After Yosef had provided for his brothers, 26 they loaded their grain onto their donkeys and departed. 27 At a lodging place that night, one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey and to his horror, he saw his silver inside the top of the sack. 28 “My silver’s been returned,” he told his brothers, “and it’s right here in my sack!” Then their stomachs tightened, and trembling, they asked each other, “What’s this that God’s doing to us?”

29 When they got home to Yacob their father in Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them, 30 “This man, the master of Egypt, spoke harshly to us and treated us as if we were spying out his country, 31 but we told him, ‘We’re honest—we’re not spies. 32 We’re twelve brothers, the sons of our father. One is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today back in Canaan.’ 33 Then that man told us, ‘I’ll find out if you’re honest: Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for your families and go. 34 Then bring me your youngest brother so that I’ll know you’re not spies—that you’re telling the truth. Then I’ll release your brother and you can trade here freely.’ ”

35 Then when they started emptying their sacks, wow, each man’s pouch of silver was inside his sack. When the brothers and their father saw their pouches of silver, they were afraid. 36 “You’ve deprived me of another son,” Yacob exclaimed. Yosef is gone! Simeon’s gone! And then you want to take Benyamin as well! Why’s everything going so wrong for me?” 37 Then Reuben offered to his father, “You can kill my two sons if I don’t bring Benyamin back to you. Let me take responsibility for him, and I’ll make sure that he returns to you.” 38 “My son will not go with you,” Yacob countered, “because his brother is dead, and he alone is left. And if harm were to meet him on the road that you’re going on, then you’d bring my grey head down to the grave in grief.”