1When #Acts 7:12Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may #Gen. 43:8; Ps. 33:18, 19; Is. 38:1live and not die.”

3So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, #Gen. 42:38“Lest some calamity befall him.” 5And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was #Gen. 12:10; 26:1; 41:57; Acts 7:11in the land of Canaan.

6Now Joseph was governor #Gen. 41:41, 55over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and #Gen. 37:7–10; 41:43; Is. 60:14bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. 7Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as #Gen. 45:1, 2a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?”

And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

8So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 9Then Joseph #Gen. 37:5–9remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!”

10And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”

12But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

13And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one #Gen. 37:30; 42:32; 44:20; Lam. 5:7is no more.”

14But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ 15In this manner you shall be tested: #1 Sam. 1:26; 17:55By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” 17So he put them all together in prison #Gen. 40:4, 7, 12three days.

18Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, #Gen. 22:12; 39:9; Ex. 1:17; Lev. 25:43; Neh. 5:15; Prov. 1:7; 9:10for I fear God: 19If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. 20And bring your young#Gen. 42:34; 43:5; 44:23est brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.”

And they did so. 21Then they said to one another, #Gen. 37:26–28; 44:16; 45:3; Job 36:8, 9; Hos. 5:15“We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; #Prov. 21:13; Matt. 7:2therefore this distress has come upon us.”

22And Reuben answered them, saying, #Gen. 37:21, 22, 29“Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now #Gen. 9:5, 6; 1 Kin. 2:32; 2 Chr. 24:22; Ps. 9:12; Luke 11:50, 51required of us.” 23But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. 24And he turned himself away from them and #Gen. 43:30; 45:14, 15wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took #Gen. 34:25, 30; 43:14, 23Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

The Brothers Return to Canaan

25Then Joseph #Gen. 44:1gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to #Gen. 43:12restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. #(Matt. 5:44; Rom. 12:17, 20, 21; 1 Pet. 3:9)Thus he did for them. 26So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there. 27But as #Gen. 43:21, 22one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. 28So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”

29Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying: 30“The man who is lord of the land #Gen. 42:7spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. 31But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. 32We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ 33Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, #Gen. 42:15, 19, 20‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. 34And bring your #Gen. 42:20; 43:3, 5youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may #Gen. 34:10trade in the land.’ ”

35Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly #Gen. 43:12, 15, 21each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. 36And Jacob their father said to them, “You have #Gen. 43:14bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take #Gen. 35:18; (Rom. 8:28, 31)Benjamin. All these things are against me.”

37Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”

38But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for #Gen. 37:22; 42:13; 44:20, 28his brother is dead, and he is left alone. #Gen. 42:4; 44:29If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would #Gen. 37:35; 44:31bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”

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Genesis 42

Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt

1When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt,#Ac 7:12 he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at each other? 2Listen,” he went on, “I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we will live and not die.”#Gn 43:8 3So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, “Something might happen to him.”

5The sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. 6Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.#Gn 37:7–10; 41:43; Is 60:14 7When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them.

“Where do you come from?” he asked.

“From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied.

8Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9Joseph remembered his dreams about them#Gn 37:5–11 and said to them, “You are spies. You have come to see the weakness#42:9 Lit nakedness, also in v. 12 of the land.”

10“No, my lord. Your servants have come to buy food,” they said. 11“We are all sons of one man. We are honest; your servants are not spies.”

12“No,” he said to them. “You have come to see the weakness of the land.”

13But they replied, “We, your servants, were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now#42:13 Or today, also in v. 32 with our father, and one is no longer living.”

14Then Joseph said to them, “I have spoken:#42:14 Lit “That which I spoke to you saying: ‘You are spies!’ 15This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17So Joseph imprisoned them together for three days.

18On the third day Joseph said to them, “I fear God#Gn 39:9; Lv 25:43; Neh 5:15 — do this and you will live. 19If you are honest, let one of you#42:19 Lit your brothers be confined to the guardhouse, while the rest of you go and take grain to relieve the hunger of your households. 20Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won’t die.” And they consented to this.

21Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.”#Gn 37:26–28

22But Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to harm the boy?#Gn 37:22 But you wouldn’t listen. Now we must account for his blood!” #42:22 Lit Even his blood is being sought!”

23They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them. 24He turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes. 25Joseph then gave orders to fill their containers with grain, return each man’s silver to his sack, and give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out. 26They loaded the grain on their donkeys and left there.

The Brothers Return Home

27At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver there at the top of his bag. 28He said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned! It’s here in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What has God done to us?”

29When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them: 30“The man who is the lord of the country spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country. 31But we told him, ‘We are honest and not spies. 32We were twelve brothers, sons of the same#42:32 Lit of our father. One is no longer living, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’ 33The man who is the lord of the country said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go. 34Bring back your youngest brother to me, and I will know that you are not spies but honest men. I will then give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the country.’”

35As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver! When they and their father saw their bags of silver, they were afraid.

36Their father Jacob said to them, “It’s me that you make childless. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything happens to me!”

37Then Reuben said to his father, “You can kill my two sons if I don’t bring him back to you. Put him in my care,#42:37 Lit hand and I will return him to you.”

38But Jacob answered, “My son will not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left.#Gn 37:33–34; 42:13; 44:27–28 If anything happens to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.”#Gn 44:29

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Genesis 42

Genesis 42