Genesis 42:21-23

"And they said one to another, We are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them saying, Spake I not unto you, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore also, behold, his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for there was an interpreter between them."

"We are guilty ..." "Conscience arouses in the brethren the fear that the day of reckoning, so long delayed, has come at last."[11] Twenty years had not removed the horrible guilt of those brothers. And, although they had not actually killed their brother, they had little doubt that death had indeed claimed him. The edict of God Himself to the effect that "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made he man" (Genesis 9:6) was very much in the minds of those sinful brothers, who recalled their own merciless refusal to hear the pleas of their brother. That detail concerning how they heard and refused Joseph's pleading is not recorded elsewhere, but from this it appears that they sat down to eat bread within earshot of their brother's pitiful pleadings. No wonder their conscience tortured them when at last it appeared that the day of reckoning had come!

Supposing that Joseph could not understand their language, they did not bother to hide their remarks from him, but Joseph understood fully, and also learned from what they said something he might not until then have known, namely, that Reuben had attempted, though vainly, to restrain the others. This may also account for the fact that not Reuben, the oldest, but Simeon was chosen to be kept as hostage. Some have inferred from this that Simeon was the principal leader in the whole event of Joseph's sale. Francisco observed that, "If a man has a good conscience, he should heed it; it is easy to silence for awhile, but impossible to kill."[12]