Genesis 42
1 And Jacob seeth that there is corn in Egypt, and Jacob saith to his sons, 'Why do you look at each other?'
When someone told Jacob that there was grain in Egypt that people could buy, he said to his sons, “(Why do you just sit there looking at each other?/Do not just sit there looking at each other!) [RHQ] We need some grain!”
2 he saith also, 'Lo, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt, go down thither, and buy for us from thence, and we live and do not die;'
He said to them, “Someone told me that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, in order that we will not die!”
3 and the ten brethren of Joseph go down to buy corn in Egypt,
So Joseph’s ten [older] brothers went down to Egypt to buy some grain.
4 and Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob hath not sent with his brethren, for he said, 'Lest mischief meet him.'
But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s [younger] brother, to go with the others, because he was afraid/worried that something terrible might happen to him like what happened to Joseph.
5 And the sons of Israel come to buy in the midst of those coming, for the famine hath been in the land of Canaan,
So Jacob’s other sons went down from Canaan to Egypt to buy grain, and others from there went too, because there was a famine in Canaan also.
6 and Joseph is the ruler over the land, he who is selling to all the people of the land, and Joseph's brethren come and bow themselves to him — face to the earth.
At that time Joseph was the governor of Egypt. He was the one who sold grain to people who came from all over Egypt and from many other countries [HYP] to buy grain. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, [they were told that it was necessary for them to talk with Joseph. So they went to him and] prostrated themselves before him with their faces to the ground.
7 And Joseph seeth his brethren, and discerneth them, and maketh himself strange unto them, and speaketh with them sharp things, and saith unto them, 'From whence have ye come?' and they say, 'From the land of Canaan — to buy food.'
As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he pretended that he did not know them. He spoke harshly to them, saying, “Where do you come from?” One of them replied, “We have come from Canaan, to buy some grain.”
8 And Joseph discerneth his brethren, but they have not discerned him,
Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.
9 and Joseph remembereth the dreams which he dreamed of them, and saith unto them, 'Ye [are] spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye have come.'
And then Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about them many years previously. [But he decided not to tell them yet that he was their younger brother]. He said to them, “You are spies! You have come to find out whether we will be able to defend ourselves [if you attack us]!”
10 And they say unto him, 'No, my lord, but thy servants have come to buy food;
One of them replied, “No, sir! We have come to buy grain.
11 we [are] all of us sons of one man, we [are] right men; thy servants have not been spies;'
We are all sons of one man. We are honest men, not spies.”
12 and he saith unto them, 'No, but the nakedness of the land ye have come to see;'
He said to them, “[I do not believe you]. You have come just to see whether we would be able to defend ourselves if we were attacked!”
13 and they say, 'Thy servants [are] twelve brethren; we [are] sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and lo, the young one [is] with our father to-day, and the one is not.'
But one of them replied, “No, that is not true! Originally there were twelve of us who were brothers, the sons of one man. Our younger brother is with our father. One [younger] brother has died. [EUP]”
14 And Joseph saith unto them, 'This [is] that which I have spoken unto you, saying, Ye [are] spies,
Joseph replied, “[You are lying! I think] it is just as I told you. You are spies!
15 by this ye are proved: Pharaoh liveth! if ye go out from this — except by your young brother coming hither;
But this is how I will determine whether what you are saying is true. I think that as surely as the king lives, you are spies. And you will not leave this place until your youngest brother comes here!
16 send one of you, and let him bring your brother, and ye, remain ye bound, and let your words be proved, whether truth be with you: and if not — Pharaoh liveth! surely ye [are] spies;'
Send one of your group to go and get your younger brother and bring him here. I will put the rest of you in prison, in order that I may test what you have said to find out whether what you are telling me is true. If the one who goes does not bring your younger brother here, then, just as surely as the king lives, it will be clear that you are lying and that you are spies.”
17 and he removeth them unto charge three days.
Then Joseph put them all in prison for three days.
18 And Joseph saith unto them on the third day, 'This do and live; God I fear!
On the third day, Joseph went to the prison and said to them, “I am a man who fears that God [will punish me if I do not do what I promise]. So do what I tell you, and I will spare your lives.
19 if ye [are] right men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your ward, and ye, go, carry in corn [for] the famine of your houses,
If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, and the rest of you can take some grain back to your families who are very hungry because of the famine.
20 and your young brother ye bring unto me, and your words are established, and ye die not;' and they do so.
But if you come back here again, you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that you can prove that what you told me is true, and as a result I will not have you executed.” So they agreed to do that.
21 And they say one unto another, 'Verily we [are] guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul, in his making supplication unto us, and we did not hearken: therefore hath this distress come upon us.'
They said to each other, “It is surely because of what we did to our [younger] brother that (we are being punished/God is punishing us)! We saw that he [SYN] was very distressed when he pleaded with us not to harm him. But we did not pay any attention to him, and that is why we are having this trouble!”
