Genesis 42

Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?

1Jacob heard there was grain for sale in Egypt. He said to his sons, "Why do you sit and stare at each other?"

NoteThe KJV says "corn." In 1611 that word meant grain of any kind, like wheat or barley. It does not mean corn on the cob.

2And 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.

2He said, "I hear there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us. Then we will live and not die."

3And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.

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

4But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.

4Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's younger brother. He was afraid something bad might happen to him.

5And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

5So Jacob's sons came to buy, along with many other people. Jacob was also called Israel. The land of Canaan was hungry too.

6And 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.

6Joseph was the ruler of Egypt. He was the one who sold grain to everyone. His brothers came and bowed low, with their faces to the ground.

7And 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.

7Joseph saw his brothers and knew them at once. But he acted like a stranger and spoke in a hard voice. "Where do you come from?" he asked. They said, "From Canaan, to buy food."

8And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.

8Joseph knew who they were. They did not know who he was.

9And 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.

9Joseph remembered the dreams he once had about them. He said, "You are spies. You came to find the weak spots in our land."

NoteThe KJV says "the nakedness of the land." That means the places where a country is not well guarded. Joseph was saying they came to plan an attack.

10And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.

10They said, "No, sir. We are only here to buy food."

11We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.

11"We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. We are not spies."

12And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.

12He said, "No. You came to find the weak spots in our land."

13And 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.

13They said, "We are twelve brothers, sons of one man in Canaan. The youngest is at home with our father. One brother is gone."

14And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:

14Joseph said, "It is just as I told you. You are spies."

15Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.

15"Here is how I will test you. As sure as Pharaoh the king lives, you will not leave until your youngest brother comes here."

Note"By the life of Pharaoh" was a strong promise. It was like saying, "This is as certain as the king being alive."

16Send 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.

16"Send one of you to go get him. The rest of you will stay locked up. Then we will see if your words are true. If not, then you are spies."

17And he put them all together into ward three days.

17So he put them all in prison for three days.

18And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:

18On the third day Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live. I honor God."

19If 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:

19"If you are honest men, leave one brother here in prison. The rest of you take grain home to your hungry families."

20But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.

20"Then bring your youngest brother to me. That will show your words are true, and you will not die." They agreed to do it.

21And 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.

21They said to each other, "We are being paid back for what we did to our brother. We saw how upset he was when he begged us. We would not listen. That is why this trouble has come."

22And 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.

22Reuben said, "Did I not tell you not to hurt the boy? You would not listen. Now we must answer for his death."

23And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.

23They did not know that Joseph understood their words. He had been talking to them through a man who changed one language into the other.

24And 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.

24Joseph turned away from them and cried. Then he came back and spoke with them again. He took Simeon and tied him up while they watched.

25Then 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.

25Joseph told his men to fill their bags with grain. He told them to put each man's money back in his sack. He gave them food for the trip. It was all done.

26And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.

26They loaded the grain onto their donkeys and left.

27And 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.

27They stopped for the night. One brother opened his sack to feed his donkey. He saw his money sitting right at the top of the sack.

NoteThe KJV says "inn." It was not a hotel. It was just a place along the road where travelers stopped to rest for the night.

28And 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?

28He said to his brothers, "My money is back! It is here in my sack." Their hearts sank and they were afraid. They asked each other, "What has God done to us?"

29And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,

29They came home to their father Jacob in Canaan. They told him everything that had happened.

30The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

30They said, "The man who rules that land spoke to us in a hard voice. He said we were spies."

31And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:

31"We told him, 'We are honest men. We are not spies.'"

32We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

32"'We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One brother is gone. The youngest is at home with our father in Canaan.'"

33And 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:

33"Then the ruler said to us, 'Here is how I will know you are honest. Leave one brother here with me. Take food for your hungry families and go.'"

34And 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.

34"'Then bring your youngest brother to me. That will show me you are honest men, not spies. Then I will give your brother back, and you may buy and sell here.'"

35And 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.

35Then they emptied their sacks. Every man found his own bag of money inside. When they and their father saw it, they were afraid.

36And 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.

36Jacob said to them, "You keep taking my children from me. Joseph is gone. Simeon is gone. Now you want Benjamin. Everything is going wrong for me."

37And 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.

37Reuben said to his father, "You may kill my own two sons if I do not bring him back. Put him in my care. I will bring him home to you."

38And 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.

38Jacob said, "My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If something bad happens to him on the road, my sadness will send me, an old man, to my grave."