Genesis 42

1 When Jacob [the father of the Israelites] learned that there was grain [food, corn, or barley] in Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa], he said to his sons, “Why are you staring [looking, gazing] at one another [each other, to do something]?” word study 2 “Look [behold, pay attention],” he added, “I have heard [received news, been informed] that there is grain [food, corn] in Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa]. Go down [descend, travel] there and buy [purchase, acquire] some for us, so that we may live [have life, survive] and not [absolutely not] die [perish, come to an end].” word study 3 So ten of Joseph’s [Jehovah has added] brothers [male siblings, close relatives] went down [to go down, descend] to buy [to purchase, acquire] grain [food, corn, provisions] from Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa, the land of the Nile]. word study 4 But Jacob [the father of the twelve tribes] did not send Joseph’s brother [relative, male sibling] Benjamin [son of the right hand] with his brothers [kinsmen, family members], for he said, “I am afraid [filled with apprehension, fearful] that harm [mischief, evil] might befall [encounter, meet with] him [Benjamin, the youngest son].” word study 5 So the sons [descendants, children] of Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, representing his descendants] were among those who came [approached, entered] to buy [trade, purchase] grain [food, corn], since the famine [hunger, lack of food] had also spread [come, existed] to the land [earth, territory] of Canaan [the country where the Canaanites lived]. word study 6 Now Joseph [the one Jehovah has added] was the ruler [governor, in charge] of the land [the country, territory]; he was the one who sold grain [food, provisions] to all [every single one] its people [nation, inhabitants]. So when his brothers [male siblings, relatives] arrived, they bowed down [prostrated themselves, showed respect] before him with their faces [countenance, emotions] to the ground [earth, land]. word study 7 And when Joseph [the one God has added] saw his brothers [male siblings, close relatives], he recognized [to know, be acquainted with] them, but he treated them as strangers [foreigners, unknown individuals] and spoke harshly [roughly, with severity] to them. “Where [from what place, whence] have you come from?” he asked. “From the land [earth, territory] of Canaan [the region of the Canaanites],” they replied. “We are here to buy [purchase, acquire] food [sustenance, nourishment].” word study 8 Although Joseph [the son of Jacob, Jehovah has added] recognized [to scrutinize, to alienate or treat as foreign] his brothers [male siblings, close relatives, or friends], they [the group of men] did not [lacking, absent] recognize [to scrutinize, to acknowledge] him. word study 9 Joseph [the one Jehovah has added] remembered his dreams [visions, prophetic revelations] about them and said, “You are [acting as] spies [to secretly explore, to discover weaknesses]! You have come [approached, arrived] to see [examine, investigate] if our land [territory, region] is vulnerable [exposed, weak, in a state of nakedness].” word study 10 “Not so [certainly not, by no means], my lord [master, ruler],” they replied. “Your servants [slaves, attendants] have come [arrived, approached] to buy [purchase, acquire] food [nourishment, sustenance]. word study 11 We [all twelve of us, as a united group] are all sons [descendants, children] of one [unique, single] man. Your servants [faithful attendants, slaves] are honest [true, upright] men, not [certainly not, by no means] spies [those who secretly gather information].” word study 12 “No [certainly not, by no means],” he told them [to(wards) them, directly]. “You have come [arrived, entered] to see [to look, to observe] if our land [country, territory] is vulnerable.” word study 13 But they answered, “Your servants [bondservants, those who serve] are twelve brothers [brethren, male siblings], the sons [descendants, offspring] of one man [a single individual, a unified family] in the land [territory, region] of Canaan [the promised land, a place of inheritance]. The youngest [the smallest, the most immature] is now with our father [our paternal ancestor, our family leader], and one [a single individual, a unique person] is no more [has perished, has ceased to exist].” word study 14 Then Joseph [the son of Jacob, Jehovah has added] declared [said, spoke], “Just as I said [previously, before this], you [as individuals, collectively] are [in reality, truly] spies [secret agents, explorers, sent to gather information]! word study 15 And this [by this means, hereby] is how you will be tested [proven, examined]: As surely as [by the life of, I swear on] Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, a powerful leader] lives, you shall not leave [go out from, depart] this place unless [except, if] your youngest [small, lesser] brother [male sibling, close relative] comes [enters, approaches] here [to this location, hither]. word study 16 Send one of your number [a single individual from among you] to get your brother [male sibling, close relative]; the rest of you will be confined [kept in prison, bound] so that the truth [faithfulness, reliability] of your words may be tested [examined, proved]. If they are untrue [false, deceitful], then as surely as Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, a powerful leader] lives, you are spies [those who secretly gather information, scouts]!” word study 17 So Joseph [the ruler of Egypt] imprisoned [put them in custody, confined] them [his brothers, the sons of Jacob] for [a period of] three days [a time of testing], word study 18 and on the third day [day of testing, a period of trial] he said to them, “I [as a humble servant] fear [revere, stand in awe of] God [Elohim, the supreme Creator]. So do [make, carry out] this and you will live [have life, be revived]: word study 19 If you are [truly honest, genuine] honest, leave one of your [male siblings, close relatives] brothers in [confinement, a place of guard] custody while the rest of you go and take back [food, grain] grain to relieve the [extreme lack of food, hunger] hunger of your households [families]. word study 20 Then bring your youngest [smallest, least important] brother to me [toward my presence, before me] so that your words [statements, declarations] can be verified [proved true, confirmed], that you may not [will not, shall not] die [perish, come to an end].” And to this [agreement, proposal] they consented [agreed, gave their approval]. word study 21 Then they said to one another, “Surely [truly, indeed] we are being punished [penalized, held guilty] because of our brother [male sibling, close relative]. We saw his anguish [deep distress, soul trouble] when he pleaded [besought, begged] with us, but we would not listen [hear, obey]. That is why this distress [trouble, affliction] has come upon us [happened to us, befallen us].” word study 22 And Reuben responded [answered them, saying], “Didn’t I tell you [warn you, speak to you] not to sin [miss the mark, go wrong] against the boy [youth, child]? But you would not listen [hear, obey]. Now we must account [give an answer, be required] for his blood [life, the liquid that flows through the body]!” word study 23 They [the brothers, unaware] did not realize [knew not, were not aware] that Joseph [Jehovah has added, the son of Jacob] understood [to know, to ascertain by seeing] them, since [for, because] there was [existed, was present] an interpreter [one who translates, a mediator] between [in the midst of, among] them. word study 24 And he turned away [to withdraw, to step back] from them and wept [to cry, to shed tears in sorrow]. When he turned back [to return, to face them again] and spoke [to communicate, to converse] to them, he took [to seize, to lay hold of] Simeon [Shimeon, the second son of Jacob] from them and had him bound [to tie, to fasten securely] before their eyes [in their sight, openly]. word study 25 Then Joseph [the son of Jacob, Jehovah has added] gave orders [commanded, instructed] to fill their bags [sacks, vessels] with grain [corn, wheat], to return [restore, give back] each man’s silver [money, payment] to his sack [bag, pouch], and to give them provisions [food, victuals] for their journey [way, path]. This order [command, instruction] was carried out [done, fulfilled], word study 26 and they loaded [laded, placed upon] the grain [corn, food] on their donkeys [asses, male donkeys] and departed [went away, walked]. word study 27 At the place [their night’s resting-place, lodging] where they lodged [stopped to sleep, camped] for the night, one [a certain one, a unique individual] of them opened [to engrave or carve, as if uncovering] his sack [sackcloth, a coarse cloth or bag] to get [to give, provide] feed [fodder, provender] for his donkey [a male donkey], and he saw [to see, look after, as a provider] his silver [money, payment, or wealth] in the mouth [lip, edge, or opening] of the sack [a flexible container, like a bag]. word study 28 “My silver [money, payment] has been returned [given