Parallel Bible results for "genesis 42"

Genesis 42

English Standard Version ESV

1 When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”

2 And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.”

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

4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him.

5 Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

6 Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.

7 Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”

8 And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

9 And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

10 They said to him, “No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food.

11 We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies.”

12 He said to them, “No, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see.”

13 And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.”

14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies.

15 By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.”

17 And he put them all together in custody for three days.

18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:

19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households,

20 and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so.

21 Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”

22 And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.”

23 They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them.

24 Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

25 And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them.

26 Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed.

27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack.

28 He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!” At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”

29 When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying,

30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land.

31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we have never been spies.

32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.’

33 Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way.

34 Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.’”

35 As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid.

36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.”

37 Then Reuben said to his father, “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.”

38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”

The Message Bible MSG

1 When Jacob learned that there was food in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you sit around here and look at one another?

2 I've heard that there is food in Egypt. Go down there and buy some so that we can survive and not starve to death."

3 Ten of Joseph's brothers went down to Egypt to get food.

4 Jacob didn't send Joseph's brother Benjamin with them; he was afraid that something bad might happen to him.

5 So Israel's sons joined everyone else that was going to Egypt to buy food, for Canaan, too, was hit hard by the famine.

6 Joseph was running the country; he was the one who gave out rations to all the people. When Joseph's brothers arrived, they treated him with honor, bowing to him.

7 Joseph recognized them immediately, but treated them as strangers and spoke roughly to them. He said, "Where do you come from?" "From Canaan," they said. "We've come to buy food."

8 Joseph knew who they were, but they didn't know who he was.

9 Joseph, remembering the dreams he had dreamed of them, said, "You're spies. You've come to look for our weak spots."

10 "No, master," they said. "We've only come to buy food.

11 We're all the sons of the same man; we're honest men; we'd never think of spying."

12 He said, "No. You're spies. You've come to look for our weak spots."

13 They said, "There were twelve of us brothers - sons of the same father in the country of Canaan. The youngest is with our father, and one is no more."

14 But Joseph said, "It's just as I said, you're spies.

15 This is how I'll test you. As Pharaoh lives, you're not going to leave this place until your younger brother comes here.

16 Send one of you to get your brother while the rest of you stay here in jail. We'll see if you're telling the truth or not. As Pharaoh lives, I say you're spies."

17 Then he threw them into jail for three days.

18 On the third day, Joseph spoke to them. "Do this and you'll live. I'm a God-fearing man.

19 If you're as honest as you say you are, one of your brothers will stay here in jail while the rest of you take the food back to your hungry families.

20 But you have to bring your youngest brother back to me, confirming the truth of your speech - and not one of you will die." They agreed.

21 Then they started talking among themselves. "Now we're paying for what we did to our brother - we saw how terrified he was when he was begging us for mercy. We wouldn't listen to him and now we're the ones in trouble."

22 Reuben broke in. "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't hurt the boy'? But no, you wouldn't listen. And now we're paying for his murder."

23 Joseph had been using an interpreter, so they didn't know that Joseph was understanding every word.

24 Joseph turned away from them and cried. When he was able to speak again, he took Simeon and had him tied up, making a prisoner of him while they all watched.

25 Then Joseph ordered that their sacks be filled with grain, that their money be put back in each sack, and that they be given rations for the road. That was all done for them.

26 They loaded their food supplies on their donkeys and set off.

27 When they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get food for his donkey; there at the mouth of his bag was his money

28 He called out to his brothers, "My money has been returned; it's right here in my bag!" They were puzzled - and frightened. "What's God doing to us?"

29 When they got back to their father Jacob, back in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened, saying,

30 "The man who runs the country spoke to us roughly and accused us of being spies.

31 We told him, 'We are honest men and in no way spies.

32 There were twelve of us brothers, sons of one father; one is gone and the youngest is with our father in Canaan.'

33 "But the master of the country said, 'Leave one of your brothers with me, take food for your starving families, and go.

34 Bring your youngest brother back to me, proving that you're honest men and not spies. And then I'll give your brother back to you and you'll be free to come and go in this country.'"

35 As they were emptying their food sacks, each man came on his purse of money. On seeing their money, they and their father were upset.

36 Their father said to them, "You're taking everything I've got! Joseph's gone, Simeon's gone, and now you want to take Benjamin. If you have your way, I'll be left with nothing."

37 Reuben spoke up: "I'll put my two sons in your hands as hostages. If I don't bring Benjamin back, you can kill them. Trust me with Benjamin; I'll bring him back."

38 But Jacob refused. "My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead and he is all I have left. If something bad happens to him on the road, you'll put my gray, sorrowing head in the grave."