Genesis 41:41-42:23

New King James Version

⁴¹ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have ^(A)set you over all the land of Egypt.”

⁴² Then Pharaoh ^(B)took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he ^(C)clothed him in garments of fine linen ^(D)and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ And he had him ride in the second ^(E)chariot which he had; ^(F)and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him ^(G)over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name ^[a]Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife ^(H)Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Joseph was thirty years old when he ^(I)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 ^[b]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, ^(J)as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.

^50 (K)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 ^[c]Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my ^(L)father’s house.” ⁵² And the name of the second he called ^[d]Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be ^(M)fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³ Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, ^54 (N)and the seven years of famine began to come, ^(O)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; ^(P)whatever he says to you, do.” ⁵⁶ The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened ^[e]all the storehouses and ^(Q)sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. ^57 (R)So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to ^(S)buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt

42 When ^(T)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 ^(U)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, ^(V)“Lest some calamity befall him.” ⁵ And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was ^(W)in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Now Joseph was governor ^(X)over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and ^(Y)bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. ⁷ Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as ^(Z)a stranger to them and spoke ^[f]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 ^(AA)remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the ^[g]nakedness of the land!”

¹⁰ And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. ¹¹ We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”

¹² But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

¹³ And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one ^(AB)is no more.”

¹⁴ But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ ¹⁵ In this manner you shall be tested: ^(AC)By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be ^[h]kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” ¹⁷ So he ^[i]put them all together in prison ^(AD)three days.

¹⁸ Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, ^(AE)for I fear God: ¹⁹ If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. ²⁰ And ^(AF)bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.”

And they did so. ²¹ Then they said to one another, ^(AG)“We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; ^(AH)therefore this distress has come upon us.”

²² And Reuben answered them, saying, ^(AI)“Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now ^(AJ)required of us.” ²³ But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter.