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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Genesis 42 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/genesis/42.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/genesis/42-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</a> > Genesis 42</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../genesis/41.htm" title="Genesis 41">◄</a> Genesis 42 <a href="../genesis/43.htm" title="Genesis 43">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s1">Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt To Buy Grain</h3><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_1"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.1" class="v0_42_1">1</span>When Jacob found out there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you just sitting here, staring at one another? </span><span class="v0_42_2"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.2" class="v0_42_2">2</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Gen.42.2!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down and buy some, so we won't starve to death.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_3"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.3" class="v0_42_3">3</span>Ten of Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to buy grain. </span><span class="v0_42_4"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.4" class="v0_42_4">4</span>But Jacob did not send Joseph's younger brother Benjamin with them; he was afraid that something might happen to him. </span><span class="v0_42_5"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.5" class="v0_42_5">5</span>So Jacob's sons joined others from Canaan who were going to Egypt because of the terrible famine.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_6"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.6" class="v0_42_6">6</span>Since Joseph was governor of Egypt and in charge of selling grain, his brothers came to him and bowed with their faces to the ground. </span><span class="v0_42_7"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.7-Gen.42.8" class="v0_42_7">7-8</span>They did not recognize Joseph, but at once he knew who they were, though he pretended not to know. Instead, he spoke harshly and asked, “Where do you come from?”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_7">“From the land of Canaan,” they answered. “We've come here to buy grain.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_9"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.9" class="v0_42_9">9</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Gen.42.9!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about them and said, “You're spies! You've come here to find out where our country is weak.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_10"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.10" class="v0_42_10">10</span>“No sir,” they replied. “We're your servants, and we have only come to buy grain. </span><span class="v0_42_11"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.11" class="v0_42_11">11</span>We're honest men, and we come from the same family—we're not spies.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_12"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.12" class="v0_42_12">12</span>“That isn't so!” Joseph insisted. “You've come here to find out where our country is weak.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_13"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.13" class="v0_42_13">13</span>But they explained, “Sir, we come from a family of twelve brothers. The youngest is still with our father in Canaan, and one of our brothers is dead.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_14"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.14" class="v0_42_14">14</span>Joseph replied:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v0_42_14">It's like I said. You're spies, </span><span class="v0_42_15"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.15" class="v0_42_15">15</span>and I'm going to find out the truth. I swear by the life of the king that you won't leave this place until your youngest brother comes here. </span><span class="v0_42_16"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.16" class="v0_42_16">16</span>Choose one of you to go after your brother, while the rest of you stay here in jail. That will show whether you are telling the truth. But if you are lying, I swear by the life of the king that you are spies!</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_17"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.17" class="v0_42_17">17</span>Joseph kept them all under guard for three days, </span><span class="v0_42_18"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.18" class="v0_42_18">18</span>before saying to them:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v0_42_18">Since I respect God, I'll give you a chance to save your lives. </span><span class="v0_42_19"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.19" class="v0_42_19">19</span>If you are honest men, one of you must stay here in jail, and the rest of you can take the grain back to your starving families. </span><span class="v0_42_20"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.20" class="v0_42_20">20</span>But you must bring your youngest brother to me. Then I'll know that you are telling the truth, and you won't be put to death.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_20">Joseph's brothers agreed </span><span class="v0_42_21"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.21" class="v0_42_21">21</span>and said to one another, “We're being punished because of Joseph. We saw the trouble he was in, but we refused to help him when he begged us. That's why these terrible things are happening.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_22"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.22" class="v0_42_22">22</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Gen.42.22!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Reuben spoke up, “Didn't I tell you not to harm the boy? But you wouldn't listen, and now we have to pay the price for killing him.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_23"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.23" class="v0_42_23">23</span>They did not know that Joseph could understand them, since he was speaking through an interpreter. </span><span class="v0_42_24"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.24" class="v0_42_24">24</span>Joseph turned away from them and cried, but soon he turned back and spoke to them again. Then he had Simeon tied up and taken away while they watched.</span></p><h3 class="s1">Joseph's Brothers Return to Canaan</h3><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_25"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.25" class="v0_42_25">25</span>Joseph gave orders for his brothers' grain sacks to be filled with grain and for their money<a href="#fn" id="link_Gen.42.25!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> to be put in their sacks. He also gave orders for them to be given food for their journey home. After this was done, </span><span class="v0_42_26"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.26" class="v0_42_26">26</span>they each loaded the grain on their donkeys and left.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_27"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.27" class="v0_42_27">27</span>When they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get some grain for his donkey, and at once he saw his moneybag. </span><span class="v0_42_28"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.28" class="v0_42_28">28</span>“Here's my money!” he told his brothers. “Right here in my sack.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_28">They were trembling with fear as they stared at one another and asked themselves, “What has God done to us?”<a href="#fn" id="link_Gen.42.28!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_29"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.29" class="v0_42_29">29</span>When they returned to the land of Canaan, they told their father Jacob everything that had happened to them:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v0_42_30"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.30" class="v0_42_30">30</span>The governor of Egypt was rude and treated us like spies. </span><span class="v0_42_31"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.31" class="v0_42_31">31</span>But we told him, “We're honest men, not spies. </span><span class="v0_42_32"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.32" class="v0_42_32">32</span>We come from a family of twelve brothers. The youngest is still with our father in Canaan, and the other is dead.”</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v0_42_33"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.33" class="v0_42_33">33</span>Then the governor of Egypt told us, “I'll find out if you really are honest. Leave one of your brothers here with me, while you take the grain to your starving families. </span><span class="v0_42_34"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.34" class="v0_42_34">34</span>But bring your youngest brother to me, so I can be certain that you are honest men and not spies. After that, I'll let your other brother go free, and you can stay here and trade.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_35"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.35" class="v0_42_35">35</span>When the brothers started emptying their sacks of grain, they found their moneybags in them. They were frightened, and so was their father Jacob, </span><span class="v0_42_36"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.36" class="v0_42_36">36</span>who said, “You have already taken my sons Joseph and Simeon from me. And now you want to take away Benjamin! Everything is against me.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_37"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.37" class="v0_42_37">37</span>Reuben spoke up, “Father, if I don't bring Benjamin back, you can kill both of my sons. Trust me with him, and I'll bring him back.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v0_42_38"><span class="reftext" id="Gen.42.38" class="v0_42_38">38</span>But Jacob said, “I won't let my son Benjamin go down to Egypt with the rest of you. His brother is already dead, and he is the only son I have left.<a href="#fn" id="link_Gen.42.38!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> I am an old man, and if anything happens to him on the way, I'll die from sorrow, and all of you will be to blame.”</span></p></div> </div> <a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">42.25 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">money: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Probably in the form of small pieces of silver and/or other precious or semi-precious metals; there were no coins or paper money at this time.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">42.28 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">What has God … us: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">They thought God had put the money in their bags, so they would be caught and punished.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">42.38 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">only son I have left: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Jacob had only two sons by Rachel, his favorite wife.</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. 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