Genesis 44

1 Forsothe Joseph comaundid the dispendere of his hous, and seide, Fille thou her sackis with wheete, as myche as tho moun take, and putte thou the money of ech in the hiynesse of the sak;

Then Joseph instructed his steward: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each one’s silver in the mouth of his sack.

2 forsothe put thou in the mouth of the sak of the yongere my silueren cuppe, and the prijs of wheete which he yaf; and it was doon so.

Put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” So the steward did as Joseph had instructed.

3 And whanne the morewtid roos, thei weren delyuered with her assis.

At daybreak, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.

4 And now thei hadden go out of the citee, and hadden go forth a litil; thanne Joseph seide, whanne the dispendere of his hous was clepid, Rise thou, pursue the men, and seye thou whanne thei ben takun, Whi han ye yolde yuel for good?

They had not gone far from the city when Joseph told his steward, “Pursue the men at once, and when you overtake them, ask, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?

5 The cuppe, which ye han stole, is thilk in which my lord drynkith, and in which he is wont to dyuyne; ye han do a ful wickid thing.

Is this not the cup my master drinks from and uses for divination? What you have done is wicked!’”

6 He dide as Joseph comaundid, and whanne thei weren takun, he spak bi ordre.

When the steward overtook them, he relayed these words to them.

7 Whiche answeriden, Whi spekith oure lord so, that thi seruauntis han do so greet trespas?

“Why does my lord say these things?” they asked. “Your servants could not possibly do such a thing.

8 We brouyten ayen to thee fro the lond of Chanaan the monei which we founden in the hiynesse of sackis, and hou is it suynge that we han stole fro `the hows of thi lord gold ether siluer?

We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found in the mouths of our sacks. Why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house?

9 At whom euere of thi seruauntis this that thou sekist is foundun, die he, and we schulen be seruauntis of my lord.

If any of your servants is found to have it, he must die, and the rest will become slaves of my lord.”

10 Which seide to hem, Be it doon bi youre sentence; at whom it is foundun, be he my seruaunt; forsothe ye schulen be gilteles.

“As you say,” replied the steward. “But only the one who is found with the cup will be my slave, and the rest of you shall be free of blame.”

11 And so thei diden doun hastili the sackis on erthe, and alle openyden tho whiche he souyte;

So each one quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it.

12 and bigan at the more til to the leeste, and foond the cuppe in `the sak of Beniamyn.

The steward searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest—and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.

13 And whanne thei hadden `to-rent her clothis, and hadden chargid eft the assis, thei turneden ayen in to the citee.

Then they all tore their clothes, loaded their donkeys, and returned to the city.

14 And Judas entride `the firste with brithren to Joseph; for he hadde not go yit fro the place; and alle felden togidere on erthe bifore hym.

When Judah and his brothers arrived at Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him.

15 To whiche he seide, Whi wolden ye do so? whether ye witen not, that noon is lijk me in the kunnyng of dyuinyng?

“What is this deed you have done?” Joseph declared. “Do you not know that a man like me can surely divine the truth?”

16 To whom Judas seide, What schulen we answere to my lord, ether what schulen we speke, ether moun iustli ayenseie? God hath founde the wickidnesse of thi seruauntis; lo! alle we ben the seruauntis of my lord, bothe we and he at whom the cuppe is foundun.

“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed the iniquity of your servants. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and the one who was found with the cup.”

17 Joseph answeride, Fer be it fro me, that Y do so; he be my seruaunt that stal the cuppe; forsothe go ye fre to youre fadir.

But Joseph replied, “Far be it from me to do this. The man who was found with the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may return to your father in peace.”

18 Sotheli Judas neiyede neer, and seide tristili, My lord, Y preye, thi seruaunt speke a word in thin eeris, and be thou not wrooth to thi seruaunt; for aftir Farao thou art my lord.

Then Judah approached Joseph and said, “Sir, please let your servant speak personally to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh himself.

19 Thou axidist first thi seruauntis, Han ye a fadir, ether a brother?

My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’

20 And we answeriden to thee, my lord, An eld fadir is to vs, and a litil child that was borun in his eelde, whos brother of the same wombe is deed, and his modir hath hym aloone; forsothe his fadir loueth hym tendirli.

And we answered, ‘We have an elderly father and a younger brother, the child of his old age. The boy’s brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’

21 And thou seidist to thi seruauntis, Brynge ye hym to me, and Y schal sette myn iyen on hym.

Then you told your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so that I can see him for myself.’

22 We maden suggestioun to thee, my lord, the child may not forsake his fadir; for if he schal leeue the fadir, he schal die.

So we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he were to leave, his father would die.’

23 And thou seidist to thi seruauntis, If youre leeste brother schal not come with you, ye schulen no more se my face.

But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your younger brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’

24 Therfor whanne we hadden stied to thi seruaunt, oure fadir, we telden to hym alle thingis whiche my lord spak; and oure fadir seide,

Now when we returned to your servant my father, we relayed your words to him.

25 Turne ye ayen, and bie ye to you a litil of wheete;

Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy us some food.’

26 to whom we seiden, We moun not go; if oure leeste brother schal go doun with vs, we schulen go forth togidere; ellis, if he is absent, we doren not se the `face of the lord.

But we answered, ‘We cannot go down there unless our younger brother goes with us. So if our younger brother is not with us, we cannot see the man.’

27 To whiche thingis the fadir answeride, Ye witen that my wiif childide twei sones to me;

And your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.

28 oon yede out, and ye seiden, a beeste deuouride hym, and hidir to he apperith not;

When one of them was gone, I said: “Surely he has been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since.

29 if ye taken also this sone, and ony thing bifallith to hym in the weye, ye schulen lede forth myn hoor heeris with morenyng to hellis. (Sheol h7585)

Now if you also take this one from me and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.’ (Sheol h7585)

30 Therfor if Y entre to thi seruaunt, oure fadir, and the child faile, sithen his lijf hangith of the lijf of the child,

So if the boy is not with us when I return to your servant, and if my father, whose life is wrapped up in the boy’s life,

31 and he se that the child is not with vs, he schal die, and thi seruauntis schulen lede forth hise hoor heeris with sorewe to hellis. (Sheol h7585)

sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. Then your servants will have brought the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow. (Sheol h7585)

32 Be Y propirli thi seruaunt, which resseyuede this child on my feith, and bihiyte, and seide, If Y schal not brynge ayen hym, Y schal be gilti of synne ayens my fadir in al tyme;

Indeed, your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father, saying, ‘If I do not return him to you, I will bear the guilt before you, my father, all my life.’

33 and so Y schal dwelle thi seruaunt for the child in to the seruyce of my lord, and the child stie with hise britheren;

Now please let your servant stay here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy. Let him return with his brothers.

34 for Y may not go ayen to my fadir, if the child is absent, lest Y stonde a witnesse of the wretchidnesse that schal oppresse my fadir.

For how can I go back to my father without the boy? I could not bear to see the misery that would overwhelm him.”