- And Jacob having seen that there was a
sale of corn in Egypt, said to his sons, Why
are ye indolent?
- Behold, I have heard
that there is corn in Egypt; go down
thither, and buy for us a little food, that
we may live, and not die.
- And the ten brethren of Joseph went
down to buy corn out of Egypt.
- But Jacob
sent not Benjamin, the brother of Joseph,
with his brethren; for he said, Lest, haply,
disease befall him.
- And the sons of Israel
came to buy with those that came, for the
famine was in the land of Chanaan.
- And
Joseph was ruler of the land; he sold to
all the people of the land. And the brethren
of Joseph, having come, did reverence
to him, bowing with the face to the ground.
- And when Joseph saw his brethren, he
knew them, and estranged himself from
them, and spoke hard words to them; and
said to them, Whence are ye come? And
they said, Out of the land of Chanaan, to
buy food.
- And Joseph knew his brethren,
but they knew not him.
- And Joseph remembered
his dream, which he saw; and he
said to them, Ye are spies; to observe the
marks of the land are ye come.
- But they
said, Nay, Sir, we thy servants are come to
buy food;
- we are all sons of one man; we
are peaceable, thy servants are not spies.
- And he said to them, Nay, but ye are
come to observe the marks of the land.
- And they said, We thy servants are twelve
brethren, in the land of Chanaan; and, behold,
the youngest is with our father to-day,
but the other one is not.
- And Joseph
said to them, This is it that I spoke to you,
saying, ye are spies;
- herein shall ye be
manifested; by the health of Pharao, ye
shall not depart hence, unless your younger
brother come hither.
- Send one of you,
and take your brother; and go ye to prison,
till your words be clear, whether ye speak
the truth or not; but, if not, by the health
of Pharao, verily ye are spies.
- And he
put them in prison three days.
- And he
said to them on the third day, This do,
and ye shall live, for I fear God.
- If ye
be peaceable, let one of your brethren be
detained in prison; but go ye, and carry
back the [a] corn ye have purchased.
- And
bring your younger brother to me, and
your words shall be believed; but, if not,
ye shall die. And they did so.
- And each
said to his brother, Yes, indeed, for we
are in fault concerning our brother, when
we disregarded the anguish of his soul,
when he besought us, and we hearkened
not to him; and therefore has this
affliction come upon us.
- And Ruben
answered them, saying, Did I not speak
to you, saying, Hurt not the boy, and ye
heard me not? and, behold, his blood is
required.
- But they knew not that Joseph
[b] understood them; for there was an interpreter
between them.
- And Joseph turned
away from them, and wept; and again he
came to them, and spoke to them; and he
took Symeon from them, and bound him
before their eyes.
- And Joseph gave orders to fill their vessels
with corn, and to return their money to
each into his sack, and to give them provision
for the way; and it was so done to
them.
- And having put the corn on the
asses, they departed thence.
- And one
having opened his sack to give his asses
fodder, at the place where they rested, saw
also his bundle of money, for it was on the
mouth of his sack.
- And he said to his
brethren, My money has been restored to
me, and behold this is in my sack. And
their heart was wonder-struck, and they
were troubled, saying one to another, What
is this that God has done to us?
- And
they came to their father, Jacob, into the
land of Chanaan, and reported to him all
that had happened to them, saying,
- The
man, the lord of the land, spoke harsh words
to us, and put us in prison as spies of the
land.
- And we said to him, We are men
of peace, we are not spies.
- We are twelve
brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and
the youngest is with his father to-day in
the land of Chanaan.
- And the man, the
lord of the land, said to us, Herein shall I
know that ye are peaceable; leave one brother
here with me, and having taken the
corn ye have purchased for your family,
depart.
- And bring to me your younger
brother; then I shall know that ye are not
spies, but that ye are men of peace: and I
will restore you your brother, and ye shall
trade in the land.
- And it came to pass as
they were emptying their sacks, there was
each man's bundle of money in his sack;
and they and their father saw their bundles
of money, and they were afraid.
- And
their father Jacob said to them, Ye have
bereaved me. Joseph is not, Symeon is not,
and will ye take Benjamin? all these things
have come upon me.
- And Ruben spoke
to his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I
bring him not to thee; give him into my
hand, and I will bring him back to thee.
- But he said, My son shall not go down
with you, because his brother is dead, and
he only has been left; and suppose it shall
come to pass that he is afflicted by the way
by which ye go, then ye shall bring down
my old age with sorrow to Hades.
[a] Gr. the purchase of your gift of corn.
[b] Gr. heard them.
[English translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee
Brenton (1807-1862) originally published by Samuel Bagster & Sons,
Ltd., London, 1851]