| King James Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? | 1Eventually, Jacob observed that there was grain in Egypt, so he asked his sons, "Why do you keep on staring at one another? |
| 2And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die. | 2Pay attention now! I've heard that there is grain in Egypt, so go down there and buy some grain for us, so we can live, instead of dying." |
| 3And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. | 3So ten of Joseph's brothers left to buy grain from Egypt. |
| 4But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him. | 4Jacob would not send Joseph's brother Benjamin to accompany them, because he was saying, "I'm afraid that he'll come to some kind of harm." |
| 5And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan. | 5Israel's sons went in a caravan that included others who were going to Egypt to buy grain, because the famine pervaded the land of Canaan, too. |
| 6And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. | 6Meanwhile, Joseph continued to be ruler over the land, in charge of selling to everyone in the land. Joseph's brothers appeared and bowed down to him, face down. |
| 7And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. | 7As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he knew who they were, but he remained disguised and asked them gruffly, "Where are you from?" "From the land of Canaan," they replied. "We're here to buy food." |
| 8And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. | 8But Joseph had already recognized his brothers, even though they had not recognized him. |
| 9And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. | 9Furthermore, Joseph remembered the dreams that he had about them. So he accused them, "You're spies! You've come here to spy on our undefended territories!" |
| 10And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. | 10"No, your majesty," they replied. "Your servants have come here to buy food. |
| 11We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies. | 11We're all sons of a common father. We're honest men, your majesty. We're not spies!" |
| 12And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. | 12But Joseph kept insisting, "It's just as I've said—you've come here to spy on our unguarded territories!" |
| 13And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. | 13"But your majesty," they pleaded, "your servants include twelve brothers, the sons of a common father back in the land of Canaan. Please! Our youngest brother remains with our father, and the other one is no longer alive." |
| 14And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies: | 14"I'm right!" Joseph insisted. "Just as I said, you're spies! |
| 15Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. | 15So here's how we'll test you. You can bet the life of Pharaoh that you're not leaving here until your youngest brother comes here! |
| 16Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. | 16One of you is to be sent back so he can get your brother while the rest of you remain in custody. That way, we'll test whether or not you're telling the truth. If you're not, as surely as the Pharaoh lives, you're spies!" |
| 17And he put them all together into ward three days. | 17Then Joseph locked them all together in prison for three days. |
| 18And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: | 18Three days later, Joseph told them, "I fear God, so do this and you'll live. |
| 19If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: | 19If you're honest men, leave one of your brothers here in custody, then the rest of you can leave and take some grain with you to alleviate the famine that's affecting your households. |
| 20But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. | 20Just be sure to bring your youngest brother back to me so what you've claimed can be verified. That way, you won't die." |
| 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. | 21"We're all guilty because of what we did to our brother!" they told each other. "We kept on watching his suffering while he pleaded with us! We're in this mess because we wouldn't listen!" |
| 22And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. | 22"Didn't I tell you!" Reuben replied. "'Don't wrong the kid!' I said, but would you listen? No! Now it's payback time!" |
| 23And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. | 23Meanwhile, they had no idea that Joseph could understand them, since he was talking to them through an interpreter. |
| 24And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. | 24He turned away from them and began to weep. When he returned, he spoke with them, but then he took Simeon away from them and had him placed under arrest right in front of them. |
| 25Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them. | 25After this, Joseph gave orders to fill up their sacks with grain, to return each man's money to his own sack, and to supply each of them with provisions for their return journey. All of this was done for them. |
| 26And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence. | 26Then they each mounted up, their donkeys having been loaded with grain, and left from there. |
| 27And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth. | 27Later on, one of them opened up his sack to give his donkey some fodder after they had stopped at the place where they intended to lodge for the night. There, in the mouth of his sack, was all of his money! |
| 28And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, 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 unto us? | 28He reported to his brothers, "My money has been returned! It's right here in my sack!" Trembling with mounting consternation, each of them asked one another, "What is God doing to us?" |
| 29And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying, | 29As soon as they had returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them. |
| 30The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. | 30"The man who was in charge of the land spoke harshly to us," they said. "He accused us of being spies! |
| 31And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies: | 31But we told him, 'No! We're honest men! We're not spies! |
| 32We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. | 32Our father has twelve sons, but one of us isn't alive anymore, and our youngest brother is with our father today back home in Canaan.' |
| 33And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone: | 33But the man who was in charge of the land responded, 'I'm going to test your honesty. Leave one of your brothers with me, take some grain for the famine that's afflicting your households, and leave. |
| 34And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land. | 34But bring your youngest brother back to me so I can be sure that you're honest men, and not spies. Then I'll return your brother to you, and you'll be allowed to trade anywhere 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 both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. | 35Later on, as they went about unloading their sacks, each man's bundle of money was found in each man's sack. When they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were greatly distressed. |
| 36And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me. | 36Their father Jacob told them, "You're causing me to lose my children! Joseph is gone. Now Simeon is gone, and you're planning to take Benjamin, too. Everything's going against me!" |
| 37And Reuben spake unto 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. | 37"Feel free to put my own two sons to death," Reuben responded to his father, "if I don't bring him back to you. Trust me—I'll bring him back to you." |
| 38And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. | 38But Jacob replied, "My son isn't going back with you, since his brother is dead and he's the only one left. If something should harm him as you travel, then it'll be death for me and my sad, gray hair!" |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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