⁵³ Then the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end, ⁵⁴ and the seven years of famine started to come—just as Joseph had said. So there was famine in all the lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was bread. ⁵⁵ When the whole land of Egypt suffered famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, and Pharaoh said to all of Egypt, “Go to Joseph. Do whatever he tells you.” ⁵⁶ The famine was over all the entire land, so Joseph opened up all that was among them and sold grain to Egypt. Then the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ Yet the whole world came to Egypt to buy grain—to Joseph—because the famine was severe in the whole world.

Joseph Meets His Brothers

42 Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, so Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?” ² Then he said, “Look! I’ve heard that there’s grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some grain for us there so that we’ll live and not die.”

³ So Joseph’s brothers went down, ten of them, to buy grain from Egypt. ⁴ But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob did not send, for he said, “An accident might happen to him.”

⁵ The sons of Israel went to buy grain among the others who were coming, because the famine was in the land of Canaan. ⁶ Now Joseph was the ruler over the land. He was the provider of grain for all the people of the earth. ⁷ Then Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with faces to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he made himself unrecognizable to them. Then he spoke harshly and said to them, “Where have you come from?”

“From the land of Canaan,” they said, “to buy grain as food.”

⁸ Though Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. ⁹ Then Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them. He said to them, “You’re spies! You’ve come to see the undefended places in the land.”

¹⁰ “No, my lord!” they said to him. “Your servants came to buy grain as food. ¹¹ All of us—we are sons of one man. We’re honest. Your servants have never been spies.”

¹² “Not so,” he said to them. “Rather, you’ve come to see the undefended places in the land.”

¹³ But they said, “We your servants are twelve brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan. Look, the youngest is with our father today and the other one is no more.”

¹⁴ Joseph said to them, “It’s just like I told you when I said, ‘You’re spies.’ ¹⁵ By this you’ll be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you’ll not leave from here until your youngest brother comes here! ¹⁶ Send one from among yourselves to get your brother, while you remain confined, in order to test your words, to see whether the truth is with you. If not, by the life of Pharaoh, you’re definitely spies!”

¹⁷ So he put them together in custody for three days. ¹⁸ Then Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and you will live. I fear God.