Genesis 42:7-13

Contemporary English Version

^7-8 They did not recognize Joseph, but at once he knew who they were, though he pretended not to know. Instead, he spoke harshly and asked, “Where do you come from?”

“From the land of Canaan,” they answered. “We've come here to buy grain.”

^9 (A) Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about them and said, “You're spies! You've come here to find out where our country is weak.”

¹⁰ “No sir,” they replied. “We're your servants, and we have only come to buy grain. ¹¹ We're honest men, and we come from the same family—we're not spies.”

¹² “That isn't so!” Joseph insisted. “You've come here to find out where our country is weak.”

¹³ But they explained, “Sir, we come from a family of twelve brothers. The youngest is still with our father in Canaan, and one of our brothers is dead.”