Genesis 42
Legacy Standard Bible
Joseph’s Brothers Sent to Egypt
42 Now (A)Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?” 2 Then he said, “Behold, (B)I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from there, (C)so that we may live and not die.” 3 So ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother (D)Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “(E)Lest any harm befall him.” 5 So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, (F)for the famine was in the land of Canaan also.
6 Now (G)Joseph was the one in power over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and (H)bowed down to him with their [a]faces to the ground. 7 And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and (I)spoke to them harshly. And he said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
8 But Joseph recognized his brothers, although (J)they did not recognize him. 9 And Joseph (K)remembered the dreams which he [b]had about them and said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the [c]nakedness of the land.” 10 Then they said to him, “No, (L)my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man; we are (M)honest men; your servants are not spies.” 12 And he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the [d]nakedness of our land!” 13 So they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with (N)our father today, and (O)one is no more.” 14 And Joseph said to them, “It is as I said [e]to you, you are spies; 15 by this you will be tested: (P)by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here! 16 Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is (Q)truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” 17 Then he put them all together in (R)prison for three days.
18 And Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for (S)I fear God: 19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in [f]your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, bring grain for the famine of your households, 20 and (T)bring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be proven true, and you will not die.” And they did so. 21 Then they said to one another, “(U)Surely we are guilty concerning our brother because we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.” 22 And Reuben answered them, saying, “(V)Did I not tell you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; yet you would not listen? (W)So also his blood, behold, it is required of us.” 23 Now they did not know that Joseph was listening, for there was an interpreter between them. 24 And he turned away from them and (X)wept. Then he returned to them and spoke to them. And he (Y)took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 (Z)Then Joseph gave a command 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 went from there. 27 Then one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place. And he saw his (AA)money; and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. 28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned, and behold, it is even in my sack.” And their hearts [g]sank, and they turned [h]trembling to one another, saying, “(AB)What is this that God has done to us?”
Jacob Is Bereaved
29 Then they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, (AC)spoke harshly with us and took us for spies of the country. 31 So we said to him, ‘We are (AD)honest men; we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘(AE)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 [i]honest men. I will give your brother to you, and you may (AF)trade in the land.’”
35 Now it happened that they were emptying their sacks, and behold, (AG)every man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and they and their father saw their bundles of money, and they feared. 36 And their father Jacob said to them, “You have (AH)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 hand, and I will return him to you.” 38 But [j]Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his (AI)brother is dead, and he alone remains. (AJ)If harm should befall him on the journey on which you are going, then you will (AK)bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 42:6 Lit noses
- Genesis 42:9 Lit had dreamed
- Genesis 42:9 Or undefended parts
- Genesis 42:12 Or undefended parts
- Genesis 42:14 Lit to you, saying
- Genesis 42:19 Lit the house of your prison
- Genesis 42:28 Lit went out
- Genesis 42:28 Lit trembled
- Genesis 42:34 Lit you are honest
- Genesis 42:38 Lit he
Genesis 42
English Standard Version
Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt
42 When (A)Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2 And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may (B)live and not die.” 3 So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, (C)Joseph's brother, with his brothers, for (D)he feared that harm might happen to him. 5 Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6 Now Joseph was governor (E)over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and (F)bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. 7 Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and (G)spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” 8 And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 9 And Joseph (H)remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. (I)And he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” 10 They said to him, “No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies.”
12 He said to them, “No, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see.” 13 And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one (J)is no more.” 14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. 15 By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” 17 And he put them all together in custody for three days.
18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, (K)for I fear God: 19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry (L)grain for the famine of your households, 20 and (M)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, (N)“In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” 22 And Reuben answered them, (O)“Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now (P)there comes a reckoning for his blood.” 23 They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. 24 Then he turned away from them and (Q)wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 (R)And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man's money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them.
26 Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed. 27 And as (S)one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at (T)the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. 28 He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!” At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, (U)spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we have never been spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One (V)is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, (W)‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take (X)grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. 34 Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall (Y)trade in the land.’”
35 (Z)As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. 36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have (AA)bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.” 37 Then Reuben said to his father, “Kill (AB)my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.” 38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for (AC)his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. (AD)If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, (AE)you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”
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