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?

Now Jacob, hearing that there was grain in Egypt, said to his sons, Why are you looking 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.

And he said, I have had news that there is grain in Egypt: go down there and get grain for us, so that life and not death may be ours.

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

So Joseph's ten brothers went down to get 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 Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with them, for fear, as he said, that some evil might come 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.

And the sons of Israel came with all the others to get grain: for they were very short of food in 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 ruler over all the land, and it was he who gave out the grain to all the people of the land; and Joseph's brothers came before him and went down on their faces to the earth.

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, it was clear to him who they were, but he made himself strange to them, and talking roughly to them, said, Where do you come from? And they said, From the land of Canaan, to get food.

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

Now though Joseph saw that these were his brothers, they had no idea who he was.

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.

Then the memory of his dreams about them came back to Joseph, and he said to them, You have come secretly to see how poor the land is.

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

And they said to him, Not so, my lord: your servants have come with money to get food.

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

We are all one man's sons, we are true men; we have not come with any secret purpose.

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

And he said to them, No, but you have come to see how poor the land is.

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.

Then they said, We your servants are twelve brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan; the youngest of us is now with our father, and one is dead.

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

And Joseph said, It is as I said; you have come with some secret purpose;

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.

But in this way will you be put to the test: by the life of Pharaoh, you will not go away from this place till 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, and the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are true; if not, by the life of Pharaoh, your purpose is certainly secret.

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

So he put them in prison 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 Joseph said to them, Do this, if you would keep your lives: for I am a god-fearing man:

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 true men, let one of you be kept in prison, while you go and take grain for the needs of your families;

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

And come back to me with your youngest brother, so that your words may be seen to be true, and you will not be put to death. This is what you are to do.

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.

And they said to one another, Truly, we did wrong to our brother, for we saw his grief of mind, and we did not give ear to his prayers; that is why this trouble has come on 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 said to them, Did I not say to you, Do the child no wrong? but you gave no attention; so now, punishment has come on us for his blood.

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

They were not conscious that the sense of their words was clear to Joseph, for he had been talking to them through one who had knowledge of their language.

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 turning away from them, he was overcome with weeping; then he went on talking to them again and took Simeon and put chains on him 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 for their bags to be made full of grain, and for every man's money to be put back into his bag, and for food to be given them for the journey: which was done.

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

Then they put the bags of grain on their asses and went away.

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.

Now at their night's resting-place one of them, opening his bag to give his ass some food, saw his money in the mouth of the bag.

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?

And he said to his brothers, My money has been given back: it is in my bag; then their hearts became full of fear, and turning to one another they said, What is this which 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,

So when they came to Jacob their father, in the land of Canaan, they gave him an account of all their experiences, saying,

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 the ruler of the country was rough with us and put us in prison, saying that we had come with a secret evil purpose.

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

And we said to him, We are true men, we have no evil designs;

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 our father; one is dead, 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:

And the ruler of the land said, In this way I may be certain that you are true men; let one of you be kept here with me, while you go and take grain for the needs of your families;

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.

And come back to me with your youngest brother: then I will be certain that you are true men, and I will give your brother back to you and let you do 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.

And when they took the grain out of their bags, it was seen that every man's parcel of money was in his bag; and when they and their father saw the money, they were full of fear.

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.

And Jacob their father said to them, You have taken my children from me: Joseph is gone and Simeon is gone, and now you would take Benjamin away; all these things have come on 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.

And Reuben said, Put my two sons to death if I do not come back to you with him; let him be in my care and I will give him safely back to you.

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)

And he said, I will not let my son go down with you; for his brother is dead and he is all I have: if evil overtakes him on the journey, then through you will my grey head go down to the underworld in sorrow. (Sheol h7585)