创42:28My silver has been returned, he said to his brothers. "Here it is in my sack." Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, "What is this that God has done to us?"

创42:29When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said,

创42:30The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land.

创42:31But we said to him, 'We are honest men; we are not spies.

创42:32We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.'

创42:33Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, 'This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go.

创42:34But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.' "

创42:35As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened.

创42:36Their father Jacob said to them, "You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!"

创42:37Then Reuben said to his father, "You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back."

创42:38But Jacob said, "My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow."

创43:1Now the famine was still severe in the land.

创43:2So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go back and buy us a little more food."

创43:3But Judah said to him, "The man warned us solemnly, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.'

创43:4If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you.

创43:5But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, 'You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.' "

创43:6Israel asked, "Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?"

创43:7They replied, "The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. 'Is your father still living?' he asked us. 'Do you have another brother?' We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, 'Bring your brother down here'?"

创43:8Then Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die.

创43:9I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life.