Genesis 42
His Brothers Did Not Know Him
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Jacob’s Desperation
42:1Now Jacob saw that there was a grain sale in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you sitting idle?”
42:2And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy for us a little food, that we may live and not die.”
42:3So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.
42:4But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some sickness befall him.”
42:5And the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
Joseph Imprisons His Brothers
42:6Now Joseph was the ruler of the land, and he was the one who sold grain to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and prostrated themselves before him with their faces to the ground.
42:7When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he acted like a stranger to them and spoke harshly to them. He said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they replied, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
42:8Thus Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.
42:9Joseph remembered the dreams he had seen and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to inspect the tracks of the country.”
42:10They said to him, “No, my lord; your servants have come to buy food.”
42:11“We are all sons of one man; we are men of peace; your servants are not spies.”
42:12He said to them, “No! You have come to see the tracks of the land.”
42:13They said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in Canaan. The youngest is with our father today, and the other is no more.”
42:14But Joseph said to them, “It is just as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies.’”
42:15“By this you will be exposed: by Pharaoh’s health, you will not leave here unless your youngest brother comes here.”
42:16“Send one of you and bring your brother. The rest of you will be taken away until your words become clear, whether you tell the truth or not. If not, by Pharaoh’s health, you are surely spies!”
42:17And he put them into prison for three days.
Joseph Releases His Brothers
42:18And he said to them on the third day, “This do and you shall live, for I fear God.”
42:19“If you are men of peace, let one brother be detained in prison. The rest of you go and take back the grain you have purchased.”
42:20“And bring your youngest brother to me, and your words shall be believed; otherwise, you shall die.” And they did so.
42:21They said to one another, “Yes, we have sinned concerning our brother. We disregarded his anguish when he begged us and did not listen to him. That is why this distress has come upon us.”
42:22Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not wrong the boy’? But you would not listen. Now his blood is being required of us.”
42:23But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for an interpreter stood between them.
42:24And Joseph turned away from them and wept; then he returned to them and spoke to them, and he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
42:25Then Joseph gave orders to fill their vessels with grain, to restore each man’s silver into his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey; and it was so done for them.
42:26And they loaded their grain upon their donkeys and departed from that place.
42:27One of them untied his sack to feed his donkeys where they stopped. He saw his bundle of silver at the mouth of his sack.
42:28And he said to his brothers, “My silver has been restored to me, and behold, it is right here in my sack!” And their hearts were astonished, and they were terrified, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”
Jacob’s Despair
42:29And they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, and reported to him all that had happened to them, saying:
42:30“The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us, and placed us in custody as men spying out the land.”
42:31“But we said to him, ‘We are men of peace; we are not spies.’”
42:32“We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.”
42:33“The man who rules the land said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are men of peace: leave one brother here with me, take the grain purchased for your household, and go.’”
42:34“‘and bring your youngest brother to me; then I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are men of peace. Then I will restore your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’”
42:35And it came to pass as they were emptying their sacks, behold, every man’s bundle of silver was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of silver, they were terrified.
42:36And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All these things have come upon me!”
42:37Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; commit him into my hand, and I will restore him to you.”
42:38He said, “My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead, and he alone is left. If he falls sick on your journey, you will bring my old age down in sorrow to Hades.”
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.