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Genesis 42 :: Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

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Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt
Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:1 -

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at each other?

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:2 -

“Listen,” he went on, “I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that we will live and not die.”

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:3 -

So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:4 -

But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, “Something might happen to him.”

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:5 -

The sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:6 -

Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:7 -

When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them.

“Where do you come from? ” he asked.

“From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:8 -

Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:9 -

Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies. You have come to see the weakness[fn] of the land.”

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:10 -

“No, my lord. Your servants have come to buy food,” they said.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:11 -

“We are all sons of one man. We are honest; your servants are not spies.”

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:12 -

“No,” he said to them. “You have come to see the weakness of the land.”

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:13 -

But they replied, “We, your servants, were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now[fn] with our father, and one is no longer living.”

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:14 -

Then Joseph said to them, “I have spoken:[fn] ‘You are spies! ’

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:15 -

“This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:16 -

“Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies! ”

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:17 -

So Joseph imprisoned them together for three days.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:18 -

On the third day Joseph said to them, “I fear God ​— ​do this and you will live.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:19 -

“If you are honest, let one of you[fn] be confined to the guardhouse, while the rest of you go and take grain to relieve the hunger of your households.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:20 -

“Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won’t die.” And they consented to this.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:21 -

Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.”

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:22 -

But Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to harm the boy? But you wouldn’t listen. Now we must account for his blood! ”[fn]

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:23 -

They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:24 -

He turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:25 -

Joseph then gave orders to fill their containers with grain, return each man’s silver to his sack, and give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:26 -

They loaded the grain on their donkeys and left there.

The Brothers Return Home
Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:27 -

At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver there at the top of his bag.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:28 -

He said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned! It’s here in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What has God done to us? ”

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:29 -

When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them:

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:30 -

“The man who is the lord of the country spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:31 -

“But we told him, ‘We are honest and not spies.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:32 -

“We were twelve brothers, sons of the same[fn] father. One is no longer living, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:33 -

“The man who is the lord of the country said to us, ‘This is how I will know if you are honest: Leave one brother with me, take food to relieve the hunger of your households, and go.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:34 -

“Bring back your youngest brother to me, and I will know that you are not spies but honest men. I will then give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the country.’ ”

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:35 -

As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver! When they and their father saw their bags of silver, they were afraid.

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:36 -

Their father Jacob said to them, “It’s me that you make childless. Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything happens to me! ”

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:37 -

Then Reuben said to his father, “You can kill my two sons if I don’t bring him back to you. Put him in my care,[fn] and I will return him to you.”

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 42:38 -

But Jacob answered, “My son will not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If anything happens to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.”

CSB Footnotes
Lit nakedness, also in v. 12
Or today, also in v. 32
Lit “That which I spoke to you saying:
Lit your brothers
Lit Even his blood is being sought! ”
Lit of our
Lit hand
CSB

Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017, 2020 by Holman Bible Publishers.

Additional information is provided here.

For more information on this translation, see the CSB Preface.

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