Genesis 42:15-38

15By this ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth from here, except your youngest brother shall come here. 16Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there is any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.1 17And he put them all together into prison three days.2 18And Joseph said to them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: 19If ye are honest men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry grain for the famine of your houses: 20But bring your youngest brother to me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.

21And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. 22And Reuben answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Do not sin against the young man; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. 23And they knew not that Joseph understood them ; for he spoke to them by an interpreter.3 24And he turned himself away from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and spoke with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. 25Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with grain, and to restore every man’s money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he to them. 26And they loaded their donkeys with the grain, and departed from there. 27And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the inn, he discovered his money; for, behold, it was in his sack’s mouth. 28And he said to his brethren, My money is restored; and, see, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done to us?4

29And they came to Jacob their father to the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell them; saying, 30The man, who is the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.5 31And we said to him, We are honest men ; we are no spies: 32We are twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. 33And the man, the lord of the country, said to us, By this shall I know that ye are honest men ; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and depart: 34And bring your youngest brother to me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are honest men: then will I deliver to you your brother, and ye shall trade in the land. 35And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack: and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. 36And Jacob their father said to them, Me have ye bereaved: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away : all these things are against me. 37And Reuben spoke to his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. 38And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if harm shall befall him by the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.