42 Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt. So he said to his sons, ‘There is no food here, so why are you just sitting there? 2 I have heard that there is food in Egypt. Go there and buy some for us. Then we may continue to live and not die.’
3 So ten of Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to buy food. 4 But Jacob did not send his youngest son, Benjamin, with them. Jacob was afraid that something bad might happen to Benjamin. 5 Jacob's sons went to Egypt, as well as other people who went there to buy food. They all went to Egypt because there was a bad famine in Canaan.
6 Joseph had authority to rule Egypt at that time. He was the man who sold food to all the Egyptians. When Joseph's brothers arrived there, they bent down in front of him, with their faces to the ground. [ b ]
7 As soon as Joseph saw the men, he knew that they were his brothers. But he spoke to them as if they were strangers. He did not speak to them in a kind way. He asked them, ‘Where do you come from?’ They replied, ‘We come from the land of Canaan. We have come here to buy food.’ 8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. [ c ]
9 Then Joseph remembered the dream that he had dreamed about his brothers. He said to them, ‘You have come here secretly to see how your people can attack our land.’ 10 They replied ‘No, my lord, that is not true! We are your servants and we have come to buy food. 11 We are all the sons of one man. We are honest men. We are not your enemies.’
12 But Joseph said, ‘No! You have come here to see if our country is weak so that you can attack us.’ 13 Joseph's brothers replied, ‘We belong to a family of 12 brothers. We are the sons of one man who lives in Canaan. Our youngest brother stayed at home with our father. One other brother is not with us any more.’ 14 Joseph said to them, ‘It is as I told you. You are our enemies! 15 I will see if what you say is true. This is what I will do. I promise by the life of Pharaoh himself, I will not let you leave this place. [ d ] You must first bring your youngest brother here. I will only let you go after that. 16 One of you must go to bring your brother here. I will keep you others in prison. In that way I will know if what you said is true. If your youngest brother does not come, then I will certainly know that you are enemies!’
17 Then Joseph put his brothers in prison for three days.
18 On the third day Joseph said to them, ‘Do what I say. Then you will stay alive, because I respect God. [ e ] 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison. The other brothers can go back to Canaan. You may take food back with you, because your families are hungry. 20 But you must return to Egypt and you must bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that what you have said is true. Then you will not die.’ Joseph's brothers agreed to do what he told them.
21 The brothers said to each other, ‘This punishment is happening to us because of what we did to Joseph. We saw how upset he was when he asked us not to kill him. But we refused to be kind to him. That is why we have all this trouble.’ 22 Reuben said, ‘I told you not to do anything bad to the boy. But you would not agree! We killed him and now we must receive the punishment.’ 23 While they said all this, they did not know that Joseph could understand them. Joseph had been speaking in the Egyptian language and someone else told the brothers his message in Hebrew. [ f ]
24 Joseph went away from his brothers and he began to weep. But then he returned to speak to them again. While they watched, Joseph told his men to tie Simeon's hands and take him away. 25 Then Joseph told his servants to fill the brothers' bags with food. He also told them to put each man's money back into his bag. [ g ] He told them to give the brothers enough food for their journey. The servants did what Joseph told them. 26 Then the brothers put the bags of food on to their donkeys. Then they left.
27 They travelled until they reached a place to sleep that night. One of the brothers opened his bag to get food for his donkey. Then he saw his money inside his bag, at the top. 28 He said to his brothers, ‘They have given back my money! Here it is in my bag!’ All the brothers were upset and frightened. They asked each other, ‘What has God done to us?’
