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.

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;

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

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

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

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 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?

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

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.

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

So he overtook them and said these words to them.

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 my lord say such words as these? far be it from your servants to do such a thing:

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?

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?

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

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.

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, Let it be as you say: he in whose bag it is seen will become my servant; and you will not be responsible.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house; and he was still there: and they went down on their faces 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, 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?

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

My lord said to his servants, Have you 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 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.

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

And you said to your servants, Let him come down to me with you, so that I may see 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, His father will not let him go; for if he went away his father would come to his death.

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

But you said to your servants, If your youngest brother does not come with you, you will 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 when we went back to your servant, our father, we gave him an account of my lord's words.

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

And our father said, Go again and get 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, 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.

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

And our father said to us, You have knowledge that my wife gave 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.

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,

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 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)

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;

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

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)

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)

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 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.

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.

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

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