Genesis 41:46-42:9

New King James Version

⁴⁶ Joseph was thirty years old when he ^(A)stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth ^[a]abundantly. ⁴⁸ So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. ⁴⁹ Joseph gathered very much grain, ^(B)as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.

^50 (C)And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. ⁵¹ Joseph called the name of the firstborn ^[b]Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my ^(D)father’s house.” ⁵² And the name of the second he called ^[c]Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be ^(E)fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³ Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, ^54 (F)and the seven years of famine began to come, ^(G)as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. ⁵⁵ So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; ^(H)whatever he says to you, do.” ⁵⁶ The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened ^[d]all the storehouses and ^(I)sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. ^57 (J)So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to ^(K)buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt

42 When ^(L)Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” ² And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may ^(M)live and not die.”

³ So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, ^(N)“Lest some calamity befall him.” ⁵ And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was ^(O)in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Now Joseph was governor ^(P)over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and ^(Q)bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. ⁷ Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as ^(R)a stranger to them and spoke ^[e]roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?”

And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

⁸ So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. ⁹ Then Joseph ^(S)remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the ^[f]nakedness of the land!”