29 After some time they arrived back in Canaan. They went to their father, Jacob. They told him everything that had happened to them. 30 They said, ‘We met the man who is lord over Egypt. He spoke strong words to us. He thought that we were enemies who had come to find a way to attack Egypt. 31 But we said to him, “We are honest men. We are not your enemies. 32 We belong to a family of 12 brothers, all the sons of one father. One brother is not with us any more, and the youngest brother is at home with our father in Canaan.” 33 Then the man who is lord over Egypt said, “I want to know if you are honest men. This is what I will do. You must leave one of your brothers here, with me. Then take food for your hungry families and leave Egypt. 34 But then you must bring your youngest brother here to me. If you do that, I will know that you are really honest men. I will know that you are not our enemies. Then I will give your brother back to you. You will be able to stay in Egypt and you can buy and sell things here.” ’
35 The brothers started to take the food out of their bags. And in their bags, they found each man's money! When the brothers and their father saw the money, they were frightened. 36 Their father Jacob said to them, ‘You are taking my children away from me! Joseph is not here any more. Simeon also is not here. Now you want to take Benjamin away from me. Everything that happens is hurting me!’
37 Then Reuben said to his father, Jacob, ‘I will bring Benjamin back to you. If I do not, then you can kill both of my sons. Trust me to take care of him. I will bring him back.’ 38 But Jacob said, ‘My son will not go with you. His brother is already dead. Benjamin is the only one left. Something bad may happen to him on your journey. I am already an old man. If I lose Benjamin, I would be so sad that I would die.’ [ h ]
42 During the famine in Canaan, Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt. So he said to his sons, “Why are you sitting here doing nothing? 2 I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go there and buy grain for us so that we will live and not die!”
3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to buy grain. 4 Jacob did not send Benjamin. (Benjamin was Joseph’s only full brother. [ a ] ) Jacob was afraid that something bad might happen to Benjamin.
5 The famine was very bad in Canaan, so there were many people from Canaan who went to Egypt to buy grain. Among them were the sons of Israel.
6 Joseph was the governor of Egypt at the time. He was the one who checked the sale of grain to people who came to Egypt to buy it. Joseph’s brothers came to him and bowed before him. 7 Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted like he didn’t know them. He was rude when he spoke to them. He said, “Where do you come from?”
The brothers answered, “We have come from the land of Canaan to buy food.”
8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not know who he was. 9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed about his brothers.
Joseph said to his brothers, “You have not come to buy food! You are spies. You came to learn where we are weak.”
10 But the brothers said to him, “No, sir, we come as your servants. We have come only to buy food. 11 We are all brothers—we all have the same father. We are honest men. We have come only to buy food.”
12 Then Joseph said to them, “No, you have come to spy on us!”
13 And the brothers said, “No, sir, we come as servants from Canaan. We are all brothers, sons of the same father. There were twelve brothers in our family. Our youngest brother is still at home with our father, and the other brother died a long time ago.”
14 But Joseph said to them, “No! I can see that I am right. You are spies. 15 But I will let you prove that you are telling the truth. In the name of Pharaoh, I swear that I will not let you go until your youngest brother comes here. 16 One of you must go back to get your youngest brother while the rest of you stay here in prison. Then we can prove whether you are telling the truth or not. If you are not telling the truth, then by Pharaoh, I swear that you are spies!” 17 Then Joseph put them all in prison for three days.
18 After three days Joseph said to them, “I am a God-fearing man. Do this, and I will let you live. 19 If you are honest men, one of your brothers can stay here in prison, and the others can go and carry grain back to your people. 20 But then you must bring your youngest brother back here to me. Then I will know that you are telling the truth, and you will not have to die.”
The brothers agreed to this. 21 They said to each other, “We are being punished for the bad thing we did to our younger brother Joseph. We saw the trouble he was in. He begged us to save him, but we refused to listen. So now we are in trouble.”
22 Then Reuben said to them, “I told you not to do anything bad to that boy, but you refused to listen to me. Now we are being punished for his death.”
