| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why are you looking at each other?" | 1When Jacob heard that grain was available in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you standing around looking at one another? |
| 2He then said, "Look, I hear that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us so that we may live and not die." | 2I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there, and buy enough grain to keep us alive. Otherwise we’ll die.” |
| 3So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. | 3So Joseph’s ten older brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain. |
| 4But Jacob did not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, "What if some accident happens to him?" | 4But Jacob wouldn’t let Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin, go with them, for fear some harm might come to him. |
| 5So Israel's sons came to buy grain among the other travelers, for the famine was severe in the land of Canaan. | 5So Jacob’s sons arrived in Egypt along with others to buy food, for the famine was in Canaan as well. |
| 6Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. Joseph's brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. | 6Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of selling grain to all the people, it was to him that his brothers came. When they arrived, they bowed before him with their faces to the ground. |
| 7When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger to them and spoke to them harshly. He asked, "Where do you come from?" They answered, "From the land of Canaan, to buy grain for food." | 7Joseph recognized his brothers instantly, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where are you from?” he demanded. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We have come to buy food.” |
| 8Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. | 8Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him. |
| 9Then Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, "You are spies; you have come to see if our land is vulnerable!" | 9And he remembered the dreams he’d had about them many years before. He said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see how vulnerable our land has become.” |
| 10But they exclaimed, "No, my lord! Your servants have come to buy grain for food! | 10“No, my lord!” they exclaimed. “Your servants have simply come to buy food. |
| 11We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men! Your servants are not spies." | 11We are all brothers—members of the same family. We are honest men, sir! We are not spies!” |
| 12"No," he insisted, "but you have come to see if our land is vulnerable." | 12“Yes, you are!” Joseph insisted. “You have come to see how vulnerable our land has become.” |
| 13They replied, "Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers. We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time, and one is no longer alive." | 13“Sir,” they said, “there are actually twelve of us. We, your servants, are all brothers, sons of a man living in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is back there with our father right now, and one of our brothers is no longer with us.” |
| 14But Joseph told them, "It is just as I said to you: You are spies! | 14But Joseph insisted, “As I said, you are spies! |
| 15You will be tested in this way: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not depart from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. | 15This is how I will test your story. I swear by the life of Pharaoh that you will never leave Egypt unless your youngest brother comes here! |
| 16One of you must go and get your brother, while the rest of you remain in prison. In this way your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!" | 16One of you must go and get your brother. I’ll keep the rest of you here in prison. Then we’ll find out whether or not your story is true. By the life of Pharaoh, if it turns out that you don’t have a younger brother, then I’ll know you are spies.” |
| 17He imprisoned them all for three days. | 17So Joseph put them all in prison for three days. |
| 18On the third day Joseph said to them, "Do as I say and you will live, for I fear God. | 18On the third day Joseph said to them, “I am a God-fearing man. If you do as I say, you will live. |
| 19If you are honest men, leave one of your brothers confined here in prison while the rest of you go and take grain back for your hungry families. | 19If you really are honest men, choose one of your brothers to remain in prison. The rest of you may go home with grain for your starving families. |
| 20But you must bring your youngest brother to me. Then your words will be verified and you will not die." They did as he said. | 20But you must bring your youngest brother back to me. This will prove that you are telling the truth, and you will not die.” To this they agreed. |
| 21They said to one other, "Surely we're being punished because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress has come on us!" | 21Speaking among themselves, they said, “Clearly we are being punished because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his anguish when he pleaded for his life, but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why we’re in this trouble.” |
| 22Reuben said to them, "Didn't I say to you, 'Don't sin against the boy,' but you wouldn't listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!" | 22“Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy?” Reuben asked. “But you wouldn’t listen. And now we have to answer for his blood!” |
| 23(Now they did not know that Joseph could understand them, for he was speaking through an interpreter.) | 23Of course, they didn’t know that Joseph understood them, for he had been speaking to them through an interpreter. |
| 24He turned away from them and wept. When he turned around and spoke to them again, he had Simeon taken from them and tied up before their eyes. | 24Now he turned away from them and began to weep. When he regained his composure, he spoke to them again. Then he chose Simeon from among them and had him tied up right before their eyes. |
| 25Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return each man's money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. His orders were carried out. | 25Joseph then ordered his servants to fill the men’s sacks with grain, but he also gave secret instructions to return each brother’s payment at the top of his sack. He also gave them supplies for their journey home. |
| 26So they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. | 26So the brothers loaded their donkeys with the grain and headed for home. |
| 27When one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey at their resting place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. | 27But when they stopped for the night and one of them opened his sack to get grain for his donkey, he found his money in the top of his sack. |
| 28He said to his brothers, "My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!" They were dismayed; they turned trembling one to another and said, "What in the world has God done to us?" | 28“Look!” he exclaimed to his brothers. “My money has been returned; it’s here in my sack!” Then their hearts sank. Trembling, they said to each other, “What has God done to us?” |
| 29They returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all the things that had happened to them, saying, | 29When the brothers came to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them. |
| 30"The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us as if we were spying on the land. | 30“The man who is governor of the land spoke very harshly to us,” they told him. “He accused us of being spies scouting the land. |
| 31But we said to him, 'We are honest men; we are not spies! | 31But we said, ‘We are honest men, not spies. |
| 32We are from a family of twelve brothers; we are the sons of one father. One is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father at this time in the land of Canaan.' | 32We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One brother is no longer with us, and the youngest is at home with our father in the land of Canaan.’ |
| 33"Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for your hungry households and go. | 33“Then the man who is governor of the land told us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take grain for your starving families and go on home. |
| 34But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know that you are honest men and not spies. Then I will give your brother back to you and you may move about freely in the land.'" | 34But you must bring your youngest brother back to me. Then I will know you are honest men and not spies. Then I will give you back your brother, and you may trade freely in the land.’” |
| 35When they were emptying their sacks, there was each man's bag of money in his sack! When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were afraid. | 35As they emptied out their sacks, there in each man’s sack was the bag of money he had paid for the grain! The brothers and their father were terrified when they saw the bags of money. |
| 36Their father Jacob said to them, "You are making me childless! Joseph is gone. Simeon is gone. And now you want to take Benjamin! Everything is against me." | 36Jacob exclaimed, “You are robbing me of my children! Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!” |
| 37Then Reuben said to his father, "You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care and I will bring him back to you." | 37Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. I’ll be responsible for him, and I promise to bring him back.” |
| 38But Jacob replied, "My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair in sorrow to the grave." | 38But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down with you. His brother Joseph is dead, and he is all I have left. If anything should happen to him on your journey, you would send this grieving, white-haired man to his grave. ” |
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