¹⁹ if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in ^[a]your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine of your households, ²⁰ and ^(A)bring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be verified, and you will not die.” And they did so. ²¹ Then they said to one another, “^(B)Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.” ²² Reuben answered them, saying, “^(C)Did I not tell ^[b]you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? ^[c](D)Now comes the reckoning for his blood.” ²³ They did not know, however, that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between them. ²⁴ He turned away from them and ^(E)wept. But when he returned to them and spoke to them, he ^(F)took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. ^25 (G)Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to restore every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. And thus it was done for them.

²⁶ So they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed from there. ²⁷ As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his ^(H)money; and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. ²⁸ Then he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned, and behold, it is even in my sack.” And their hearts ^[d]sank, and they turned ^[e]trembling to one another, saying, “^(I)What is this that God has done to us?”

Simeon Is Held Hostage

²⁹ When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, ³⁰ “The man, the lord of the land, ^(J)spoke harshly with us, and took us for spies of the country. ³¹ But we said to him, ‘We are ^(K)honest men; we are not spies. ³² We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’ ³³ The man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘^(L)By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go. ³⁴ But bring your youngest brother to me that I may know that you are not spies, but ^[f]honest men. I will give your brother to you, and you may ^(M)trade in the land.’”

³⁵ Now it came about as they were emptying their sacks, that behold, ^(N)every man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were dismayed. ³⁶ Their father Jacob said to them, “You have ^(O)bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me.” ³⁷ Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my ^[g]care, and I will return him to you.” ³⁸ But ^[h]Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his ^(P)brother is dead, and he alone is left. ^(Q)If harm should befall him on the journey ^[i]you are taking, then you will ^(R)bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”

The Return to Egypt

43 ^(S)Now the famine was severe in the land. ² So it came about when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” ³ Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “^(T)The man solemnly warned ^[j]us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ⁴ If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. ⁵ But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” ⁶ Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly ^[k]by telling the man whether you still had another brother?” ⁷ But they said, “The man questioned particularly about us and our relatives, saying, ‘^(U)Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we ^[l]answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” ⁸ Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the lad with me and we will arise and go, ^(V)that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones. ^9 (W)I myself will be surety for him; ^[m]you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then ^[n]let me bear the blame before you forever. ¹⁰ For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”

¹¹ Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your ^[o]bags, and carry down to the man ^(X)as a present, a little ^[p](Y)balm and a little honey, ^[q]aromatic gum and ^[r]myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. ¹² Take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand ^(Z)the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake. ¹³ Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man; ¹⁴ and may ^[s](AA)God Almighty ^(AB)grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you ^(AC)your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, ^(AD)if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” ¹⁵ So the men took ^(AE)this present, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; then they arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.