23-24 Joseph was using an interpreter to talk to his brothers, so the brothers did not know that he understood their language. He heard and understood everything they said, and that made him want to cry. So he turned away and left the room. When he came back, he took one of the brothers, Simeon, and tied him up while the others watched. 25 Joseph told the servants to fill the bags with grain. The brothers had given Joseph the money for the grain, but he didn’t keep the money. He put the money in their bags of grain. Then he gave them what they would need for their trip back home.
26 So the brothers put the grain on their donkeys and left. 27 That night the brothers stopped at a place to spend the night. One of the brothers opened his sack to get some grain for his donkey. And there in the sack, he saw his money! 28 He said to the other brothers, “Look! Here is the money I paid for the grain. Someone put the money back in my sack.” The brothers were very afraid. They said to one another, “What is God doing to us?”
29 The brothers went back to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. They told him about everything that had happened. 30 They said, “The governor of that country spoke rudely to us. He thought that we were spies! 31 We told him, ‘We are honest men, not spies. 32 There are twelve of us brothers, all from the same father. But one of our brothers is no longer living, and the youngest is still at home with our father in Canaan.’
33 “Then the governor of that country said to us, ‘Here is a way to prove that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me. Take your grain back to your families. 34 Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know if you are honest men or if you were sent from an army to destroy us. If you are telling the truth, I will give your brother back to you. I will give him to you, and you will be free to buy grain in our country.’”
35 Then the brothers started taking the grain out of their sacks, and every brother found his bag of money in his sack of grain. When the brothers and their father saw the money, they were afraid.
36 Jacob said to them, “Do you want me to lose all of my children? Joseph is gone. Simeon is gone, and now you want to take Benjamin away too!”
37 But Reuben said to his father, “Father, you may kill my two sons if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. Trust me. I will bring him back to you.”
38 But Jacob said, “I will not let Benjamin go with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only son left from my wife Rachel. It would kill me if anything happened to him during the trip to Egypt. You would send me to the grave [ b ] a very sad, old man.”
42 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
3 And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief 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.
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 down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
11 We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
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.
14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
17 And he put them all together into ward three days.
18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
19 If ye be 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:
20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
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.
22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
24 And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound 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 unto them.
26 And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.
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.
28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, 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 unto us?
29 And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,
30 The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
31 And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:
32 We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby 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 be gone:
34 And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick 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 both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
37 And Reuben spake unto 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.
38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
42 Now ( A ) Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?” 2 Then he said, “Look, ( B ) I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from [ a ] that place, ( C ) so that we may live and not die.” 3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother ( D ) Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “ ( E ) I am afraid that harm may happen to him.” 5 So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, ( F ) because the famine was also in the land of Canaan.
6 Now ( G ) Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold grain to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and ( H ) bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and ( I ) spoke to them harshly. He said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
8 But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although ( J ) they did not recognize him. 9 And Joseph ( K ) remembered the dreams which he [ b ] had about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the [ c ] undefended parts of our land.” 10 And they said to him, “No, ( L ) my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man; we are ( M ) honest men, your servants are not spies.” 12 Yet he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the [ d ] undefended parts of our land!” 13 But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all , the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with ( N ) our father today, and ( O ) one is no longer alive.” 14 Yet Joseph said to them, “It is as I said [ e ] to you, you are spies; 15 by this you will be tested: ( P ) by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here! 16 Send one of you and have him get your brother, while you remain confined, so that your words may be tested, whether there is ( Q ) truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, you are certainly spies!” 17 So he put them all together in ( R ) prison for three days.
18 Now Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for ( S ) I fear God: 19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in [ f ] your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine of your households, 20 and ( T ) bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified, and you will not die.” And they did so. 21 Then they said to one another, “ ( U ) Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; for that reason this distress has happened to us.” 22 Reuben answered them, saying, “ ( V ) Did I not tell [ g ] you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? [ h ] ( W ) Now justice for his blood is required.” 23 They did not know, however, that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between them. 24 Then he turned away from them and ( X ) wept. But when he returned to them and spoke to them, he ( Y ) took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 ( Z ) Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, but also to return every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. And that is what was done for them.
