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.
19. If you’re honest, let one of your brothers remain as a prisoner in the guardhouse where you’ve been, while you, go and bring grain for the hunger in your homes.
20. And your youngest brother, bring to me so that your words can be verified—and you won’t die.” So they did.
21. Then each man said to his brother, “We’re truly guilty for our brother. We saw the distress of his soul when he begged us for mercy, but we didn’t listen. That’s why this distress has come to us.”
22. Reuben answered them and said, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy’? But you didn’t listen. Now, see how his blood is now being accounted for.”
23. They did not know that Joseph was listening, since there was an interpreter between them.
24. He turned away from them and wept. When he turned back to them and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and tied him up before their eyes.
25. Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. So it was done for them.
26. Then they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left from there.
27. As one of them opened his sack to give fodder to his donkey at the lodge, he saw his money—behold, it was in the opening of his bag.
28. So he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned! Look, it’s in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, each one turned to his brother and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29. When they came to their father Jacob, in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying,
30. “The man, the lord of the land, spoke with us harshly, and took us as spies of the land.
31. But we said to him, ‘We’re honest. We’ve never been spies.
32. We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’
33. Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I’ll know if you’re honest: leave one of your brothers with me. As for the hunger of your homes: take and go!
34. Then bring your youngest brother to me, so that I may know you are not spies, but you are honest. I’ll give you back your brother and you can move about freely in the land.’”