Jacob Sent His 10 Sons to Egypt to Buy Food Because of the Famine |
Genesis 42:1-38 The First Book of Moses Called Genesis |
When Jacob [a.k.a. Israel] saw there was [grain] in Egypt, Jacob said to his [11] sons, Why do [are] you [looking at] one another? [Listen,] I have heard that there is corn [grain] in Egypt. [Go] down [there] & buy us [some grain] from [there, so] we may live, and not die. |
Joseph's 10 [brothers] went down to Egypt to buy [grain.] But Jacob [didn't] send [his youngest son,] Benjamin with his [brothers;] for [Jacob] said, Lest [perhaps] some calamity [would happen to] him. |
And the sons of [Jacob/Israel] came to buy grain, among those [who] came: [because] the famine in the land of Canaan. Joseph was the governor over the land & he [was in charge of selling grain] to the people of the land. And Joseph's [brothers] came & bowed themselves down before him, [facing the ground.] |
And Joseph saw his [brothers & recognized] them, but [acted like a stranger] to them & spoke roughly to them & he said, [From where did] you come? And they [told him,] From the land of Canaan to buy food. Joseph knew his [brothers,] but they [didn't know] him. |
Joseph remembered the dreams he [had about] them & said, You are spies; you have come [here] to see the [vulnerabilities] of the land. They [told Joseph, No, my lord,] your servants [have] come to buy food. We are all one man's sons & are [honest] men & aren’t spies. [Joseph] said [again,] [No,] you [gave] come to see the [vulnerabilities] of the land. |
And they said, Your servants are [of 12 brothers,] the sons of 1 man in the land of Canaan & the youngest is this day with our father & one is [no more.] Joseph said, That's [exactly] it, [what] I said to you, saying, You are spies. [By this,] you shall [prove you aren’t spies.] By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go [out] from here, [unless] your younger brother [comes here.] |
Send one of you & let him [get] your brother & [the rest] of you shall be kept in prison, so your words may be [proven,] whether there [is] any truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, you surely [will be considered] spies. |
[Joseph] put them together in [prison for] 3 days. And Joseph said to them the 3rd day, Do this & live; for I fear [respect] God. If you are [honest] men, let one of your [brothers] be [confined] in the prison house. |
[The rest,] go & carry [grain to] your houses for the famine. But bring your youngest brother to me, so your words [will] be verified & you shall not die & they did so. And they said to one another, We are [truly] guilty [about] our brother, [Joseph,] in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he [begged] us & we wouldn't [listen.] |
Reuben anTherefore, this distress [has] come upon us. And Reuben answered them, [Didn’t ] I speak to you, saying, Don't sin against the child & you wouldn’t [listen to me.] |
Therefore, [look,] his blood is also required [for what we did.] They [didn’t] know that Joseph understood them, [because] he spoke to them [through] an interpreter. [When Joseph heard what they said,] he turned [away] from them & wept. |
[When Joseph] returned to them again, [he talked] with them & took & bound Simeon before their eyes. Joseph [secretly] commanded to fill their sacks with [grain] & to restore every man's money [which was to be put inside] his sack & to be given [provisions] for [the journey home]. [And this was done] to them. |
And the [9 brothers loaded] their [donkeys] with [grain] & departed [from there.] One of them opened his sack to get [feed] for his [donkey at] the inn & [saw] his money & [saw it was] inside the mouth of his sack. And he [told his brothers,] My money is restored & [look,] it is even in my sack. Their heart failed them & they were afraid & said to one another, What is this that God has done to us? |
[When they got] to the land of Canaan, they came to [Jacob/Israel,] their father & told him all [that had happened] to them, saying, The man, who is the lord of the land, [spoke] roughly to us & [mistook] us for spies of the country. We said to him, We are [honest] men & [aren’t] spies. |
We [are] 12 [brothers,] sons of our father & 1 is [no longer] & the youngest is with our father in the land of Canaan this day. The man, the lord of the country, said to us, [This is how] I shall know you are [honest] men; leave 1 of your [brothers] here with me & take food for the famine [for] your households & be gone. |
And bring back your youngest brother to me. Then I [will] know you aren’t spies, but are [honest] men. So, I will [return] your brother [from prison] & you can [do business] in the land. It [happened] as they emptied their sacks, that every man [saw their] bundle of money in [their] sacks & when both they & their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. |
[Jacob/Israel,] their father said to them, You have bereaved me of my children. Joseph is not & Simeon is not & you [want] to take Benjamin away. All these things are against me. Reuben [spoke] to his father, saying, If I don’t return him [Benjamin] to you, slay my 2 sons. |
Deliver him into my hand & I will bring him [back] to you again. [Jacob/Israel] said, My son shall not go down with you. His brother is dead & if he is left alone & [something bad happens to] him [on] the way, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. |