Genesis 42

¹And Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt. And Jacob said to his sons: Why do you look at one another?

²And he said: Look, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us from there, that we may live and not die.

³And the ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt.

⁴But Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, Jacob did not send with his brothers, for he said: Lest harm befall him.

⁵And the children of Israel came to buy among those who were coming, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

⁶And Joseph was the ruler over the land — he was the one who sold grain to all the people of the land. And the brothers of Joseph came and bowed to him, face to the ground.

⁷And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he made himself unrecognized to them. And he spoke with them harshly and said to them: From where do you come? And they said: From the land of Canaan, to buy food.

⁸And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

⁹And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed about them. And he said to them: You are spies — to see the nakedness of the land you have come.

¹⁰And they said to him: No, my lord! Your servants have come to buy food.

¹¹We are all sons of one man. We are honest. Your servants have not been spies.

¹²And he said to them: 'No — it is the nakedness of the land you have come to see.'

¹³And they said, We, your servants, are twelve brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and look, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.

¹⁴And Joseph said to them, 'It is as I said to you, saying: You are spies.'

¹⁵By this you will be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go out from here unless your youngest brother comes here.

¹⁶Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and you — be bound, that your words may be tested, whether truth is with you. And if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.'

¹⁷And he gathered them into custody for three days.

¹⁸And Joseph said to them on the third day, 'Do this and live — I fear God.'

¹⁹If you are honest, let one of your brothers be bound in the house of your custody, and as for you, go, bring grain for the hunger of your households.

²⁰But your youngest brother you shall bring to me, so that your words may prove reliable and you may not die. And they did so.

²¹And they said, each to his brother: Indeed we are guilty concerning our brother — we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we did not listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us.

²²And Reuben answered them, saying, Did I not tell you, saying, Do not sin against the boy? But you did not listen. And now, look, his blood is being required.

²³But they did not know that Joseph was listening, for there was an interpreter between them.

²⁴And he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from among them and bound him before their eyes.

²⁵And Joseph commanded, and they filled their bags with grain, and to return each man's silver to his sack, and to give them provisions for the road. And it was done for them so.

²⁶And they loaded their grain on their donkeys and went from there.

²⁷And the one opened his sack to give fodder to his donkey at the lodging place, and he saw his silver — and look, it was in the mouth of his sack.

²⁸And he said to his brothers: My silver has been returned, and look, here it is in my sack! And their heart went out and they trembled, each to his brother, saying: What is this that God has done to us?

²⁹And they came to Jacob their father, to the land of Canaan, and they told him all that had befallen them, saying:

³⁰The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly with us, and he took us for spies of the land.

³¹And we said to him, 'Honest men are we; we have not been spies.'

³²We are twelve brothers, sons of our father — one is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.

³³And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I will know that you are honest: leave one of your brothers with me, and take the grain-ration of your households and go.'

³⁴Bring the youngest brother of you all to me, and I will know that you are not spies, that you are honest men — your brother of you all I will give back to you, and in the land you may trade.

³⁵And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, and there — each man had his bundle of silver in his sack! And they saw their bundles of silver, they and their father, and they were afraid.

³⁶And Jacob their father said to them, 'You have bereaved me — Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin. All these things are against me.'

³⁷And Reuben said to his father, saying, 'You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Give him into my hand, and I myself will bring him back to you.'

³⁸And he said: 'My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should come upon him on the road on which you go, you would bring down my gray head in sorrow to Sheol.'