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 the steward of his house, saying: “Fill their sacks with grain, as much as they are able to hold. And place each one’s money at the top of the 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.
But place my silver bowl, and the price that he gave for the wheat, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest.” And so it was done.
3 And whanne the morewtid roos, thei weren delyuered with her assis.
And when morning arose, they were sent away 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?
And now they had departed from the city and had set out a short distance. Then Joseph, sending for the steward of his house, said: “Rise up and pursue the men. And when you have overtaken them, say: ‘Why have you returned evil for good?
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.
The cup that you have stolen, it is that from which my lord drinks, and in which he is accustomed to discern signs. You have done a very sinful thing.’”
6 He dide as Joseph comaundid, and whanne thei weren takun, he spak bi ordre.
He did as he had been ordered. And having overtaken them, he spoke to them according to the order.
7 Whiche answeriden, Whi spekith oure lord so, that thi seruauntis han do so greet trespas?
And they responded: “Why does our lord speak in this way, as though your servants had committed such a shameful act?
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?
The money, which we found at the top of our sacks, we carried back to you from the land of Canaan. So in what way does it follow that we would steal, from the house of your lord, gold or silver?
9 At whom euere of thi seruauntis this that thou sekist is foundun, die he, and we schulen be seruauntis of my lord.
Whichever of your servants will be found to have what you seek, may he die, and we shall be the servants 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.
And he said to them: “Let it be according to your verdict. With whomever it will be found, let him be my servant, but you will be unharmed.”
11 And so thei diden doun hastili the sackis on erthe, and alle openyden tho whiche he souyte;
And so, they quickly placed their sacks down to the ground, and each one was opened.
12 and bigan at the more til to the leeste, and foond the cuppe in `the sak of Beniamyn.
And when he had searched, beginning with the oldest, all the way to the youngest, he found the cup 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.
But they, tearing their garments and burdening their donkeys again, returned to the town.
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.
And Judah, first among his brothers, entered to Joseph (for he had not yet departed from the place) and together they all fell down before him to the ground.
15 To whiche he seide, Whi wolden ye do so? whether ye witen not, that noon is lijk me in the kunnyng of dyuinyng?
And he said to them: “Why would you choose to act in this way? Could you be ignorant that there is no one like me in the knowledge of discerning signs?”
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.
And Judah said to him, “What could we answer to my lord? And what would we be able to say, or to justly claim? God has discovered the iniquity of your servants. See, we have all become servants to my lord, both we, and he with whom the cup was found.”
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.
Joseph responded: “Far be it from me that I should act in this way. He who stole the cup, he will be my servant. But you may go away free to your father.”
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, approaching closer, said confidently: “I beg you, my lord, let your servant speak a word in your ears, and do not be angry with your servant. For you are next to Pharaoh.
19 Thou axidist first thi seruauntis, Han ye a fadir, ether a brother?
My lord, you questioned your servants before: ‘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 you, my lord: ‘There is our father, an old man, and a young boy, who was born in his old age. His brother of the same womb has died, and he alone is left to his mother and father, who truly love him tenderly.’
21 And thou seidist to thi seruauntis, Brynge ye hym to me, and Y schal sette myn iyen on hym.
And you said to your servants, ‘Bring him to me, and I will set my eyes on him.’
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.
We suggested to my lord: ‘The boy is not able to leave his father. For if he sends him away, he will die.’
23 And thou seidist to thi seruauntis, If youre leeste brother schal not come with you, ye schulen no more se my face.
And you said to your servants: ‘Unless your youngest brother arrives with you, you will not see my face any more.’
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,
Therefore, when we had gone up to your servant our father, we explained to him all that my lord had spoken.
25 Turne ye ayen, and bie ye to you a litil of wheete;
And our father said: ‘Return and buy us a little wheat.’
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.
And we said to him: ‘We cannot go. If our youngest brother descends with us, we will set out together. Otherwise, in his absence, we do not dare to see the face of the man.’
27 To whiche thingis the fadir answeride, Ye witen that my wiif childide twei sones to me;
To which he responded: ‘You know that my wife conceived twice by me.
28 oon yede out, and ye seiden, a beeste deuouride hym, and hidir to he apperith not;
One went out, and you said, “A beast devoured him.” And since then, he has not appeared.
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)
If you take this one also, and anything happens to him on the way, you will lead my grey hairs down with grief to the grave.’ (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,
Therefore, if I would have gone to your servant, our father, with the boy not present, (though his life depends upon the life of him)
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)
and if he were to see that he is not with us, he would die, and your servants will lead his grey hairs down with sorrow to the grave. (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;
Let me be your very own servant, for I accepted this one into my trust, and I promised, saying: ‘Unless I lead him back, I will be guilty of a sin against my father for all time.’
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;
And so I, your servant, will remain in place of the boy, in ministry to my lord, and then let the boy go up 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 I cannot return to my father without the boy, lest I appear as a witness to the calamity that will oppress my father.”
