Jacob, Joseph & Egypt

Send one of you to fetch him: and you shall be in prison, till what you have said be proved, whether it be true or false: or else by the health of Pharao you are spies.

So he put them in prison three days.

And the third day he brought them out of prison, and said: Do as I have said, and you shall live: for I fear God.

If you be peaceable men, let one of your brethren be bound in prison: and go ye your ways, and carry the corn that you have bought, unto your houses.

And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may find your words to be true, and you may not die. They did as he had said.

And they talked one to another: We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned against our brother, seeing the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear: therefore is this affliction come upon us.

And Ruben, one of them, said: Did not I say to you: Do not sin against the boy; and you would not hear me? Behold his blood is required.

And they knew not that Joseph understood, because he spoke to them by an interpreter.

And he turned himself away a little while, and wept: and returning, he spoke to them.

And taking Simeon, and binding him in their presence, he commanded his servants to fill their sacks with wheat, and to put every man's money again in their sacks, and to give them besides provisions for the way: and they did so.

But they having loaded their asses with the corn went their way.

And one of them opening his sack, to give his beast provender in the inn, saw the money in the sack's mouth,

And said to his brethren: My money is given me again; behold it is in the sack. And they were astonished, and troubled, and said to one another: What is this that God hath done unto us?

And they came to Jacob their father in the land of Chanaan, and they told him all things that had befallen them, saying:

The lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us to be spies of the country.

And we answered him: We are peaceable men, and we mean no plot.

We are twelve brethren born of one father: one is not living, the youngest is with our father in the land of Chanaan.

And he said to us: Hereby shall I know that you are peaceable men: Leave one of your brethren with me, and take ye necessary provision for your houses, and go your ways,

And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may know you are not spies: and you may receive this man again, that is kept in prison: and afterwards may have leave to buy what you will.

When they had told this, they poured out their corn, and every man found his money tied in the mouth of his sack: and all being astonished together,

Their father Jacob said: You have made me to be without children: Joseph is not living, Simeon is kept in bonds, and Benjamin you will take away: all these evils are fallen upon me.

And Ruben answered him: Kill my two sons, if I bring him not again to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will restore him to thee.

But he said: My son shall not go down with you: his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if any mischief befall him in the land to which you go, you will bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to hell.

In the mean time the famine was heavy upon all the land.

And when they had eaten up all the corn, which they had brought out of Egypt, Jacob said to his sons: Go again, and buy us a little food.