Genesis 42:21-26
They said one to another, “We are certainly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and we wouldn’t listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us.” Reuben answered them, saying, “Didn’t I tell you, saying, ‘Don’t sin against the child,’ and you wouldn’t listen? Therefore also, behold, his blood is required.” They didn’t know that Joseph understood them; for there was an interpreter between them. He turned himself away from them, and wept. Then he returned to them, and spoke to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him before their eyes. Then Joseph gave a command to fill their bags with grain, and to restore each man’s money into his sack, and to give them food for the way. So it was done to them.
They loaded their donkeys with their grain, and departed from there.
The Bible tells us that those who kill another human being will not be released from the guilt of it. It appears that Joseph’s brothers thought that Joseph was dead. Evidentially, Joseph had learned how to speak the Egyptian language and, even though he was able to understand his own language, continued to use an interpreter between them.
Joseph was overwhelmed with emotion when he heard his brothers discuss their guilt over what they had done to him. It’s obvious that it was a heavy load that they carried. They assumed that this was all happening because of what they had done to their brother. It is very likely that Jacob had told his children about what happened to Cain when he killed his brother. God had heard Abel’s blood cry out from the ground. There is no such thing as a secret sin because God sees all. He even hears blood cry out. It wasn’t even a private discussion because Joseph could hear every word. The Bible also tells us that sin will not be kept private. Someday, the truth will come out.
The Bible doesn’t tell us why Joseph cried, but I assume that it was because He was happy to hear that they not only hadn’t forgotten him, but that they were sorry and guilty about what they had done. Joseph wasn’t done dealing with his brothers, though. He still kept Simeon locked up and sent off his brothers with their own money, which was sure to look bad for them later.