Genesis 44

1 And Joseph charged the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put the money of each in the mouth of his sack.

Then he gave orders to the servant who was over his house, saying, Put as much food into the men's bags as will go into them, and put every man's money in the mouth of his bag;

2 And put my silver cup into the sack of the youngest, and the price of his corn. And it was done according to the word of Joseph, as he said.

And put my cup, my silver cup, in the youngest one's bag, with his money. So he did as Joseph said.

3 The morning dawned, and the men were sent away, they and their asses.

And at dawn the men, with their asses, were sent away.

4 And when they had gone out of the city, [and] were not far off, then Joseph said to his steward, Arise, and pursue after the men; and you shall overtake them, and say to them, Why have you returned evil for good?

And when they had gone only a little way out of the town, Joseph said to the servant who was over his house, Go after them; and when you overtake them, say to them, Why have you done evil in reward for good?

5 Why have you stolen my silver cup? is it not this out of which my lord drinks? and he divines augury with it; you have accomplished evil in that which you have done.

Is not this the cup from which my lord takes wine and by which he gets knowledge of the future? Truly, you have done evil.

6 And he found them, and spoke to them according to these words.

So he overtook them and said these words to them.

7 And they said to him, Why does our lord speak according to these words? far be it from your servants to do according to this word.

And they said to him, Why does my lord say such words as these? far be it from your servants to do such a thing:

8 If we brought back to you out of the land of Chanaan the money which we found in our sacks, how should we steal silver or gold out of the house of your lord?

See, the money which was in the mouth of our bags we gave back to you when we came again from Canaan: how then might we take silver or gold from your lord's house?

9 With whoever of your servants you shall find the cup, let him die; and, moreover, we will be servants to our lord.

If it comes to light that any of your servants has done this, let him be put to death, and we will be your lord's servants.

10 And he said, Now then it shall be as you say; with whoever the cup shall be found, he shall be my servant, and you shall be clear.

And he said, Let it be as you say: he in whose bag it is seen will become my servant; and you will not be responsible.

11 And they hasted, and took down every man his sack on the ground, and they opened every man his sack.

Then every man quickly got his bag down and undid it.

12 And he searched, beginning from the oldest, until he came to the youngest; and he found the cup in Benjamin's sack.

And he made a search, starting with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and the cup was in Benjamin's bag.

13 And they tore their garments, and laid each man his sack on his ass, and returned to the city.

Then in bitter grief they put the bags on the asses again and went back to the town.

14 And Judas and his brethren came in to Joseph, while he was yet there, and fell on the ground before him.

So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house; and he was still there: and they went down on their faces before him.

15 And Joseph said to them, What is this thing that you have done? know you not that a man such as I can surely divine?

And Joseph said, What is this thing which you have done? had you no thought that such a man as I would have power to see what is secret?

16 And Judas said, What shall we answer to our lord, or what shall we say, or wherein should we be justified? whereas God has discovered the unrighteousness of your servants; behold, we are slaves to our lord, both we and he with whom the cup has been found.

And Judah said, What are we to say to my lord? how may we put ourselves right in his eyes? God has made clear the sin of your servants: now we are in your hands, we and the man in whose bag your cup was seen.

17 And Joseph said, Far be it from me to do this thing; the man with whom the cup has been found, he shall be my servant; but do you go up with safety to your father.

Then he said, Far be it from me to do so: but the man who had my cup will be my servant; and you may go back to your father in peace.

18 And Judas drew near him, and said, I pray, Sir, let your servant speak a word before you, and be not angry with your servant, for you are next to Pharao.

Then Judah came near him, and said, Let your servant say a word in my lord's ears, and let not your wrath be burning against your servant: for you are in the place of Pharaoh to us.

19 Sir, you asked your servants, saying, Have you a father or a brother?

My lord said to his servants, Have you a father or a brother?

20 And we said to [my] lord, We have a father, an old man, and he has a son of his old age, a young one, and his brother is dead, and he alone has been left behind to his mother, and his father loves him.

And we said to my lord, We have an old father and a young child, whom he had when he was old; his brother is dead and he is the only son of his mother, and is very dear to his father.

21 And you said to they servants, Bring him down to me, and I will take care of him.

And you said to your servants, Let him come down to me with you, so that I may see him.

22 And we said to [my] lord, The child will not be able to leave his father; but if he should leave his father, he will die.

And we said to my lord, His father will not let him go; for if he went away his father would come to his death.

23 But you said to they servants, Except your younger brother come down with you, you shall not see my face again.

But you said to your servants, If your youngest brother does not come with you, you will not see my face again.

24 And it came to pass, when we went up to your servant our father, we reported to him the words of our lord.

And when we went back to your servant, our father, we gave him an account of my lord's words.

25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.

And our father said, Go again and get us a little food.

26 And we said, We shall not be able to go down; but if our younger brother go down with us, we will go down; for we shall not be able to see the man's face, our younger brother not being with us.

And we said, Only if our youngest brother goes with us will we go down; for we may not see the man's face again if our youngest brother is not with us.

27 And your servant our father said to us, You know that my wife bore me two [sons];

And our father said to us, You have knowledge that my wife gave me two sons;

28 and one is departed from me; and you said that he was devoured of wild beasts, and I have not seen him until now.

The one went away from me, and I said, Truly he has come to a violent death; and from that time I have not seen him,

29 If then you take this one also from my presence, and an affliction happen to him by the way, then shall you bring down my old age with sorrow to the grave. (Sheol h7585)

If now you take this one from me, and some evil comes to him, you will make my grey head go down in sorrow to the underworld. (Sheol h7585)

30 Now then, if I should go in to they servant, and our father, and the boy should not be with us, (and his life depends on this [lad's] life)

If then I go back to your servant, my father, without the boy, because his life and the boy's life are one,

31 —it shall even come to pass, when he sees the boy is not with us, [that] he will die, and your servants will bring down the old age of your servant, and our father, with sorrow to the grave. (Sheol h7585)

When he sees that the boy is not with us, he will come to his death, and our father's grey head will go down in sorrow to the underworld. (Sheol h7585)

32 For your servant has received the boy [in charge] from his father, saying, If I bring him not to you, and place him before you, I shall be guilty towards my father for ever.

For I made myself responsible for the boy to my father, saying, If I do not give him safely back to you, let mine be the sin for ever.

33 Now then I will remain a servant with you instead of the lad, a domestic of my lord; but let the lad go up with his brethren.

So now let me be my lord's servant here in place of the boy, and let him go back with his brothers.

34 For how shall I go up to my father, the lad not being with us? lest I behold the evils which will befall my father.

For how may I go back to my father without the boy, and see the evil which will come on my father?