Joseph's brothers come to Egypt
1They told Jacob that there was wheat in Egypt and he asked his sons: ‘Why are you sitting and just looking at each other? 2They told me that there is wheat in Egypt. You must go there and buy wheat for us so that we can have food to eat and not die from hunger.’
3Then 10 of Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to buy wheat. 4Jacob did not let Benjamin go with his brothers. He was afraid that something bad could happen to Benjamin. Benjamin and Joseph were the sons of the same mother. 5So Israel's sons went with other people of Canaan to buy wheat in Egypt, because there was a famine in the land of Canaan.
6Joseph was the ruler of the land of Egypt and he sold the wheat to the people. When Joseph's brothers came to him, they bowed before him.
7Joseph saw them and he knew that they were his brothers, but he pretended that he did not know them. He looked angry when he talked to them and asked them: ‘Where do you come from?’
They said: ‘We come from Canaan. We have come to buy food.’
8Joseph knew that they were his brothers but they did not know that he was Joseph. 9Joseph then thought about the dream that he had had about them and he said to them: ‘You are spies. You have come to see how you can attack our land.’
10They said to him: ‘No, sir, we have come to buy food. 11We are all sons from one father. We are honest. We are not spies.’
12But Joseph said to them: ‘No, you have come to see how you can attack our land.’
13They said: ‘We were 12 brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is still with our father, and our other brother is dead.’
14Joseph said to them: ‘It is like I told you. You are spies. 15I will test you and see if what you are saying is true. You will not leave here until your youngest brother also comes here, as sure as Pharaoh lives. 16One of you must go and get your brother, but the others will stay here in prison. Then I will find out if you are telling the truth or not. You are spies, as sure as Pharaoh lives.’
17Joseph put them in prison for 3 days. 18On the 3rd day Joseph said to them: ‘I serve God. If you do what I say, I will not kill you. 19If you are honest men, one of you must stay here in prison. The other brothers can go and take wheat to your hungry people at home. 20You must then bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will believe you, and you will not die.’
The brothers said: ‘Yes, we will do what you say.’
21They said to each other: ‘We are guilty because we did something very bad to our brother. We saw that he was afraid and he begged us to help him, but we did not listen to him. That is why we have these problems.’
22Reuben said to them: ‘I told you not to do it to the child, but you did not want to listen. It is our fault that he is dead. That is why God is punishing us now.’
23They did not realise that Joseph understood everything that they said to each other, because when they talked to Joseph, someone interpreted it for him.
24Joseph went out and he cried. Then he came back and talked to them. He tied up Simeon while they were looking. 25Joseph told his servants to fill his brothers' bags with wheat and to put their money back into their bags. Joseph also told his servants to give his brothers food.
Joseph's brothers go back to Canaan
26Joseph's brothers put their wheat on their donkeys and they went back home.
27They came to the place where they wanted to sleep that night and one of the brothers opened his bag to give food to his donkey. Then he saw his money in his bag. 28He said to his brothers: ‘They have put my money back. Here it is in my bag.’ The brothers became afraid. They asked each other: ‘What has God done to us?’
29When they came to their father Jacob in Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them. 30They said: ‘The man who is the ruler of the land was angry when he talked to us and he put us in prison. He said that we were spies in his land. 31We told him that we were honest, and we were not spies. 32We told him that we were 12 brothers, all sons of the same father, and that one brother was dead and the youngest brother was with our father in Canaan. 33The ruler of the land said to us: “I will find out if you are honest. One of your brothers must stay here with me. Go back and take food for your hungry people at home. 34But you must bring your youngest brother to me, and then I will know that you are not spies but honest people. Then I will give your brother back and you may go to any place in our land.” ’
35Jacob's sons opened their bags to take out the food, and each brother saw that his money bag with his money was in his wheat bag. Then the brothers and their father all became afraid and they trembled. 36Their father Jacob said to them: ‘You want to take away all of my children. Joseph has died and Simeon is not here anymore. Now you want to take Benjamin. You are making me suffer a lot.’
37Reuben said to his father: ‘Father, you may kill my 2 sons if I do not bring Benjamin back to you. Father, you must believe me. Let Benjamin go with me and I promise that I will bring him back to you.’
38But Jacob said: ‘My son Benjamin will not go with you. His brother is dead and he is the only one left. If something bad happens to him on the way, I will be so sad that I will die because I am an old man.’
