44 Joseph told the servant who took care of his house, ‘Fill the men's bags. Give them as much food as their animals can carry. Put each man's money back in the top of his bag. 2 Then take my silver cup and put it in the top of the youngest man's bag. Put it with the money that he brought to pay for his food.’ The servant did what Joseph had told him to do. 3 When morning came, the men started their journey with their donkeys. 4 They had travelled only a short way from the city. Then Joseph said to his servant, ‘Go now and follow those men. When you find them, say to them, “My master was kind to you. So why have you done this bad thing against us? 5 You have taken my master's own special cup. It is the cup that he drinks from. He also uses it to find out about future things. You have done a very bad thing!” ’
6 So Joseph's servant followed the men and he reached them. He told them Joseph's message. 7 But the brothers said to him, ‘Sir, why do you say these things? We are your servants. We would not do anything like that! 8 When we found the money in our bags last time, we brought it back to you from Canaan. So we would never take valuable silver or gold things from your master's house. 9 If any one of us has this silver cup, he must die. We others will become your slaves, sir.’ 10 The servant said, ‘What you say is fair. Whoever has the cup, will become my slave. The rest of you will go free.’
11 Each of the brothers quickly put his bag on the ground and opened it. 12 Then the servant began to look in the bags. He began with the oldest brother's bag and he finished with the youngest brother's bag. Then he found the cup in Benjamin's bag! 13 When this happened, all the brothers were very upset. They tore their clothes. Then they put their bags back on their donkeys. They returned to the city.
14 Joseph was still in his house when Judah and his brothers arrived. They threw themselves on the ground in front of Joseph. 15 Joseph said, ‘Why have you done this bad thing? You should have known about an important man like me. I can use magic to find out what people do.’ 16 Judah said, ‘We do not know what to say to you, my lord. We cannot say that we did not do this. God has shown that we are guilty of this sin. Now we are your slaves. We are all your slaves, as well as the one who had your cup in his bag.’
17 But Joseph said, ‘I would not do a thing like that! Only the man who had the cup will be my slave. The rest of you can return to your father. You may go as my friends.’
18 Then Judah went and he spoke to Joseph. He said, ‘Please, my lord. Let me speak to you. You have all of Pharaoh's authority, but please do not be angry with me, your servant. 19 You asked us, “Do you have a father or another brother?” 20 And we replied, “We have a father who is very old. He has a young son who was born when our father was already old. That son's brother is dead. He is the only son of his mother who still lives. His father loves him.” 21 Then you said, “Bring your youngest brother to me so that I can see him.” 22 And we said, “The boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves him, his father will die.” 23 But you said to us, “Your youngest brother must come with you. If he does not come, I will not let you see me again.” 24 We returned to our father and we told him what you said. 25 After some time, our father said, “Go back to Egypt and buy some more food for us.” 26 But we said, “We cannot go back there. We can only go if our youngest brother goes with us. If he is not with us, we will not be able to see the man again.” 27 Then my father said to us, “My wife gave birth to two sons. 28 One of them went away and he never returned. So I said, ‘A wild animal must have eaten him.’ I have not seen him since that happened. 29 If you take my youngest son away from me too, something bad may happen to him. I am already an old man. If I lose Benjamin, I would be so sad that I would die.” ’
30 Judah continued and he said, ‘So, my lord, I could not go back to my father without his youngest son. My father stays alive because of this boy. 31 If my father sees that his son is not with us, he will die. Because we did not bring the boy back to him, he will be sad enough to die. 32 I promised my father that I would take care of the boy. I said, “I will bring the boy back. If I do not, then you can say that I am guilty. I will be guilty for all of my life.” 33 Please sir, let me stay here as your slave, instead of the boy. Let the boy return home with his brothers. 34 I cannot go back to my father if the boy is not with me. I never want to see how upset my father would be.’ [ a ]
44 Then Joseph gave a command to his servant. He said, “Fill the men’s sacks with as much grain as they can carry. Then put each man’s money into his sack with the grain. 2 Put the youngest brother’s money in his sack too. But also put my special silver cup in his sack.” So the servant obeyed Joseph.
