Now
when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why
do ye look one upon another?
2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is
corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we
may live, and not die.
3 And Josephs ten brethren went down to buy corn
in Egypt.
4 But Benjamin, Josephs brother, Jacob sent not
with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
5 And the sons of Israel came to buy corn
among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6 And Joseph was the governor over the land,
and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and
Josephs brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with
their faces to the earth.
7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them,
but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he
said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to
buy food.
8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not
him.
9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed
of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of
the land ye are come.
10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy
food are thy servants come.
11 We are all one mans sons; we are
true men, thy servants are no spies.
12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the
nakedness of the land ye are come.
13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve
brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the
youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
14 And Joseph said unto them, That is it
that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of
Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come
hither.
16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother,
and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there
be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are
spies.
17 And he put them all together into ward three
days.
18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This
do, and live; for I fear God:
19 If ye be true men, let one of your
brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the
famine of your houses:
20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so
shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
21 And they said one to another, We are
verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his
soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this
distress come upon us.
22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not
unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear?
therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them;
for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
24 And he turned himself about from them, and wept;
and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them
Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.
25 Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with
corn, and to restore every mans money into his sack, and to give them
provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.
26 And they laded their asses with the corn, and
departed thence.
27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his
ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was
in his sacks mouth.
28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is
restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them,
and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that
God hath done unto us?
29 And they came unto Jacob their father unto the
land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,
30 The man, who is the lord of the land,
spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
31 And we said unto him, We are true men;
we are no spies:
32 We be twelve brethren, sons of our
father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our
father in the land of Canaan.
33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto
us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of
your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of
your households, and be gone:
34 And bring your youngest brother unto me: then
shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are
true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick
in the land.
35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks,
that, behold, every mans bundle of money was in his sack: and
when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were
afraid.
36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have
ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is
not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against
me.
37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay
my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I
will bring him to thee again.
38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you;
for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by
the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with
sorrow to the grave.