Genesis 42
42
Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
1Now when Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” # Ac 7:12 2And he said, “Behold, 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.” # Ge 43:8
3Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers for he said, “Perhaps some harm might happen to him.” # Ge 42:38 5Thus the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. # Ge 12:10; 41:57
6Now Joseph was the governor over the land, and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. So Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves down before him with their faces to the ground. 7Joseph saw his brothers, and he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger to them and spoke harshly to them. # Ge 42:30 He said to them, “From where do you come?”
And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”
8Joseph knew his brothers, but they did not know him. 9Joseph also remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. # Ge 37:5–9 He said to them, “You are spies! You came to see the nakedness of the land!”
10They said to him, “No, my lord, your servants have come only to buy food. 11We are all one man’s sons. We are honest men. Your servants are not spies.”
12But he said to them, “No, you have come to see the nakedness of the land!”
13They said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, # Ge 37:30; 42:32 the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer living.”
14Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, ‘You are spies!’ 15Here is how you will be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, # 1Sa 17:55 you will not leave here unless your youngest brother comes here. 16Send one of you, and let him get your brother, and you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested, whether there be any truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, you are surely spies.” 17He put them all together in custody for three days. # Ge 40:4, 7
18Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God. # Lev 25:43; Ne 5:15 19If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison house. The rest of you go and carry grain for the famine of your households. 20Nevertheless, bring your youngest brother to me so that your words may be verified and you shall not die.” # Ge 42:34; 43:5 And they did so.
21Then they said one to another, “We are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. Therefore, this distress has come upon us.” # Ge 37:23–28; Hos 5:15
22Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore, his blood is now required of us.” # 1Ki 2:32; 2Ch 24:22 23They did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter.
24He turned himself away from them and wept, # Ge 43:30 but then turned back to them again and spoke with them. Then he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
25Joseph then gave the command to fill their sacks with grain and to restore every man’s money to his sack and to give them provisions for the way. # 1Pe 3:9 And it was done for them.
Joseph’s Brothers Return Home
26They loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there.
27As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed in the lodging place, he saw his money. It was in the mouth of his sack. 28And he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned. Here it is in my sack!”
Then their hearts sank, and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29They came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying, 30“The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and took us for spies of the country. # Ge 42:7 31And we said to him, ‘We are honest men. We are not spies. 32We are twelve brothers, all sons of our father. One is no longer living, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’
33“The man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘Here is how I may know that you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers here with me, # Ge 42:15, 19–20 take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. 34But bring your youngest brother back to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. Then I will deliver your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ ” # Ge 34:10, 21
35As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack. When both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. 36Then Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children! Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you will take Benjamin away. # Ge 43:14 All these things are against me.”
37Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I fail to bring him to you. # Ge 46:9 Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”
38But Jacob said, “My son must not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. # Ge 37:33; 42:4 If harm should happen to him on the journey you are to make, then you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.” # Ge 37:35
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Genesis 42: MEV
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The Holy Bible, Modern English Version
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B'resheet (Gen) 42
42
1Now Ya‘akov saw that there was grain in Egypt; so Ya‘akov said to his sons, “Why are you staring at each other? 2Look,” he said, “I’ve heard that there’s grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us from there, so that we can stay alive and not die!” 3Thus Yosef’s ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt, 4except for Binyamin, Yosef’s brother. Ya‘akov did not send him with his brothers, because he was afraid something might happen to him.
5The sons of Isra’el came to buy along with the others that came, since the famine extended to the land of Kena‘an. 6Yosef was governor over the land; it was he who sold to all the people of the land. Now when Yosef’s brothers came and prostrated themselves before him on the ground, 7Yosef saw his brothers and recognized them; but he acted toward them as if he were a stranger and spoke harshly with them. He asked them, “Where are you from?” They answered, “From the land of Kena‘an to buy food.” 8So Yosef recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him.
9Remembering the dreams he had had about them, Yosef said to them, “You are spies! You’ve come to spot our country’s weaknesses!” 10“No, my lord,” they replied, “your servants have come to buy food. 11We’re all the sons of one man, we’re upright men; your servants aren’t spies.” 12“No,” he said to them, “you’ve come to spy out our country’s weaknesses.” 13They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Kena‘an; the youngest stayed with our father, and another one is gone.” 14“Just as I said,” replied Yosef, “you’re spies! 15Here’s how you can prove you’re not lying: as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave here unless your youngest brother comes here. 16Send one of you, and let him bring your brother. Meanwhile, you will be kept in custody. This will prove whether there is any truth in what you say. Otherwise, as Pharaoh lives, you are certainly spies.” 17Then he put all of them together in prison for three days.
18On the third day, Yosef said to them, “Do what I say, and stay alive, for I fear God. (v) 19If you are upright men, let one of your brothers remain incarcerated in the prison you’re being kept in, while you go and carry grain back to relieve the famine in your homes. 20But bring your youngest brother to me. In this way your statements will be verified, and you won’t die.”
So they did it. 21They said to each other, “We are in fact guilty concerning our brother. He was in distress and pleaded with us; we saw it and wouldn’t listen. That’s why this distress has come upon us now.” 22Re’uven answered them, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t wrong the boy’? But you wouldn’t hear of it. Now comes the reckoning for his blood!” 23They had no idea that Yosef understood them, since an interpreter was translating for them. 24Yosef turned away from them and wept; then he returned and spoke to them. He took Shim‘on from among them and put him in prison before their eyes. 25Next he ordered that their containers be filled with grain, that every man’s money be put back in his pack and that they be given provisions for the journey. When these things had been done for them, 26they loaded their grain on their donkeys and departed.
27But at camp that night, as one of them opened his pack to give fodder to his donkey, he noticed his money — there it was, just inside his pack. 28He said to his brothers, “My money has been restored — there it is, right in my pack!” At that, their hearts sank; they turned, trembling, to one another and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29They returned to Ya‘akov their father in the land of Kena‘an and told him all that had happened to them. 30“The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly with us. He took us for spies in his country. 31We said to him, ‘We are upright men, we’re not spies; 32we are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is gone, and the youngest stayed with our father in the land of Kena‘an.’ 33But the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘Here is how I will know that you are upright men: leave one of your brothers with me, take grain to relieve the famine in your homes, and go on your way; 34but bring your youngest brother to me. By this I will know that you aren’t spies, but are upright men; then I will return your brother to you; and you will do business in the land.’”
35Next, as they emptied their packs, there was each man’s bag of money in his pack; and when they and their father saw their bags of money, they became afraid. 36Ya‘akov their father said to them, “You have robbed me of my children! Yosef is gone, Shim‘on is gone, now you’re taking Binyamin away — it all falls on me!” 37Re’uven said to his father, “If I don’t bring him back to you, you can kill my own two sons! Put him in my care; I will return him to you.” 38But he replied, “My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead, and he alone is left. If anything were to happen to him while traveling with you, you would bring my gray hair down to Sh’ol with grief.”
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