Joseph’s Brothers Come to Egypt to Buy Grain

42:1-38

42 Then Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, so Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?” 2 And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us from there so that we will live and not die.” 3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, with his brothers, because he said, “So that harm does not meet him!”

5 And the sons of Israel came among those who came to buy grain, because the famine was in the land of Canaan. 6 Now Joseph was the governor over the land. It was he who was selling grain to all the people of the land. So the brothers of Joseph came and bowed down to him with their noses to the ground. 7 And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted like a stranger to them, and he spoke with them harshly and said to them, “Where did you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” 8 And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!” 10 But they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 All of us are sons of one man. We are honest. Your servants are not spies.”

12 But he said to them, “No, indeed you have come to see the nakedness of the land!” 13 But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers. We are sons of one man in the land of Canaan. And behold, the youngest is with our father today, and the one is not alive.”

14 Then Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ 15 By this you will be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you will not leave from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, and you will be bound. Then your words will be tested as to whether the truth is in you. And if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” 17 Then he put them together in custody for three days.

18 Then Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, because I fear God: 19 If you are honest, let one of your brothers be bound in your prison house, and you go take grain back for the famine of your households. 20 Then you will bring your youngest brother to me so that your words will be verified, and you will not die.” And they did so.

21 Then each man said to his brother, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, but we did not listen. For that reason this distress has come upon us.” 22 Then Reuben responded to them, saying, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the lad’? But you did not listen, so now behold, his blood is being accounted for!” 23 And they did not know that Joseph understood them, because the interpreter was between them. 24 And he turned away from them and cried. Then he turned back toward them and spoke to them. Then he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

25 Then Joseph ordered his servants and they filled their bags with grain. And he ordered them to return each man’s silver to his sack and to give provisions to them for the road. And he did that for them. 26 Then they loaded their grain onto their donkeys and went from there.

27 Then one of them opened his sack to give fodder to his donkey at the lodging place, and he saw his silver, and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack! 28 So he said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned! And indeed behold, it is in my sack!” Then their hearts went out, and each man trembled to his brother, saying, “What is this God has done to us?”

29 Then they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, and they reported to him all that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke to us harshly and treated us as if we were spying out the land! 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest. We are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, the sons of our father. The one is not alive, 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, ‘By this I will know that you are honest: Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households and go. 34 Then bring your youngest brother to me so that I will know that you are not spies, that you are honest. Then I will give your brother to you, and you can trade in the land.’ ”

35 Then it happened they were emptying their sacks, and behold, each man’s pouch of his silver was inside his sack! And they and their father saw the pouches of their silver, and they were afraid. 36 Then Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me! Joseph is not here! And Simeon is not here! And you will take Benjamin! All these things are against me!”

37 Then Reuben said to his father, saying, “You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him to you. Put him in my hand, and I will return him to you.” 38 But he said, “My son will not go down with you, because his brother is dead, and he alone is left. And if harm were to meet him on the road that you are going on, then you would bring my gray head down in sorrow to Sheol!”