Genesis 42
1 Forsothe Jacob herde that foodis weren seeld in Egipt, and he seide to hise sones, Whi ben ye necgligent?
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”
2 Y herde that wheete is seeld in Egipt, go ye doun, and bie ye necessaries to vs, that we moun lyue, and be not wastid bi nedynesse.
“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 Therfor ten britheren of Joseph yeden doun to bie wheete in Egipt,
So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
4 and Beniamyn was withholdun of Jacob at hoome, that seide to hise britheren, Lest perauenture in the weie he suffre ony yuel.
But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm might befall him.”
5 Sotheli thei entriden in to the lond of Egipt, with othere men that yeden to bie; forsothe hungur was in the lond 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 prince of Egipt, and at his wille whetis weren seeld to puplis. And whanne hise britheren hadden worschipid hym,
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 he hadde knowe hem, he spak hardere as to aliens, and axide hem, Fro whennus camen ye? Whiche answeriden, Fro the lond of Canaan, that we bie necessaries to lyiflode.
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 netheles he knewe the britheren, and he was not knowun of hem,
Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.
9 and he bithouyte on the dremys whiche he seiy sumtyme. And he seide to hem, Ye ben aspieris, ye camen to se the feblere thingis of the lond.
Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
10 Whiche seiden, Lord, it is not so, but thi seruauntis camen to bie metis;
“Not so, my lord,” they replied. “Your servants have come to buy food.
11 alle we ben the sones of o man, we comen pesible, and thi seruauntis ymaginen not ony yuel.
We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”
12 To `whiche he answeride, It is in other maner, ye camen to se the feble thingis of the lond.
“No,” he told them. “You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
13 And thei seiden, `We twelue britheren, thi seruauntis, ben sones of o man in the lond of Canaan; the leeste is with oure fadir, an other is not `on erthe.
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 This it is, he seide, that Y spak to you,
Then Joseph declared, “Just as I said, you are spies!
15 ye ben aspieris, riyt now Y schal take experience of you, bi the helthe of Farao ye schulen not go fro hennus, til youre leeste brother come; sende ye oon of you,
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 that he brynge hym, forsothe ye schulen be in boondis, til tho thingis that ye seiden ben preued, whether tho ben false ether trewe; ellis, bi the helthe of Farao, ye ben aspieris.
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 Therfor he bitook hem to kepyng thre daies; sotheli in the thridde dai,
So Joseph imprisoned them for three days,
18 whanne thei weren led out of prisoun, he seide, Do ye that that Y seide, and ye schulen lyue, for Y drede God;
and on the third day he said to them, “I fear God. So do this and you will live:
19 if ye ben pesible, o brother of you be boundun in prisoun; forsothe go ye, and bere wheetis, whiche ye bouyten,
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 in to youre housis, and brynge ye youre leeste brother to me, that Y may preue youre wordis, and ye die not. Thei diden as he seide,
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 thei spaken togidere, Skilfuli we suffren these thingis, for we synneden ayens oure brother, and we seiyen the anguysch of his soule, while he preiede vs, and we herden not; herfore this tribulacioun cometh on vs.
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 Of which oon, Ruben, seide, Whether Y seide not to yow, Nyle ye do synne ayens the child, and ye herden not me? lo! his blood is souyt.
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 Sotheli thei wisten not that Joseph vndirstood, for he spak to hem by interpretour.
They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them.
24 And he turnede awei hym silf a litil and wepte; and he turnede ayen, and spak to hem.
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 And he took Symeon, and boond hym, while thei weren present; and he comaundide the mynystris, that thei schulden fille her sackis with wheete, and that thei schulden putte the money `of alle in her baggis, and ouer this yyue metis in the weie; whiche diden so.
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 thei `baren wetis on her assis, and yeden forth,
and they loaded the grain on their donkeys and departed.
27 and whanne the sak of oon was opened that he schulde yyue meete to the werk beeste in the yn, he bihelde the money in the mouth of the bagge,
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 seide to his britheren, My monei is yoldun to me, lo! it is had in the bagge; and thei weren astonyed, and troblid, and seiden togidere, What thing is this that God hath doon 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 thei camen to Jacob, her fadir, in the loond of Canaan, and telden to hym alle thingis that bifelden to hem, and seiden,
When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they described to him all that had happened to them:
30 The lord of the lond spak harde to vs, and gesside that we weren aspieris of the prouynce;
“The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.
31 to whom we answeriden, We ben pesible, nether we purposen ony tresouns;
But we told him, ‘We are honest men, not spies.
32 we ben twelue britheren, gendrid of o fadir, oon is not `on erthe, the leeste dwellith with the fadir in the lond 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 he seide to vs, Thus Y schal preue that ye ben pesible; leeffe ye o brother of you with me, and take ye metis nedeful to youre housis, and go ye, and brynge ye to me youre leeste brother,
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 that Y wite that ye ben not aspieris, and that ye moun resseyue this brother which is holdun in boondis, and that fro thennus forth ye haue licence to bie what thingis ye wolen.
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 While these thingis weren seide, whanne alle schedden out wheetis, thei founden money boundun in `the mouth of sackis. And whanne alle togidere weren aferd,
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 the fadir Jacob seide, Ye han maad me to be with out children; Joseph is not alyue, Symeon is holdun in bondis, ye schulen take a wey fro me Beniamyn; alle these yuels felden in 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 To whom Ruben answeride, Sle thou my twei sones, if Y shal not brynge hym ayen to thee; take thou hym in myn hond, and Y schal restore hym to thee.
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 Jacob seide, My sone schal not go doun with you; his brother is deed, he aloone is left; if ony aduersite schal bifalle `to hym in the lond to which ye schulen go, ye schulen lede forth myn hoore heeris with sorewe to hellis. (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)
