Genesis 44

1 And he commanded the superintendent of his house, saying, Fill the sacks of these men with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in the mouth of his sack.

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.

2 And my cup, the silver cup, thou shalt put in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and the money for his corn. And he did according to the word of Joseph which he had spoken.

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.

3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.

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

4 They were gone out of the city, not yet far off, when Joseph said unto the superintendent of his house, Up, follow after the men; and when thou hast overtaken them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye returned evil for good?

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 thou shalt overtake them, and say to them, Why have ye returned evil for good?

5 Is not this out of which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.

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

6 And he overtook them, and he spoke unto them these same words.

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

7 And they said unto him, Wherefore will my lord speak such words as these? God forbid that thy servants should do any thing like this.

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

8 Behold the money, which we found in the mouth of our sacks, we brought back unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold?

If we brought back to thee 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 thy lord?

9 With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, let him die; and we also will be bondmen unto thy lord.

With whomsoever of thy servants thou shalt find the cup, let him die; and, moreover, we will be servants to our lord.

10 And he said, Now also let it be according to your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; but ye shall be blameless.

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

11 And they made haste, and every one of them took down his sack to the ground, and every one opened his sack.

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

12 And he searched, at the eldest he began, and at the youngest he left off; and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

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

13 Then they rent their clothes, and every one loaded his ass, and they returned to the city.

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

14 And Judah and his brothers came into Joseph's house, and he was yet there; and they fell down before him on the ground.

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

15 And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? knew ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?

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

16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we justify ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold we are servants unto my lord, both we, as also he in whose hand the cup was found.

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 thy servants; behold, we are slaves to our lord, both we and he with whom the cup has been found.

17 And he said, God forbid that I should do this: the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, go you up in peace unto your father.

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 ye go up with safety to your father.

18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Pardon, my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thy anger burn against thy servant; for thou art even as Pharaoh.

And Judas drew near him, and said, I pray, Sir, let thy servant speak a word before thee, and be not angry with thy servant, for thou art next to Pharao.

19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother.

Sir, thou askedst thy servants, saying, Have ye a father or a brother?

20 And we said unto my lord, We have an old father, and a little child born in his old age; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.

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.

21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set my eye upon him.

And thou saidst to they servants, Bring him down to me, and I will take care of him.

22 And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father; for if he should leave his father, he would die.

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.

23 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall not see my face any more.

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

24 And it came to pass, when we came up unto thy servant my father, that we told him the words of my lord.

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

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

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

26 And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down; for we cannot see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.

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.

27 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bore me two sons;

And thy servant our father said to us, Ye know that my wife bore me two [sons];

28 And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he hath been torn to pieces; and I have not seen him up to this time.

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

29 And if ye take this one also from me, and mischief befall him, ye will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. (Sheol h7585)

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

30 And now, when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;

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)

31 It will come to pass, that when he seeth that the lad is not with us, he will die: and thy servants would thus bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. (Sheol h7585)

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

32 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then shall I have sinned against my father all the days.

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

33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad as bond-man to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brothers.

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

34 For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? I should perhaps be compelled to witness the evil which would come on my father.

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.