done to us?"

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

Then they returned to their father Jacob to the land of Canaan, and told him all that had happened to them, saying,

30 The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us, and took us as though we were espying the country.

"The man, the lord of the country, spoke harshly to us, and he put us in custody as spies of the country.

31 And we said unto him, We are true men; we have never been spies:

But we said to him, 'We are honest men. We are not spies.

32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; the one is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

We are twelve brothers, sons of our 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 country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men: leave one of your brothers here with me, and [the food for] the want of your households take ye and be gone;

The man, the lord of the country, said to us, 'By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the hunger of your households, and go your way.

34 And bring your youngest brother unto me; then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men; your brother I will give up to you, and in the land ye shall be allowed to traffic.

Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. So I will deliver your brother to you, and you may travel in the land.'"

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

Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that look, every man's bag of silver was in his sack. When they and their father saw their bags of silver, they were afraid.

36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me ye have bereaved of my children: Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and Benjamin ye will take away; all these things are against me.

Then their father Jacob said to them, "You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin away. All this has come against me."

37 And Reuben said unto his father, thus, Two of my sons shalt thou slay, if I bring him not to thee; deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him back to thee.

Reuben spoke to his father, saying, "Kill my two sons if I do not bring him to you. Put him in my care, and I will bring him back to you."

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

But he said, "My son will not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should happen to him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol." (Sheol h7585)