| Chapter
42 |
| 1 | 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 Joseph's ten brethren went
down to buy corn in Egypt. |
| 4 |
But Benjamin, Joseph's 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 Joseph's 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 man's 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 man's 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 sack's
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 traffic in the land. |
| 35 | And it came to pass as they emptied
their sacks, that, behold, every man's 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. |
