Genesis 42:18–43:23
18 Now 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, carry grain for the famine of your households,
20 and abring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be verified, and you will not die.” And they did so.
21 Then they said to one another, “aTruly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.”
22 Reuben answered them, saying, “aDid I not tell 1you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? 2bNow comes the reckoning for his blood.”
23 They did not know, however, that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between them.
24 He turned away from them and awept. But when he returned to them and spoke to them, he btook Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
25 aThen Joseph gave orders 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 departed from there.
27 As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his amoney; and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack.
28 Then 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 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they 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 “But we said to him, ‘We are ahonest men; we are not spies.
32 ‘We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’
33 “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 came about as they were emptying their sacks, that behold, aevery man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were dismayed.
36 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 1care, 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 is left. bIf harm should befall him on the journey 2you are taking, then you will cbring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”
1 aNow the famine was severe in the land.
2 So it came about when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”
3 Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “aThe man solemnly warned 1us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’
4 “If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.
5 “But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ”
6 Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly 1by telling the man whether you still had another brother?”
7 But they said, “The man questioned particularly about us and our relatives, saying, ‘aIs your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we 1answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”
8 Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the lad with me and we will arise and go, athat we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones.
9 “aI myself will be surety for him; 1you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then 2let me bear the blame before you forever.
10 “For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your 1bags, and carry down to the man aas a present, a little 2bbalm and a little honey, 3aromatic gum and 4myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.
12 “Take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand athe money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake.
13 “Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man;
14 and may 1aGod Almighty bgrant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you cyour other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, dif I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”
15 So the men took athis present, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; then they arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his ahouse steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slay an animal and make ready; for the men are to dine with me at noon.”
17 So the man did as Joseph said, and 1brought the men to Joseph’s house.
18 Now the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, that he may 1seek occasion against us and fall upon us, and take us for slaves with our donkeys.”
19 So they came near to Joseph’s house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house,
20 and said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food,
21 and it came about when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and behold, aeach man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in 1full. So bwe have brought it back in our hand.
22 “We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks.”
23 He said, “1Be at ease, do not be afraid. aYour God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; 2I had your money.” Then bhe brought Simeon out to them.