Joseph’s Brothers Come to Egypt to Buy Grain

42:1-38

42 Meanwhile back in the region of Canaan, when Jacob heard that there was grain for sale in the country of Egypt, he told his sons, “Do not just stand around doing nothing! 2 Listen to this! I heard that there is grain for sale in the country of Egypt. So go down there and buy some for us and our families to eat, so that we can stay alive and not starve to death.” 3 So Joseph’s ten older brothers left home and traveled down to Egypt to buy some grain there. 4 But Jacob did not allow Joseph’s younger brother Benjamin to go to Egypt with the rest of his brothers, because Jacob was afraid that something bad might happen to him.

5 Israel’s sons arrived in Egypt along with many other people who were coming there to buy food, because the severe food shortage was also affecting everyone in the region of Canaan. 6 Since Joseph was the administrator over the country of Egypt, he was the one selling grain to people who came to him from all over the country. So Joseph’s brothers also went before him like everyone else and bowed down with their faces to the ground to show him respect. 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended that he did not know them. In fact, he spoke to them sternly and asked them, “What country are you from?” They answered him, “Sir, we are from the region of Canaan to buy some grain.” 8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not realize who he was.

9 Then Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about his brothers long ago, so he accused them, “You are secretly gathering information about our country! You came here to find out where our country is weak!” 10 But his brothers replied to him, “Sir, we are not spies. Rather, we are humble men who have come here only to buy some grain. 11 We are all brothers who have the same father. We are humble, trustworthy men, not spies.”

12 But Joseph accused them, “That is not true! You have definitely come here to find out where our country is weak!” 13 But they replied to him, “Sir, there were twelve of us brothers. We are sons of the same father who lives in the region of Canaan. Our youngest brother is with our father right now, but our other brother has died.”

14 But Joseph accused them, “What I told you is true! You are spying on our country! 15 So now, this is how I will verify whether or not you told me the truth: As certain as King Pharaoh lives, I swear that you will definitely never leave Egypt until your youngest brother is here. 16 So one of you must go back home and bring your youngest brother back here. The rest of you must stay here in prison. That way I can verify whether you told me the truth. But if you are lying, as certain as King Pharaoh lives, that means you really are spying on our country!” 17 Then Joseph had his soldiers lock up his brothers in prison for three days.

18 Three days later, Joseph said to them, “I am a man who reveres God. So if you do what I say, I will let you live. 19 Since you claim to be trustworthy men, I will make just one of you brothers stay where you have been, in prison. The rest of you may go and carry food back home for your hungry families. 20 But you must bring your youngest brother back here to me. That way I will know that you are telling the truth, and I will let you live.” So Joseph’s brothers agreed to do what he said.

21 While they were still standing there, they said to each other, “Surely what we did to our brother Joseph long ago was very wrong. We saw how he was suffering when he begged us not to harm him, but we refused to listen to him. That is why we are suffering now.” 22 Reuben scolded them by saying, “I told you that you should not do anything bad to him! But you refused to listen to me, and now look, God is holding us responsible for causing him to die!” 23 Joseph’s brothers did not realize that he could understand what they were saying to each other, because he had been speaking to them using a translator as if he did not know their language. 24 When Joseph heard what they were saying, he turned his back to them and started crying. Then after he recovered, he turned back around and spoke to them again. Then he chose Simeon from among them and had his soldiers bind him with chains while they watched.

25 Then Joseph told his servants to fill his brothers’ sacks with grain. He also told them to secretly put in each brother’s sack the money they had paid for the grain and to provide them with food to eat on their trip home. After Joseph did that for his brothers, 26 his brothers loaded their sacks of grain onto their donkeys’ backs and started traveling home.

27 Later, when they stopped at a place to stay for the night, one of them opened his sack to get some grain to feed his donkey. There in the top of his sack he saw the money that he had used to buy grain! 28 So he exclaimed to the others, “Somebody has returned my money to me! Here it is in my sack!” When they saw it, they were completely shocked, and they shook with fear. They asked each other, “Why is God doing this to us?”

29 When they reached their home in the region of Canaan where their father Jacob was, they told him everything they had experienced. They said, 30 “The man who governs the country of Egypt spoke to us sternly and accused us of spying on their country! 31 But we told him, ‘We are trustworthy men; not spies. 32 There were twelve of us brothers, and we are the sons of the same father. One of our brothers has died, and the youngest brother is at home with our father right now in the region of Canaan.’

33 “But the man who governs the country told us, ‘This is how I will know if you are trustworthy men: You must leave one of you here with me, and the rest of you go home with food for your starving families. 34 But bring your youngest brother back here to me. Then I will know that you are trustworthy men and not spies. Then I will return your brother to you from prison, and you can travel around my country and trade freely.’ ”

35 Then Joseph’s brothers started emptying their sacks of grain, and there inside each man’s sack was his bag of money that he had paid for the grain! When they and their father Jacob saw the money bags, they were terrified. 36 Then their father exclaimed to them, “You have caused me terrible loss! Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin away from me too! Everything is going terribly for me!”

37 Reuben replied, “Father, let me be responsible for taking Benjamin down to Egypt. If I fail to bring him back to you safely, you can punish me by killing my two sons.” 38 But his father replied, “No, I will not let my son Benjamin go down to Egypt with you. His brother is dead, so he is the only son I have left from his mother. So if anything bad happened to him on your journey, you would cause me, your elderly father, to grieve so badly that I would die and go down to the afterworld!”