22 And Reuben answereth them, saying, 'Spake I not unto you, saying, Sin not against the lad? and ye hearkened not; and his blood also, lo, it is required.'
Reuben said to them, “I told you not to harm the boy [RHQ], but you did not pay attention to what I said! Now we are being (paid back/punished) for killing him [MTY]!”
23 And they have not known that Joseph understandeth, for the interpreter [is] between them;
While they were talking with Joseph, they were speaking through (an interpreter/someone who knew their language and the Egyptian language), but when they said these things among themselves, they were speaking in their own language, and they did not know that Joseph could understand their language, and that he could understand what they were saying.
24 and he turneth round from them, and weepeth, and turneth back unto them, and speaketh unto them, and taketh from them Simeon, and bindeth him before their eyes.
[Because of what they said, Joseph realized that they admitted that what they had done to him many years previously was wrong]. He could not keep from crying, [and he did not want them to see him crying], so he left them and went outside the room and began to cry. But then he returned to them and talked to them again. Then he took Simeon, and while they were watching, he told his servants to tie him up. He left Simeon in the prison and told the others that they could go.
25 And Joseph commandeth, and they fill their vessels [with] corn, also to put back the money of each unto his sack, and to give to them provision for the way; and one doth to them so.
Joseph told his servants to fill the men’s sacks with grain, but he also told them to put the money that each one had paid for the grain in the top of his sack. He also told them to give them food to eat along the way. After the servants did those things for Joseph’s older brothers,
26 And they lift up their corn upon their asses, and go from thence,
his older brothers loaded the sacks of grain on their donkeys and left.
27 and the one openeth his sack to give provender to his ass at a lodging-place, and he seeth his money, and lo, it [is] in the mouth of his bag,
At the place where they stopped to sleep that night, one of them opened his sack to get some grain for his donkey. He was amazed to see his money in the top of the sack.
28 and he saith unto his brethren, 'My money hath been put back, and also, lo, in my bag:' and their heart goeth out, and they tremble, one to another saying, 'What [is] this God hath done to us!'
He exclaimed to his brothers, “Someone has returned my money! Here it is in my sack!” They started shaking with fear, and said to each other, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 And they come in unto Jacob their father, to the land of Canaan, and they declare to him all the things meeting them, saying,
When they returned to their father in Canaan land, they told him all that had happened to them. One of them said,
30 'The man, the lord of the land, hath spoken with us sharp things, and maketh us as spies of the land;
“The man who governs the whole land of Egypt talked very harshly to us. He acted toward us as though we were spying on his country.
31 and we say unto him, We [are] right men, we have not been spies,
But we told him, ‘We are honest men! We are not spies.
32 we [are] twelve brethren, sons of our father, the one is not, and the young one [is] to-day with our father in the land of Canaan.
Originally there were twelve of us who were brothers, the sons of one father. One has died [EUP], and our youngest brother is with our father in Canaan.’
33 'And the man, the lord of the land, saith unto us, By this I know that ye [are] right men — one of your brethren leave with me, and [for] the famine of your houses take ye and go,
The man who is the governor of the land [did not believe us], so he said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are truly honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me. Then the rest of you can take some grain for your families that are starving from hunger and go.
34 and bring your young brother unto me, and I know that ye [are] not spies, but ye [are] right men; your brother I give to you, and ye trade with the land.'
But when you return, bring your youngest brother to me, in order that I will know that you are not spies, but instead, that you are honest men. Then I will release your brother for you. And then you can buy whatever you want in this country.’”
35 And it cometh to pass, they are emptying their sacks, and lo, 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;
As they were emptying their sacks, they were surprised that in each man’s sack was his pouch of money! When they and their father saw all the pouches of money, they were frightened.
36 and Jacob their father saith unto them, 'Me ye have bereaved; Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and Benjamin ye take — against me have been all these.'
Their father Jacob said to them, “You have caused two of my children to be taken from me! Joseph is dead, and Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin from me! It is I who am suffering because of all these things that are happening!”
37 And Reuben speaketh unto his father, saying, 'My two sons thou dost put to death, if I bring him not in unto thee; give him into my hand, and I — I bring him back unto thee;'
Reuben said to his father, “I will be responsible for Benjamin. [I will take him to Egypt and] bring him back to you. Let me take care of him. If I do not bring Benjamin back to you, you may kill both of my sons.”
38 and he saith, 'My son doth not go down with you, for his brother [is] dead, and he by himself is left; when mischief hath met him in the way in which ye go, then ye have brought down my grey hairs in sorrow to sheol.' (Sheol h7585)
But Jacob said, “No, I will not let my son go down there with you. His [older] brother is dead, and he is the only [one of my wife Rachel’s] sons who is left! If something harms him while you are traveling, you would cause me, a gray-haired old man, to die because of sorrow.” (Sheol h7585)