back, restored]!” he said to his brothers [male siblings, close relatives]. “It is here [behold, look] in my sack [bag, container].” Their hearts [feelings, will, intellect] sank, and trembling [filled with fear, anxious], they turned to one another and said, “What is this [what has happened, how did this occur] that God [Elohim, the supreme One] has done [made, brought about] to us [to them, against them]?” word study 29 When they reached [arrived home, came unto] their father [parent, ancestor] Jacob [the son of Isaac and Rebekah] in the land [country, territory] of Canaan [the region of Israel], they described [told, declared openly] to him all [everything, the whole] that had happened [befallen, occurred] to them [saying, speaking]: word study 30 “The man [lord, master, ruler] who is lord [master, ruler, having authority] of the land [earth, country, territory] spoke [communicated, uttered words] harshly [roughly, severely, with cruelty] to us and accused [charged, blamed] us of spying [acting as scouts, exploring secretly] on the country [land, territory, region]. word study 31 But we told him, ‘We [truly, as honest men] are honest men [true, right, and faithful], not [in no way, absolutely not] spies [those who secretly gather information, to spy or explore]. word study 32 We [as a family unit] are twelve brothers [male siblings, close relatives], sons [descendants, offspring] of one father [our earthly patriarch]. One [a single brother] is no more [has passed away, is dead], and the youngest [the smallest, most immature] is now [at this present time, today] with our father [our earthly parent, caretaker] in the land [the territory, region] of Canaan [the promised land, Israel].’ word study 33 Then the man [lord, master, ruler] who is lord [governor, ruler] of the land [earth, country, territory] said to us, ‘This [by this means, hereby] is how I will know [ascertain, understand, perceive] whether you are honest [true, faithful, trustworthy]: Leave [cause to remain, allow to stay] one brother [male sibling, close relative] with me, take [receive, get, acquire] food [grain, provisions, necessities] to relieve [alleviate, satisfy, provide for] the hunger [famine, lack, need] of your households [families, homes, dwellings], and go [depart, leave, journey on]. word study 34 But bring your youngest [smallest, most insignificant] brother back to me so I will know [be aware, understand] that you are not [certainly not, by no means] spies [those who gather information secretly] but honest [true, upright] men [individuals, persons]. Then I will give [deliver, provide] your brother back to you, and you can trade [travel for business, engage in commerce] in the land [country, territory].’” word study 35 As they began emptying [poured out, to empty completely] their sacks, there in each man’s [individual, every person’s] sack was his bag [bundle, parcel] of silver [money, payment]! And when they [the brothers, the men] and their father [parent, patriarch] saw [looked, gazed] the bags [bundles, pouches] of silver, they were [became, felt] dismayed [afraid, horrified, full of fear]. word study 36 Their father Jacob [the one who supplants, deceiver] said to them, “You have deprived [bereaved, taken away] me of my sons [children, offspring]. Joseph [Jehovah has added, he will add] is gone [not existing, nothing] and Simeon [heard, listening] is no more [nothing, not existing]. Now you want to take [get, seize] Benjamin [son of the right hand, favored one]. Everything [all things, every circumstance] is going against me [upon me, against my will, in opposition to me]!” word study 37 Then Reuben [the firstborn son, Jacob’s eldest] said to his father [Jacob, his earthly father and patriarch], “You may kill [slay, put to death] my two [a pair, a duo] sons if I fail [do not, am unable] to bring him back [return, come back] to you. Put him [Benjamin, the youngest brother] in my care [my hand, my responsibility], and I will return [bring back, restore] him [to you, safely].” word study 38 But Jacob replied, “My son [only child of Rachel, my beloved wife] will not go down [descend to a lower place, fall] there with you, for his brother [male sibling, close relative] is dead [has perished, ceased to exist], and he alone [by himself, without any other] is left [remains, has been spared]. If any harm [mischief, evil, calamity] comes to him on your journey [path, way of life], you will bring my gray hair [sign of old age, wisdom, and experience] down to Sheol [the underworld, grave, place of no return] in sorrow [grief, anguish, deep distress].” word study