1Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt , and Jacob said unto his sons , Why do ye look one upon another ? 2And he said , Behold , I have heard that there is grain in Egypt : get you down thither , and buy for us from thence ; that we may live , and not die . 3And Joseph ’s ten brethren went down to buy grain from Egypt . 4But Benjamin , Joseph ’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure harm befall him . 5And the sons of Israel came to buy among those that came : for the famine was in the land of Canaan .
Joseph Recognizes His Brothers
6And Joseph was the governor over the land; he it was that sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph ’s brethren came , and bowed down themselves to him with their faces to the earth. 7And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them , but made himself strange unto them , and spake roughly with them ; and he said unto them , Whence come ye ? And they said , From the land of Canaan to buy food. 8And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him . 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 . 10And they said unto him, Nay , my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. 11We are all one man ’s sons ; we are true men , thy servants are no spies . 12And he said unto them , Nay , but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. 13And they said, We 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 .
Joseph's Test of His Brothers
14And Joseph said unto them , That is it that I spake unto you , saying , Ye are spies : 15hereby ye shall be proved: by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence , except your youngest brother come hither . 16Send one of you , and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you : or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies . 17And he put them all together into ward three days . 18And Joseph said unto them the third day , This do , and live ; for I fear God: 19if ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in your prison-house; but go ye, carry grain for the famine of your houses : 20and bring your youngest brother unto me ; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die . And they did so .
The Return to Canaan
21And they said one to another , We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul , when he besought us , and we would not hear ; therefore is this distress come upon us . 22And Reuben answered them , saying, Spake I not unto you , saying, Do not sin against the child ; and ye would not hear ? therefore also , behold , his blood is required . 23And they knew not that Joseph understood them ; for there was an interpreter between them . 24And he turned himself about from them , and wept ; and he returned to them , and spake to them , and took Simeon from among them , and bound him before their eyes . 25Then Joseph commanded to fill their vessels with grain , and to restore every man’s money into his sack , and to give them provision for the way : and thus was it done unto them . 26And they laded their asses with their grain , and departed thence .
The Brothers' Return and Their Report to Jacob
27And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the lodging-place, he espied his money ; and , behold , it was in the mouth of his sack . 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 turned trembling one to another , saying, What is this that God hath done unto us ? 29And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan , and told him all that had befallen them , saying, 30The man, the lord of the land, spake roughly with us , and took us for spies of the country. 31And we said unto him , We are true men; we are no spies : 32we are twelve brethren, sons of our father ; one is not , and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan . 33And the man , the lord of the land, said unto us , Hereby shall I know that ye are true men : leave one of your brethren with me , and take grain for the famine of your houses , and go your way ; 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 traffic in the land. 35And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks , that , behold , every man ’s bundle of money was in his sack : and when they and their father saw their bundles of money , 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 . 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 . 38And he said, My son shall not go down with you ; for his brother is dead , and he only is left : if harm befall him by the way in which ye go , then will ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol .