GENESIS Chapter 42
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42:1 When Jacob
learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to
his sons, "Why don't you do something? |
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42:2 I hear that
there is grain in Egypt; go there and buy some to keep us from starving to
death." |
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42:3 So Joseph's
ten half brothers went to buy grain in Egypt, |
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42:4 but Jacob did
not send Joseph's full brother Benjamin with them, because he was afraid that
something might happen to him. |
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42:5 The sons of
Jacob came with others to buy grain, because there was famine in the land of
Canaan. |
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42:6 Joseph, as
governor of the land of Egypt, was selling grain to people from all over the
world. So Joseph's brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces
to the ground. |
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42:7 When Joseph
saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he acted as if he did not know
them. He asked them harshly, "Where do you come from?" "We
have come from Canaan to buy food," they answered. |
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42:8
Although Joseph
recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. |
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42:9 He remembered
the dreams he had dreamed about them and said, "You are spies; you have
come to find out where our country is weak." |
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42:10 "No,
sir," they answered. "We have come as your slaves, to buy food. |
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42:11 We are all
brothers. We are not spies, sir, we are honest men." |
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42:12 Joseph said to
them, "No! You have come to find out where our country is weak." |
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42:13 They said,
"We were twelve brothers in all, sir, sons of the same man in the land
of Canaan. One brother is dead, and the youngest is now with our
father." |
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42:14 "It is
just as I said," Joseph answered. "You are spies. |
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42:15 This is how
you will be tested: I swear by the name of the king that you will never leave
unless your youngest brother comes here. |
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42:16 One of you
must go and get him. The rest of you will be kept under guard until the truth
of what you say can be tested. Otherwise, as sure as the king lives, you are
spies." |
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42:17 With that, he
put them in prison for three days. |
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42:18 On the third
day Joseph said to them, "I am a God-fearing man, and I will spare your
lives on one condition. |
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42:19 To prove that
you are honest, one of you will stay in the prison where you have been kept;
the rest of you may go and take back to your starving families the grain that
you have bought. |
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42:20 Then you must
bring your youngest brother to me. This will prove that you have been telling
the truth, and I will not put you to death." They agreed to this |
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42:21 and said to
one another, "Yes, now we are suffering the consequences of what we did
to our brother; we saw the great trouble he was in when he begged for help,
but we would not listen. That is why we are in this trouble now." |
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42:22 Reuben said,
"I told you not to harm the boy, but you wouldn't listen. And now we are
being paid back for his death." |
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42:23 Joseph
understood what they said, but they did not know it, because they had been
speaking to him through an interpreter. |
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42:24 Joseph left
them and began to cry. When he was able to speak again, he came back, picked
out Simeon, and had him tied up in front of them. |
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42:25 Joseph gave
orders to fill his brothers' packs with grain, to put each man's money back
in his sack, and to give them food for the trip. This was done. |
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42:26 The brothers
loaded their donkeys with the grain they had bought, and then they left. |
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42:27 At the place
where they spent the night, one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey
and found his money at the top of the sack. |
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42:28 "My money
has been returned to me," he called to his brothers. "Here it is in
my sack!" Their hearts sank, and in fear they asked one another,
"What has God done to us?" |
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42:29 When they came
to their father Jacob in Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them:
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42:30 "The
governor of Egypt spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying against his
country. |
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42:31 'We are not
spies,' we answered, 'we are honest men. |
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42:32 We were twelve
brothers in all, sons of the same father. One brother is dead, and the youngest
is still in Canaan with our father.' |
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42:33 The man
answered, 'This is how I will find out if you are honest men: One of you will
stay with me; the rest will take grain for your starving families and leave. |
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42:34 Bring your
youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but honest
men; I will give your brother back to you, and you can stay here and trade.'
" |
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42:35 Then when they
emptied out their sacks, every one of them found his bag of money; and when
they saw the money, they and their father Jacob were afraid. |
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42:36 Their father
said to them, "Do you want to make me lose all my children? Joseph is
gone; Simeon is gone; and now you want to take away Benjamin. I am the one
who suffers!" |
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42:37 Reuben said to
his father, "If I do not bring Benjamin back to you, you can kill my two
sons. Put him in my care, and I will bring him back." |
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42:38 But Jacob
said, "My son cannot go with you; his brother is dead, and he is the
only one left. Something might happen to him on the way. I am an old man, and
the sorrow you would cause me would kill me." |
CHAPTER ENDS
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