Genesis 42

Jacob Sends His Sons to Egypt for Food

1 Jacob heard there was food in Egypt and said to his sons, ‘Why are y’all just sitting around looking at each other?’

2 ‘I heard Egypt got grain. Go down there and buy some, or we are all are going to starve!’

3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to buy grain.

4 But Jacob did not let Benjamin go with them because he was scared something bad might happen to him.

5 The famine hit hard in Canaan, so Jacob’s sons joined the crowd heading to Egypt for food.

Joseph Recognizes His Brothers

6 Joseph was running things in Egypt and selling grain to everybody. When his brothers showed up, they bowed down to him, not knowing who he was.

7 Joseph saw them and recognized them, but he played it cool and acted like a stranger. He said, ‘Where y’all from?’ They said, ‘We are from Canaan, here to buy food.’

8 Even though Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

9 Joseph remembered the dreams he had about them and said, ‘You all are spies! You came to check out our weak spots!’

10 They said, ‘Nah, my lord, we are just regular folks here to buy food.’

11 ‘We are all sons of one man. We are honest, not spies.’

12 Joseph said, ‘I do not think so. You are here to spy on us.’

13 They said, ‘We are twelve brothers, all sons of one man in Canaan. The youngest is back home, and one is… gone.’

Joseph Tests His Brothers

14 Joseph said, ‘I still think you all are spies, and I am about to test you.’

15 ‘By Pharaoh’s name, you are not leaving here unless your youngest brother comes here.’

16 ‘Send one of you to get him while the rest stay locked up. That will prove whether you are honest or not.’

17 Then Joseph threw all of them in jail for three days.

Joseph Gives Them a Deal

18 On the third day, Joseph said, ‘Here is the deal. I am a God-fearing man, so I will give you a chance.’

19 ‘If you are honest, leave one brother here and let the rest of you all take grain back home to your starving families.’

20 ‘But you must bring your youngest brother here to prove your story. If you do not, you are done.’

21 They said to each other, ‘This is payback for what we did to Joseph. We saw how scared he was when he begged us, but we did not care. Now we are paying for it.’

22 Reuben said, ‘Did I not tell you all not to hurt the boy, But no, you did not listen. Now we are in this mess.’

23 They did not know Joseph could understand them because he was using an interpreter.

24 Joseph had to step away because he got emotional and started crying. Then he came back, picked Simeon, and had him tied up in front of them.

The Brothers Return to Canaan

25 Joseph ordered his crew to fill their sacks with grain, put their silver back in the sacks, and give them supplies for the trip.

26 They loaded the grain on their donkeys and headed back home.

27 On the way, one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey and found his silver at the top of the bag.

28 He said, ‘Listen, my silver has been returned! What is going on,’ They all started freaking out, saying, ‘What is God doing to us?’

Jacob Hears the News

29 When they got back to Canaan, they told Jacob everything that happened.

30 They said, ‘The man in charge of Egypt spoke rough to us and accused us of being spies.’

31 ‘We told him, We are honest, not spies.’

32 ‘We said, We are twelve brothers, all sons of one man. One’s gone, and the youngest is back home.’

33 ‘The man said, Leave one brother here and prove you are honest by bringing the youngest. Then I will give you back your brother, and you can trade freely in the land.’

34 As they emptied their sacks, each one found his silver inside. When they saw it, they and their father got scared.

Jacob Refuses to Let Benjamin Go

35 Jacob said, ‘You all are taking everything from me! Joseph’s gone, Simeon’s gone, and now you want to take Benjamin, Everything is against me!’

36 Reuben said, ‘Look, you can kill my two sons if I do not bring Benjamin back. Trust me, I will take care of him.’

37 But Jacob said, ‘My son is not going with you all. His brother is already gone, and if something happens to him on the way, I will die from grief.’