Now ^aJacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?” 2 Then he said, “Behold, ^aI have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from there, ^bso that we may live and not die.” 3 So ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother ^aBenjamin with his brothers, for he said, “^bLest any harm befall him.” 5 So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, ^afor the famine was in the land of Canaan also.

6 Now ^aJoseph was the one in power over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and ^bbowed down to him with their ¹faces to the ground. 7 And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and ^aspoke to them harshly. And he said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”

8 But Joseph recognized his brothers, although ^athey did not recognize him. 9 And Joseph ^aremembered the dreams which he ¹had about them and said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the ²nakedness of the land.” 10 Then they said to him, “No, ^amy lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man; we are ^ahonest men; your servants are not spies.” 12 And he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the ¹nakedness of our land!” 13 So they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with ^aour father today, and ^bone is no more.” 14 And Joseph said to them, “It is as I said ¹to you, you are spies; 15 by this you will be tested: ^aby the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here! 16 Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is ^atruth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” 17 Then he put them all together in ^aprison for three days.

18 And Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for ^aI fear God: 19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in ¹your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, bring grain for the famine of your households, 20 and ^abring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be proven true, and you will not die.” And they did so. 21 Then they said to one another, “^aSurely we are guilty concerning our brother because we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.” 22 And Reuben answered them, saying, “^aDid I not tell you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; yet you would not listen? ^bSo also his blood, behold, it is required of us.” 23 Now they did not know that Joseph was listening, for there was an interpreter between them. 24 And he turned away from them and ^awept. Then he returned to them and spoke to them. And he ^btook Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 ^aThen Joseph gave a command to fill their bags with grain and to restore every man’s money in his sack and to give them provisions for the journey. And thus it was done for them.

26 So they loaded their donkeys with their grain and went from there. 27 Then one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place. And he saw his ^amoney; and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. 28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned, and behold, it is even in my sack.” And their hearts ¹sank, and they turned ²trembling to one another, saying, “^aWhat is this that God has done to us?”

29 Then they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, ^aspoke harshly with us and took us for spies of the country. 31 So we said to him, ‘We are ^ahonest men; we are not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’ 33 Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘^aBy this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go. 34 But bring your youngest brother to me that I may know that you are not spies, but ¹honest men. I will give your brother to you, and you may ^atrade in the land.’”

35 Now it happened that they were emptying their sacks, and behold, ^aevery man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and they and their father saw their bundles of money, and they feared. 36 And their father Jacob said to them, “You have ^abereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me.” 37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hand, and I will return him to you.” 38 But ¹Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his ^abrother is dead, and he alone remains. ^bIf harm should befall him on the journey on which you are going, then you will ^cbring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”