3 Early the next morning the brothers and their donkeys were sent back to their country. 4 After they had left the city, Joseph said to his servant, “Go and follow the men. Stop them and say to them, ‘We were good to you! So why have you been bad to us? Why did you steal my master’s silver cup? [ a ] 5 My master drinks from that cup, and he uses it to learn secret things. What you did was wrong!’”
6 So the servant obeyed. He rode out to the brothers and stopped them. The servant said to them what Joseph had told him to say.
7 But the brothers said to the servant, “Why does the governor say these things? We wouldn’t do anything like that! 8 We brought back the money that we found in our sacks before. So surely we wouldn’t steal silver or gold from your master’s house. 9 If you find the silver cup in any of our sacks, let that man die. You can kill him, and we will be your slaves.”
10 The servant said, “I agree, except that only the man who is found to have the cup will be my slave. The others will be free.”
11 Then every brother quickly opened his sack on the ground. 12 The servant started looking in the sacks. He started with the oldest brother and ended with the youngest. He found the cup in Benjamin’s sack. 13 The brothers were very sad. They tore their clothes to show their sadness. They put their sacks back on the donkeys and went back to the city.
14 When Judah and his brothers went back to Joseph’s house, Joseph was still there. The brothers fell to the ground and bowed down before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “Why have you done this? Didn’t you know that I have a special way of learning secrets? No one is better at this than I am!”
16 Judah said, “Sir, there is nothing we can say. There is no way to explain. There is no way to show that we are not guilty. God has judged us guilty for something else we have done. So all of us, even Benjamin, will be your slaves.”
17 But Joseph said, “I will not make you all slaves! Only the man who stole the cup will be my slave. You others can go in peace to your father.”
18 Then Judah went to Joseph and said, “Sir, please let me speak plainly with you. Please don’t be angry with me. I know that you are like Pharaoh himself. 19 When we were here before, you asked us, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 And we answered you, ‘We have a father—he is an old man. And we have a younger brother. Our father loves him because he was born while our father was old. This youngest son’s brother is dead, so he is the only son who is left from that mother. Our father loves him very much.’ 21 Then you said to us, ‘Bring that brother to me. I want to see him.’ 22 And we said to you, ‘That young boy cannot come. He cannot leave his father. If his father loses him, his father will be so sad that he will die.’ 23 But you said to us, ‘You must bring your youngest brother, or I will not sell you grain again.’ 24 So we went back to our father and told him what you said.
25 “Later, our father said, ‘Go back and buy us some more food.’ 26 We said to our father, ‘We cannot go without our youngest brother. The governor said he will not sell us grain again until he sees our youngest brother.’ 27 Then my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife Rachel gave me two sons. 28 I let one son go away, and he was killed by a wild animal. And I haven’t seen him since. 29 If you take my other son away from me, and something happens to him, I will be sad enough to die.’ 30 Now, imagine what will happen when we go home without our youngest brother—he is the most important thing in our father’s life! 31 Our father will die if he sees that the boy isn’t with us—and it will be our fault. We will send our father to his grave a very sad man.
32 “I took responsibility for the young boy. I told my father, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, you can blame me for the rest of my life.’ 33 So now I beg you, please let the boy go back with his brothers, and I will stay and be your slave. 34 I cannot go back to my father if the boy is not with me. I am very afraid of what would happen to my father.”
44 And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.
2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.
3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.
4 And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?
5 Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.
6 And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.
7 And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:
8 Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold?
9 With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.
10 And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.
11 Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.
12 And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
13 Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.
14 And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.
15 And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?
16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.
17 And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.
18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.
19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?
20 And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.
21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.
22 And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.
23 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.
24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25 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 may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.
27 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:
28 And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:
29 And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
30 Now therefore 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;
31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
32 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.
33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and 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? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.
44 ( A ) Then he commanded his house steward, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the opening of his sack. 2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the opening of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.” And he did [ a ] as Joseph had told him . 3 [ b ] As soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys. 4 They had just left ( B ) the city, and were not far away, when Joseph said to his house steward, “Up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? 5 Is this not that from which my lord drinks, and which he indeed uses for ( C ) divination? You have done wrong in doing this!’”
6 So [ c ] he overtook them and spoke these words to them. 7 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 Behold, ( D ) the money which we found in the opening of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? 9 ( E ) With whomever of your servants it is found, he shall die, and we also shall be my lord’s ( F ) slaves.” 10 So he said, “Now let it indeed be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, but the rest of you shall be considered innocent.” 11 Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. 12 And he searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and ( G ) the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 Then they ( H ) tore their clothes in grief , and when each man had loaded his donkey, they returned to ( I ) the city.
