Genesis_Chapter 42

When Jacob saw that there was food in Egypt, he said to his sons, Why are you looking at each other?

I have heard that there is food in Egypt. Go down and buy some for us from there, so that we may live and not die.

So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to Egypt to buy food.

But Joseph’s brother Benjamin, Jacob did not send him with his brothers, because Jacob said, Lest he be harmed.

Among the people who came to buy grain were the sons of Israel, because there was also a famine in the land of Canaan.

Joseph was the ruler of Egypt at that time. He was the one who sold grain to the people of that land. Joseph’s brothers came and bowed to him with their faces on the ground.

When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but pretended to be strangers and spoke harshly to them, asking them, ‘Where do you come from?’. They said, We came from the land of Canaan to buy grain.

Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

Joseph remembered the two dreams he had dreamed before and said to them, “You are spies who come to spy on the falsehood of this land.”.

They said to him, “My lord, it’s not true.”. The servants came to buy grain.

We are all one person’s sons, honest people. The servants are not spies.

Joseph said, No, you will come to spy out the falsehood of this land.

They said, The servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest one is now with our father, and one is gone.

Joseph said, “I only said that you are spies, and that’s true.”.

I swear by the life of Pharaoh, if your little brothers do not come here, you shall not leave this place, and from then on you shall be proven.

Send one of you and bring your brother. As for you, you will all be imprisoned here to prove whether your words are true or not. If they are not true, I swear by the life of Pharaoh that you must be spies.

So Joseph put them all in prison for three days.

On the third day, Joseph said to them, I fear God. You can survive as long as you follow my instructions.

If you are honest people, you may keep one of you imprisoned, but you can bring food back and save your family from famine.

Bring your little brothers to me, so that your words have evidence and you will not die. They followed suit.

They said to each other, “We are truly guilty in our brothers.”. When he begged us, we saw the sorrow in his heart but refused to listen, so this suffering came upon us.

Liubian said, didn’t I tell you not to harm that child? But you refuse to listen, so the crime of shedding his blood is being pursued against us.

They didn’t know Joseph could hear it because he was using communication among them.

Joseph turned back and wept for a while, then returned to speak to them. He took Simeon from among them and bound him in front of them.

Joseph ordered people to fill their utensils with grain, return each person’s silver to their pockets, and provide them with food for the journey. They did as he said.

They carried the grain on the donkey and left there.

When they arrived at the accommodation, one of them opened his pocket and wanted to feed the donkey with food, only to see that his silver was still in his pocket,

And he said to his brothers, My silver has been returned, and behold, it is still in my pocket. They trembled and said to each other, “What is God doing to us?”?

They came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened, saying,

The Lord of the land spoke harshly to us, treating us as spies to spy on the land.

We told him that we are honest people, not spies.

We were twelve brothers, all sons of one father. One of us is gone, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.

The Lord of the land said to us, “If you want me to know that you are honest, leave one of you with me and bring food back to save your families from famine.”.

Bring your little brothers to me, and I will know that you are not spies, but honest people. So I will hand over your brothers to you, and you can also do business in this land.

Later, they emptied their pockets, but to their surprise, each person’s silver bag was in their pocket. They and their father were both scared when they saw the silver bag.

Their father Jacob said to them, ‘You have caused me to lose my son. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone. Take Benjamin with you again.’. These things have all fallen on me.

Reuben said to his father, “If I don’t bring him back and give him to you, you can kill my two sons.”. Just hand him over to me, and I will bring him back to you.

Jacob said, My son shall not go down with you. His brother has died, leaving only him. If he is harmed on the way you are walking, then you have sent me with white hair and sorrow to the underworld.