Genesis 42:2-25

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.”

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

4But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “What if some accident happens to him?”

5So Israel’s sons came to buy grain among the other travelers, for the famine was severe in the land of Canaan.

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.

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.”

8Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not 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!”

10But they exclaimed, “No, my lord! Your servants have come to buy grain for food!

11We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men! Your servants are not spies.”

12“No,” he insisted, “but you have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”

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.”

14But Joseph told them, “It is just as I said to you: 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.

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!”

17He imprisoned them all for three days.

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

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.

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.

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!”

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!”

23(Now they did not know that Joseph could understand them, for he was speaking 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.

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.