⁵⁵ When all the land of Egypt became hungry and the people cried to Pharaoh for food, Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians: “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” ⁵⁶ When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the cities that had grain and rationed it to the Egyptians, since the famine had gripped the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ Indeed, the whole world came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, for famine had gripped the whole world.

⁵ And so the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since there was famine in the land of Canaan.^(A)

⁶ Joseph, as governor of the country, was the one who sold grain to all the people of the land. When Joseph’s brothers came, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.^{(B) 7} He recognized them as soon as he saw them. But he concealed his own identity from them and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked them. They answered, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”

¹⁷ With that, he locked them up in the guardhouse for three days.

¹⁸ On the third day Joseph said to them: “Do this, and you shall live; for I am a God-fearing man. ¹⁹ If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in this prison, while the rest of you go and take home grain for your starving families. ²⁰ But you must bring me your youngest brother. Your words will thus be verified, and you will not die.” To this they agreed.^{(A) 21} To one another, however, they said: “Truly we are being punished because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen. That is why this anguish has now come upon us.”^{(B) 22} Then Reuben responded, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do no wrong to the boy’? But you would not listen! Now comes the reckoning for his blood.”^{(C) 23} They did not know, of course, that Joseph understood what they said, since he spoke with them through an interpreter. ²⁴ But turning away from them, he wept. When he was able to speak to them again, he took Simeon from among them and bound him before their eyes.