Genesis 42:15-16

42:15 You will be tested in this way: As surely as Pharaoh lives, ¹  you will not depart from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 42:16 One of you must go and get ²  your brother, while ³  the rest of you remain in prison. ⁴  In this way your words may be tested to see if ⁵  you are telling the truth. ⁶  If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”

Genesis 42:20

42:20 But you must bring ⁷  your youngest brother to me. Then ⁸  your words will be verified ⁹  and you will not die.” They did as he said. ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “[By] the life of Pharaoh.”

² tn Heb “send from you one and let him take.” After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose.

³ tn The disjunctive clause is here circumstantial-temporal.

⁴ tn Heb “bound.”

⁵ tn The words “to see” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn Heb “the truth [is] with you.”

⁷ tn The imperfect here has an injunctive force.

⁸ tn After the injunctive imperfect, this imperfect with vav indicates purpose or result.

⁹ tn The Niphal form of the verb has the sense of “to be faithful; to be sure; to be reliable.” Joseph will test his brothers to see if their words are true.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and they did so.”