Bible in Basic English
And on the third day Joseph said to them, Do this, if you would keep your lives: for I am a god-fearing man:
If you are true men, let one of you be kept in prison, while you go and take grain for the needs of your families;
And come back to me with your youngest brother, so that your words may be seen to be true, and you will not be put to death. This is what you are to do.
And they said to one another, Truly, we did wrong to our brother, for we saw his grief of mind, and we did not give ear to his prayers; that is why this trouble has come on us.
And Reuben said to them, Did I not say to you, Do the child no wrong? but you gave no attention; so now, punishment has come on us for his blood.
They were not conscious that the sense of their words was clear to Joseph, for he had been talking to them through one who had knowledge of their language.
And turning away from them, he was overcome with weeping; then he went on talking to them again and took Simeon and put chains on him before their eyes.
Then Joseph gave orders for their bags to be made full of grain, and for every man's money to be put back into his bag, and for food to be given them for the journey: which was done.
Then they put the bags of grain on their asses and went away.
Now at their night's resting-place one of them, opening his bag to give his ass some food, saw his money in the mouth of the bag.
And he said to his brothers, My money has been given back: it is in my bag; then their hearts became full of fear, and turning to one another they said, What is this which God has done to us?
So when they came to Jacob their father, in the land of Canaan, they gave him an account of all their experiences, saying,
The man who is the ruler of the country was rough with us and put us in prison, saying that we had come with a secret evil purpose.
And we said to him, We are true men, we have no evil designs;
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is dead, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.
And the ruler of the land said, In this way I may be certain that you are true men; let one of you be kept here with me, while you go and take grain for the needs of your families;
And come back to me with your youngest brother: then I will be certain that you are true men, and I will give your brother back to you and let you do trade in the land.
And when they took the grain out of their bags, it was seen that every man's parcel of money was in his bag; and when they and their father saw the money, they were full of fear.
And Jacob their father said to them, You have taken my children from me: Joseph is gone and Simeon is gone, and now you would take Benjamin away; all these things have come on me.
And Reuben said, Put my two sons to death if I do not come back to you with him; let him be in my care and I will give him safely back to you.
And he said, I will not let my son go down with you; for his brother is dead and he is all I have: if evil overtakes him on the journey, then through you will my grey head go down to the underworld in sorrow.
— Genesis 42:18-1964, Bible in Basic English
“On the third day Joseph said to them,“Do as I say and you will live, for I fear God. If you are honest men, leave one of your brothers confined here in prison while the rest of you go and take grain back for your hungry families. But you must bring your youngest brother to me. Then your words will be verified and you will not die.” They did as he said. They said to one another,“Surely we’re being punished because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress has come on us!” Reuben said to them,“Didn’t I say to you,‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!” (Now they did not know that Joseph could understand them, for he was speaking through an interpreter.) He turned away from them and wept. When he turned around and spoke to them again, he had Simeon taken from them and tied up before their eyes. 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. His orders were carried out. So they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. When one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey at their resting place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. He said to his brothers,“My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!” They were dismayed; they turned trembling to one another and said,“What in the world has God done to us?” They returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all the things that had happened to them, saying, “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us as if we were spying on the land. But we said to him,‘We are honest men; we are not spies! We are from a family of twelve brothers; we are the sons of one father. One is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father at this time in the land of Canaan.’ “Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us,‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for your hungry households and go. But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know that you are honest men and not spies. Then I will give your brother back to you and you may move about freely in the land.’” When they were emptying their sacks, there was each man’s bag of money in his sack! When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were afraid. Their father Jacob said to them,“You are making me childless! Joseph is gone. Simeon is gone. And now you want to take Benjamin! Everything is against me.” Then Reuben said to his father,“You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care and I will bring him back to you.” But Jacob replied,“My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair in sorrow to the grave.””
But in this way will you be put to the test: by the life of Pharaoh, you will not go away from this place till your youngest brother comes here.
Send one of your number to get your brother, and the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are true; if not, by the life of Pharaoh, your purpose is certainly secret.
So he put them in prison for three days.
And on the third day Joseph said to them, Do this, if you would keep your lives: for I am a god-fearing man:
If you are true men, let one of you be kept in prison, while you go and take grain for the needs of your families;
And come back to me with your youngest brother, so that your words may be seen to be true, and you will not be put to death. This is what you are to do.
And they said to one another, Truly, we did wrong to our brother, for we saw his grief of mind, and we did not give ear to his prayers; that is why this trouble has come on us.
And Reuben said to them, Did I not say to you, Do the child no wrong? but you gave no attention; so now, punishment has come on us for his blood.
They were not conscious that the sense of their words was clear to Joseph, for he had been talking to them through one who had knowledge of their language.
And turning away from them, he was overcome with weeping; then he went on talking to them again and took Simeon and put chains on him before their eyes.
Then Joseph gave orders for their bags to be made full of grain, and for every man's money to be put back into his bag, and for food to be given them for the journey: which was done.
Then they put the bags of grain on their asses and went away.
Now at their night's resting-place one of them, opening his bag to give his ass some food, saw his money in the mouth of the bag.
And he said to his brothers, My money has been given back: it is in my bag; then their hearts became full of fear, and turning to one another they said, What is this which God has done to us?
So when they came to Jacob their father, in the land of Canaan, they gave him an account of all their experiences, saying,
The man who is the ruler of the country was rough with us and put us in prison, saying that we had come with a secret evil purpose.
And we said to him, We are true men, we have no evil designs;
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is dead, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.
And the ruler of the land said, In this way I may be certain that you are true men; let one of you be kept here with me, while you go and take grain for the needs of your families;
And come back to me with your youngest brother: then I will be certain that you are true men, and I will give your brother back to you and let you do trade in the land.
And when they took the grain out of their bags, it was seen that every man's parcel of money was in his bag; and when they and their father saw the money, they were full of fear.
And Jacob their father said to them, You have taken my children from me: Joseph is gone and Simeon is gone, and now you would take Benjamin away; all these things have come on me.
And Reuben said, Put my two sons to death if I do not come back to you with him; let him be in my care and I will give him safely back to you.
And he said, I will not let my son go down with you; for his brother is dead and he is all I have: if evil overtakes him on the journey, then through you will my grey head go down to the underworld in sorrow.