Genesis
Chapter 44
1 He told his house manager, “Put as much food as they can carry in the men’s bags and return each man’s money to his bag.”
2 Put my silver cup in the youngest one’s bag, along with the money for his grain. And he did as Joseph said.
3 When morning came, the men and their donkeys were sent off.
4 After they left the city and were not too far away, Joseph told his servant, “Go, chase the men; and when you catch them, ask them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?’”
5 Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and uses for finding out the future? You have done wrong by taking it.
6 He caught up with them and said these exact words to them.
7 They asked him, “Why does my master say these things? May God prevent us from doing such a thing.”
8 Look, we brought back to you the money we found in our bags from the land of Canaan. Why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house?
9 If any of your servants has it, they must die, and the rest of us will become your slaves.
10 He said, “Now, let it happen as you say: the one who has it will become my servant, and the rest of you will be innocent.”
11 They quickly put their sacks on the ground and each opened his own sack.
12 He searched, starting with the oldest, and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s bag.
13 They tore their clothes, loaded their donkeys, and went back to the city.
14 Judah and his brothers went to Joseph’s house; he was still there, and they bowed down to him on the ground.
15 Joseph asked them, “What have you done? Don’t you know that a man like me can surely find things out?”
16 Judah asked, “What can we say to my master? How can we explain or prove our innocence? God has revealed our guilt. Here we are, ready to serve you, both us and the one who had the cup.”
17 He said, I would never do that. Only the one who has the cup will become my servant. The rest of you can go back to your father in peace.
18 Then Judah approached him and said, “Please, sir, let me say something to you privately, and don’t be angry with me, for you are like Pharaoh to us.”
19 My master asked his servants, “Do you have a father or a brother?”
20 We told you, sir, we have an old father and a young brother, the son of his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s children left, and his father loves him.
21 You said to your servants, bring him to me, so I can see him.
22 We told you, the boy can’t leave his father, because if he does, his father will die.
23 You told your servants, ‘If your youngest brother doesn’t come with you, you won’t see me again.’
24 When we went to your servant, my father, we told him what my master had said.
25 Our father said, “Go back and buy us some more food.”
26 We said, we can’t go down unless our youngest brother is with us; if he is, then we will go, because we can’t see the man unless our youngest brother comes with us.
27 Your father said to us, ‘You know that my wife had two sons for me:’
28 One left my side, and I thought, ‘He must have been attacked and killed,’ because I haven’t seen him since.
29 If you also take this one away from me and he gets hurt, you will make me very sad until I die.
30 So now, if I go to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us—since his life is so closely linked with the boy’s life—
31 When he sees the boy is not with us, he will die, and we will cause our father, your servant, to go to his grave in sadness.
32 I, your servant, promised my father I would protect the boy, saying, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, I will be responsible to my father forever.’
33 Please, let me stay as your servant instead of the boy, and let him return with his brothers.
34 How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see the pain this would cause my father.