Genesis 42

1 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”

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

“Look,” he added, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”

3 And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.

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

4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren: for he said, Lest perhaps mischief shall befall him.

But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm might befall 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 were among those who came to buy grain, since the famine had also spread to the land of Canaan.

6 And Joseph [was] the governor over the land, [and] he [it was] that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed themselves before him [with] their faces to the earth.

Now Joseph was the ruler of the land; he was the one who sold grain to all its people. So when his brothers arrived, they bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.

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

And when Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where have you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We are here to buy food.”

8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.

Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

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

Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”

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

“Not so, my lord,” they replied. “Your servants have come to buy food.

11 We [are] all one man's sons; we [are] true [men]; thy servants are no spies.

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

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

“No,” he told them. “You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”

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

But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”

14 And Joseph said to them, That [is] what I spoke to you, saying, Ye [are] spies:

Then Joseph declared, “Just as I said, you are spies!

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

And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether [there is any] truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye [are] spies.

Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be confined so that the truth of your words may be tested. If they are untrue, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”

17 And he put them all together into custody three days.

So Joseph imprisoned them for three days,

18 And Joseph said to them the third day, This do, and live; [for] I fear God:

and on the third day he said to them, “I fear God. So do this and you will live:

19 If ye [are] true [men], let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:

If you are honest, leave one of your brothers in custody while the rest of you go and take back grain to relieve the hunger of your households.

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

Then bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be verified, that you may not die.” And to this they consented.

21 And they said one to another, We [are] verily 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, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”

22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Do not sin against the young man; and ye would not hear? therefore behold also his blood is required.

And Reuben responded, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you would not listen. Now we must account for his blood!”

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

They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them.

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

And he turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.

25 Then 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 thus did he to them.

Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return each man’s silver to his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out,

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

and they loaded the grain on their donkeys and departed.

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

At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of the sack.

28 And he said to his brethren, My money is restored; and see [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 to us?

“My silver has been returned!” he said to his brothers. “It is here in my sack.” Their hearts sank, and trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

29 And they came to Jacob their father to the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell them, saying,

When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they described to him all that had happened to them:

30 The man [who is] the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

“The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.

31 And we said to him, We [are] true [men]; we are no spies:

But we told him, ‘We are honest men, not spies.

32 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.

We are twelve brothers, sons of one 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 to us, By this shall I know that ye [are] true [men]: leave one of your brethren [here] with me, and take [food for] the famine of your households, and depart:

Then the man who is lord of the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go.

34 And bring your youngest brother to me: then shall I know that ye [are] no spies, but [that] ye [are] true [men]: then will I deliver to you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.

But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.’”

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

As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver! And when they and their father saw the bags of silver, they were dismayed.

36 And Jacob their father said to them, Me have ye bereaved: Joseph [is] not, and Simeon [is] not, and ye will take Benjamin [away]: all these things are against me.

Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”

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

Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I fail to bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him.”

38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief shall 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 Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If any harm comes to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.” (Sheol h7585)