Genesis 42

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

Then Jacob, hearing that food was being sold in Egypt, said to his sons: “Why are you negligent?

2 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”;

I have heard that wheat is being sold in Egypt. Go down and buy necessities for us, so that we may be able to live, and not be consumed by destitution.”

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

And so, when ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain in Egypt,

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

Benjamin was kept at home by Jacob, who said to his brothers, “Lest perhaps he may suffer harm on the journey.”

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

And they entered into the land of Egypt with the others who traveled to buy. For the famine was in the land of Canaan.

6 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.

And Joseph was governor in the land of Egypt, and grain was sold under his direction to the people. And when his brothers had reverenced him

7 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.”

and he had recognized them, he spoke harshly, as if to foreigners, questioning them: “Where did you come from?” And they responded, “From the land of Canaan, to buy necessary provisions.”

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

And although he knew his brothers, he was not known by them.

9 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.”

And remembering the dreams, which he had seen in another time, he said to them: “You are scouts. You have come in order to see which parts of the land are weaker.”

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

And they said: “It is not so, my lord. But your servants have arrived in order to buy food.

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

We are all sons of one man. We have come in peace, nor do any of your subjects devise evil.”

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

And he answered them: “It is otherwise. You have come to examine the unguarded parts of this land.”

13 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.”

But they said: “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father; the other is not living.”

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

He said: “This is just as I have said. You are scouts.

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

I will now continue to put you to the test. By the health of Pharaoh, you will not depart from here, until your youngest brother arrives.

16 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”;

Send one of you and bring him. But you will be in chains, until what you have said is proven to be either true or false. Otherwise, by the health of Pharaoh, you are scouts.”

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

Therefore, he delivered them into custody for three days.

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

Then, on the third day, he brought them out of prison, and he said: “Do as I have said, and you will live. For I fear God.

19 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,

If you are peaceful, let one of your brothers be bound in prison. Then you may go away and carry the grain that you have bought to your houses.

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

And bring your youngest brother to me, so that I may be able to test your words, and you may not die.” They did as he had said,

21 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.”

and they spoke to one another: “We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned against our brother, seeing the anguish of his soul, when he begged us and we would not listen. For that reason, this tribulation has come upon us.”

22 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.”

And Reuben, one of them, said: “Did not I say to you, ‘Do not sin against the boy,’ and you would not listen to me? See, his blood is exacted.”

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

But they did not know that Joseph understood, because he was speaking to them through an interpreter.

24 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.

And he turned himself away briefly and wept. And returning, he spoke to them.

25 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.

And taking Simeon, and binding him in their presence, he ordered his ministers to fill their sacks with wheat, and to replace each one’s money in their sacks, and to give them, in addition, provisions for the way. And they did so.

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

Then, having loaded their donkeys with the grain, they set out.

27 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,

And one of them, opening a sack to give his beast of burden fodder at the inn, looked upon the money at the sack’s mouth,

28 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!”

and he said to his brothers: “My money has returned to me. See, it is held in the sack.” And they were astonished and troubled, and they said to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”

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

And they went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, and they explained to him all the things that had befallen them, saying:

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

“The lord of the land spoke harshly to us, and he considered us to be scouts of the province.

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

And we answered him: ‘We are peaceful, and we do not intend any treachery.

32 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.

We are twelve brothers conceived of one father. One is not living; the youngest is with our father in the land of Canaan.’

33 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,

And he said to us: ‘Thus will I prove that you are peaceful. Release one of your brothers to me, and take necessary provisions for your houses, and go away,

34 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.”

and bring your youngest brother to me, so that I may know that you are not scouts. And this one, who is held in chains, you may be able to receive again. And thereafter, you shall have permission to buy what you want.’”

35 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;

Having said this, when they poured out their grain, each found his money tied to the mouth of his sack. And all were terrified together.

36 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.”

Their father Jacob said, “You have caused me to be without children. Joseph is not living, Simeon is held in chains, and Benjamin you would carry away. All these evils have fallen back upon me.”

37 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”;

And Reuben answered him, “Put my two sons to death, if I do not lead him back to you. Deliver him into my hand, and I will restore him to you.”

38 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)

But he said: “My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any adversity will befall him in the land to which you travel, you would lead my grey hairs down with sorrow to the grave.” (Sheol h7585)