14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there, and ( J ) they fell down to the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “What is this thing that you have done? Do you not know that a man who is like me can indeed practice ( K ) divination?” 16 So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What words can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s ( L ) slaves, both we and the one in whose [ d ] possession the cup has been found.” 17 But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose [ e ] possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
18 Then Judah approached him and said, “Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and [ f ] ( M ) do not be angry with your servant; for ( N ) you are equal to Pharaoh. 19 ( O ) My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ 20 And we said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and ( P ) a little boy born in our father’s old age. Now ( Q ) his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’ 21 Then you said to your servants, ‘ ( R ) Bring him down to me so that I may set my eyes on him.’ 22 But we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, [ g ] his father would die.’ 23 You said to your servants, however, ‘ ( S ) Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 24 So it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25 And ( T ) our father said, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’ 26 But we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ 27 Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that ( U ) my wife bore me two sons; 28 and the one left me, and ( V ) I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since. 29 If you also take this one from [ h ] me, and harm happens to him, you will ( W ) bring my gray hair down to Sheol in [ i ] sorrow.’ 30 So now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us—since [ j ] ( X ) our father’s life is so attached to the boy’s life— 31 when he sees that the boy is not with us , he will die. So your servants will ( Y ) bring the gray hair of your servant, our father, down to Sheol in sorrow. 32 For your servant ( Z ) accepted responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then [ k ] my father can let me take the blame forever.’ 33 So now, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers. 34 For how shall I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear that I may see the evil that would [ l ] overtake my father.”
44 Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: ( A ) “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. ( B ) 2 Then put my cup, ( C ) the silver one, ( D ) in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said.
3 As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. ( E ) 4 They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, ( F ) “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? ( G ) 5 Isn’t this the cup ( H ) my master drinks from and also uses for divination? ( I ) This is a wicked thing you have done.’”
6 When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. 7 But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants ( J ) to do anything like that! ( K ) 8 We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan ( L ) the silver ( M ) we found inside the mouths of our sacks. ( N ) So why would we steal ( O ) silver or gold from your master’s house? 9 If any of your servants ( P ) is found to have it, he will die; ( Q ) and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves. ( R ) ”
10 “Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it ( S ) will become my slave; ( T ) the rest of you will be free from blame.” ( U )
11 Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 12 Then the steward ( V ) proceeded to search, ( W ) beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. ( X ) And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ( Y ) 13 At this, they tore their clothes. ( Z ) Then they all loaded their donkeys ( AA ) and returned to the city.
14 Joseph was still in the house ( AB ) when Judah ( AC ) and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. ( AD ) 15 Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? ( AE ) Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination? ( AF ) ”
16 “What can we say to my lord? ( AG ) ” Judah ( AH ) replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? ( AI ) God has uncovered your servants’ ( AJ ) guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves ( AK ) —we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup. ( AL ) ”
17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! ( AM ) Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. ( AN ) The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.” ( AO )
18 Then Judah ( AP ) went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, ( AQ ) let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry ( AR ) with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. 19 My lord asked his servants, ( AS ) ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ ( AT ) 20 And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. ( AU ) His brother is dead, ( AV ) and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’ ( AW )
21 “Then you said to your servants, ( AX ) ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’ ( AY ) 22 And we said to my lord, ( AZ ) ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’ ( BA ) 23 But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ ( BB ) 24 When we went back to your servant my father, ( BC ) we told him what my lord ( BD ) had said. ( BE )
25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’ ( BF ) 26 But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ ( BG )
27 “Your servant my father ( BH ) said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. ( BI ) 28 One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” ( BJ ) And I have not seen him since. ( BK ) 29 If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave ( BL ) in misery.’ ( BM )
30 “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, ( BN ) and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, ( BO ) 31 sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. ( BP ) Your servants ( BQ ) will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave ( BR ) in sorrow. 32 Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’ ( BS )
33 “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave ( BT ) in place of the boy, ( BU ) and let the boy return with his brothers. 34 How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery ( BV ) that would come on my father.” ( BW )
