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Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
When Jacob heard that grain was available in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you standing around looking at one another?
When Jacob heard that grain was available in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you standing around looking at one another?
Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”
When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”
I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there, and buy enough grain to keep us alive. Otherwise we’ll die.”
And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.”
So Joseph’s ten older brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain.
So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.
But Jacob wouldn’t let Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin, go with them, for fear some harm might come to him.
But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.”
And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of selling grain to all the people, it was to him that his brothers came. When they arrived, they bowed before him with their faces to the ground.
Now Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth.
Joseph recognized his brothers instantly, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where are you from?” he demanded.
“From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We have come to buy food.”
“From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We have come to buy food.”
Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him.
So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.
And he remembered the dreams he’d had about them many years before. He said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see how vulnerable our land has become.”
“No, my lord!” they exclaimed. “Your servants have simply come to buy food.
And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food.
We are all brothers — members of the same family. We are honest men, sir! We are not spies!”
We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”
“Yes, you are!” Joseph insisted. “You have come to see how vulnerable our land has become.”
But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”
“Sir,” they said, “there are actually twelve of us. We, your servants, are all brothers, sons of a man living in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is back there with our father right now, and one of our brothers is no longer with us.”
And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.”
But Joseph insisted, “As I said, you are spies!
But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’
This is how I will test your story. I swear by the life of Pharaoh that you will never leave Egypt unless your youngest brother comes here!
In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
One of you must go and get your brother. I’ll keep the rest of you here in prison. Then we’ll find out whether or not your story is true. By the life of Pharaoh, if it turns out that you don’t have a younger brother, then I’ll know you are spies.”
So Joseph put them all in prison for three days.
On the third day Joseph said to them, “I am a God-fearing man. If you do as I say, you will live.
Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God:
If you really are honest men, choose one of your brothers to remain in prison. The rest of you may go home with grain for your starving families.
If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses.
But you must bring your youngest brother back to me. This will prove that you are telling the truth, and you will not die.” To this they agreed.
And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.”
And they did so.
And they did so.
Speaking among themselves, they said, “Clearly we are being punished because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his anguish when he pleaded for his life, but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why we’re in this trouble.”
Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.”
“Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy?” Reuben asked. “But you wouldn’t listen. And now we have to answer for his blood!”
And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.”
Of course, they didn’t know that Joseph understood them, for he had been speaking to them through an interpreter.
But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter.
Now he turned away from them and began to weep. When he regained his composure, he spoke to them again. Then he chose Simeon from among them and had him tied up right before their eyes.
And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
Joseph then ordered his servants to fill the men’s sacks with grain, but he also gave secret instructions to return each brother’s payment at the top of his sack. He also gave them supplies for their journey home.
The Brothers Return to Canaan
Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them.
Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them.
So the brothers loaded their donkeys with the grain and headed for home.
So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there.
But when they stopped for the night and one of them opened his sack to get grain for his donkey, he found his money in the top of his sack.
But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack.
“Look!” he exclaimed to his brothers. “My money has been returned; it’s here in my sack!” Then their hearts sank. Trembling, they said to each other, “What has God done to us?”
When the brothers came to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them.
Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying:
“The man who is governor of the land spoke very harshly to us,” they told him. “He accused us of being spies scouting the land.
But we said, ‘We are honest men, not spies.
But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies.
We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One brother is no longer with us, and the youngest is at home with our father in the land of Canaan.’
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’
“Then the man who is governor of the land told us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take grain for your starving families and go on home.
Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone.
But you must bring your youngest brother back to me. Then I will know you are honest men and not spies. Then I will give you back your brother, and you may trade freely in the land.’”
And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ ”
As they emptied out their sacks, there in each man’s sack was the bag of money he had paid for the grain! The brothers and their father were terrified when they saw the bags of money.
Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
Jacob exclaimed, “You are robbing me of my children! Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!”
And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.”
Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. I’ll be responsible for him, and I promise to bring him back.”
Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”
But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”