Genesis 42
1 Audiens autem Jacob quod alimenta venderentur in Ægypto, dixit filiis suis: Quare negligitis?
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”
2 audivi quod triticum venundetur in Ægypto: descendite, et emite nobis necessaria, ut possimus vivere, et non consumamur inopia.
“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 Descendentes igitur fratres Joseph decem, ut emerent frumenta in Ægypto,
So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
4 Benjamin domi retento a Jacob, qui dixerat fratribus ejus: Ne forte in itinere quidquam patiatur mali:
But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm might befall him.”
5 ingressi sunt terram Ægypti cum aliis qui pergebant ad emendum. Erat autem fames in terra Chanaan.
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 Et Joseph erat princeps in terra Ægypti, atque ad ejus nutum frumenta populis vendebantur. Cumque adorassent eum fratres sui,
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 et agnovisset eos, quasi ad alienos durius loquebatur, interrogans eos: Unde venistis? Qui responderunt: De terra Chanaan, ut emamus victui necessaria.
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 Et tamen fratres ipse cognoscens, non est cognitus ab eis.
Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.
9 Recordatusque somniorum, quæ aliquando viderat, ait ad eos: Exploratores estis: ut videatis infirmiora terræ venistis.
Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
10 Qui dixerunt: Non est ita, domine, sed servi tui venerunt ut emerent cibos.
“Not so, my lord,” they replied. “Your servants have come to buy food.
11 Omnes filii unius viri sumus: pacifici venimus, nec quidquam famuli tui machinantur mali.
We are all sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”
12 Quibus ille respondit: Aliter est: immunita terræ hujus considerare venistis.
“No,” he told them. “You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
13 At illi: Duodecim, inquiunt, servi tui, fratres sumus, filii viri unius in terra Chanaan: minimus cum patre nostro est, alius non est super.
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 Hoc est, ait, quod locutus sum: exploratores estis.
Then Joseph declared, “Just as I said, you are spies!
15 Jam nunc experimentum vestri capiam: per salutem Pharaonis non egrediemini hinc, donec veniat frater vester minimus.
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 Mittite ex vobis unum, et adducat eum: vos autem eritis in vinculis, donec probentur quæ dixistis utrum vera an falsa sint: alioquin per salutem Pharaonis exploratores estis.
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 Tradidit ergo illos custodiæ tribus diebus.
So Joseph imprisoned them for three days,
18 Die autem tertio eductis de carcere, ait: Facite quæ dixi, et vivetis: Deum enim timeo.
and on the third day he said to them, “I fear God. So do this and you will live:
19 Si pacifici estis, frater vester unus ligetur in carcere: vos autem abite, et ferte frumenta quæ emistis, in domos vestras,
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 et fratrem vestrum minimum ad me adducite, ut possim vestros probare sermones, et non moriamini. Fecerunt ut dixerat,
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 et locuti sunt ad invicem: Merito hæc patimur, quia peccavimus in fratrem nostrum, videntes angustiam animæ illius, dum deprecaretur nos, et non audivimus: idcirco venit super nos ista tribulatio.
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 E quibus unus Ruben, ait: Numquid non dixi vobis: Nolite peccare in puerum: et non audistis me? en sanguis ejus exquiritur.
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 Nesciebant autem quod intelligeret Joseph, eo quod per interpretem loqueretur ad eos.
They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them.
24 Avertitque se parumper, et flevit: et reversus locutus est ad eos.
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 Tollensque Simeon, et ligans illis præsentibus, jussit ministris ut implerent eorum saccos tritico, et reponerent pecunias singulorum in sacculis suis, datis supra cibariis in viam: qui fecerunt ita.
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 At illi portantes frumenta in asinis suis, profecti sunt.
and they loaded the grain on their donkeys and departed.
27 Apertoque unus sacco, ut daret jumento pabulum in diversorio, contemplatus pecuniam in ore sacculi,
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 dixit fratribus suis: Reddita est mihi pecunia, en habetur in sacco. Et obstupefacti, turbatique, mutuo dixerunt: Quidnam est hoc quod fecit nobis Deus?
“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 Veneruntque ad Jacob patrem suum in terram Chanaan, et narraverunt ei omnia quæ accidissent sibi, dicentes:
When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they described to him all that had happened to them:
30 Locutus est nobis dominus terræ dure, et putavit nos exploratores esse provinciæ.
“The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.
31 Cui respondimus: Pacifici sumus, nec ullas molimur insidias.
But we told him, ‘We are honest men, not spies.
32 Duodecim fratres uno patre geniti sumus: unus non est super, minimus cum patre nostro est in terra Chanaan.
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 Qui ait nobis: Sic probabo quod pacifici sitis: fratrem vestrum unum dimittite apud me, et cibaria domibus vestris necessaria sumite, et abite,
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 fratremque vestrum minimum adducite ad me, ut sciam quod non sitis exploratores: et istum, qui tenetur in vinculis, recipere possitis: ac deinceps quæ vultis, emendi habeatis licentiam.
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 His dictis, cum frumenta effunderent, singuli repererunt in ore saccorum ligatas pecunias, exterritisque simul omnibus,
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 dixit pater Jacob: Absque liberis me esse fecistis: Joseph non est super, Simeon tenetur in vinculis, et Benjamin auferetis: in me hæc omnia mala reciderunt.
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 Cui respondit Ruben: Duos filios meos interfice, si non reduxero illum tibi: trade illum in manu mea, et ego eum tibi restituam.
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 At ille: Non descendet, inquit, filius meus vobiscum: frater ejus mortuus est, et ipse solus remansit: si quid ei adversi acciderit in terra ad quam pergitis, deducetis canos meos cum dolore ad inferos. (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)
