Genesis 44

1 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;

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

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

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

4 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?

[And] when they had gone out of the city, [and] were not [yet] far off, Joseph said to his steward, Arise, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say to them, Why have ye rewarded evil for good?

5 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.

[Is] not this [the cup] in which my lord drinketh, and by which indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.

6 So he overtook them and said these words to them.

And he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words.

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:

And they said to him, Why saith my lord these words? Far be it from us that thy servants should do according to this thing:

8 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?

Behold, the money which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again to thee from the land of Canaan: how then should we steal from thy lord's house silver or gold?

9 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.

With whom [soever] of thy servants it shall be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bond-men.

10 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.

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

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

Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.

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

And he searched, [and] began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

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

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

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

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, 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?

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

16 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.

And Judah said, What shall we say to 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 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.

And he said, Far be it from me that I should do so: the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, go in peace to your father.

18 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.

Then Judah came near to him, and said, Oh 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.

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

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

20 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.

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

And thou saidst to thy servants, Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes upon him.

22 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.

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

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

And thou saidst to thy servants, Except your youngest brother shall come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.

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

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

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

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

26 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.

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

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

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

28 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,

And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I have not seen him since:

29 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)

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

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

Now therefore, when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us; (seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life)

31 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)

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

32 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.

For thy servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, If I bring him not to thee, then I will bear the blame to my father for ever.

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

Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad, a bond-man to my lord; and let the lad return with his brethren.

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

For how shall I return to my father, and the lad [be] not with me? lest perhaps I see the evil that shall come on my father.