1Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt , Jacob said unto his sons , Why do ye look one upon another? 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 . 3And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt . 4But Benjamin , Joseph’s brother , Jacob sent not with his brethren ; for he said , Lest peradventure mischief befall him . 5And the sons of Israel came to buy corn 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 , 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 . 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 . 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 , 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 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 . 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 the house of your prison : go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses : 20But 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 anguish 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, behold, also his blood is required . 23And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter . 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 . 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. 26And they laded their asses with the corn , 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 inn , he espied his money ; for, behold, it was in his sack’s mouth . 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? 29And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan , and told him all that befell unto them; saying , 30The man , who is the lord of the land , spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country . 31And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no 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 . 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 : 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 . 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 . 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 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 .