26 So they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed from there. 27 But when one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the overnight campsite, he saw his ( AA ) money; and behold, it was in the opening of his sack! 28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned, and look, it is right in my sack!” Then their hearts [ i ] sank, and they turned [ j ] trembling to one another, saying, “ ( AB ) What is this that God has done to us?”
29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, ( AC ) spoke harshly with us, and took us for spies of the country. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are ( AD ) honest men; we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’ 33 But the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘ ( AE ) By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go. 34 But bring your youngest brother to me so that I may know that you are not spies, but [ k ] honest men. I will give your brother to you, and you may ( AF ) trade in the land.’”
35 Now it came about, as they were emptying their sacks, that behold, ( AG ) every man’s bag of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bags of money, they were afraid. 36 And their father Jacob said to them, “You have ( AH ) deprived me of my sons: Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and now you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me.” 37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my [ l ] care, and I will return him to you.” 38 But [ m ] Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his ( AI ) brother is dead, and he alone is left. ( AJ ) If harm should happen to him on the journey [ n ] you are taking, then you will ( AK ) bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”
42 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, ( A ) he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” 2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, ( B ) so that we may live and not die.” ( C )
3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain ( D ) from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, ( E ) Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. ( F ) 5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, ( G ) for there was famine in the land of Canaan ( H ) also. ( I )
6 Now Joseph was the governor of the land, ( J ) the person who sold grain to all its people. ( K ) So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. ( L ) 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. ( M ) “Where do you come from?” ( N ) he asked.
“From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”
8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. ( O ) 9 Then he remembered his dreams ( P ) about them and said to them, “You are spies! ( Q ) You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” ( R )
10 “No, my lord, ( S ) ” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. ( T ) 11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servants ( U ) are honest men, ( V ) not spies. ( W ) ”
12 “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” ( X )
13 But they replied, “Your servants ( Y ) were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. ( Z ) The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.” ( AA )
14 Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies! ( AB ) 15 And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, ( AC ) you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ( AD ) 16 Send one of your number to get your brother; ( AE ) the rest of you will be kept in prison, ( AF ) so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. ( AG ) If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies! ( AH ) ” 17 And he put them all in custody ( AI ) for three days.
18 On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: ( AJ ) 19 If you are honest men, ( AK ) let one of your brothers stay here in prison, ( AL ) while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. ( AM ) 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me, ( AN ) so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.
21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. ( AO ) We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress ( AP ) has come on us.”
22 Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? ( AQ ) But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting ( AR ) for his blood.” ( AS ) 23 They did not realize ( AT ) that Joseph could understand them, ( AU ) since he was using an interpreter.
24 He turned away from them and began to weep, ( AV ) but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes. ( AW )
25 Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, ( AX ) to put each man’s silver back in his sack, ( AY ) and to give them provisions ( AZ ) for their journey. ( BA ) After this was done for them, 26 they loaded their grain on their donkeys ( BB ) and left.
27 At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, ( BC ) and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. ( BD ) 28 “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.”
Their hearts sank ( BE ) and they turned to each other trembling ( BF ) and said, “What is this that God has done to us?” ( BG )
29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, ( BH ) they told him all that had happened to them. ( BI ) They said, 30 “The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us ( BJ ) and treated us as though we were spying on the land. ( BK ) 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. ( BL ) 32 We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’ ( BM )
33 “Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. ( BN ) 34 But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. ( BO ) Then I will give your brother back to you, ( BP ) and you can trade [ a ] in the land. ( BQ ) ’”
35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver! ( BR ) When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. ( BS ) 36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, ( BT ) and now you want to take Benjamin. ( BU ) Everything is against me! ( BV ) ”
37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, ( BW ) and I will bring him back.” ( BX )
38 But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead ( BY ) and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him ( BZ ) on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave ( CA ) in sorrow. ( CB ) ”
