Genesis 44
44
1And 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.
2And 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 Yosef had spoken.
3As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys.
4 [And] when they were gone out of the city, [and] not [yet] far off, Yosef said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when youi do overtake them, say unto them, For what reason have youf rewarded evil for good?
5 [Is] not this [it] in which my lord drinks, and whereby indeed he divines? You1sf have done evil in so doing.
6And he overtook them, and he spoke unto them these same words.
7And they said unto him, For what reason says my lord these words? God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] forbid that youri servants should do according to this thing:
8Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again unto youi out of the land of Kena’an (merchant; trader; or that humbles and subdues): how then should we steal out of youri lord’s house silver or gold?
9With whomsoever of youri servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord’s bondmen.
10And he said, Now also [let] it [be] according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and youf shall be blameless.
11Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.
12And he searched, [and] began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Binyamin’s (this son is strength) sack.
13Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his donkey, and returned to the city.
14And Y’hudah (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]) and his brethren came to Yosef’s (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]) house; for he [was] yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.
15And Yosef said unto them, What deed [is] this that you1sf have done? know you1sf not that such a man as I can certainly divine?
16And Y’hudah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] has found out the iniquity of youri servants: behold, we [are] my lord’s servants, both we, and [he] also with whom the cup is found.
17And he said, God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] 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 youi up in peace unto your father.
18Then Y’hudah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let youi servant, I pray youi, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not youri anger burn against youri servant: for youi [are] even as Pharaoh (Great House).
19My lord asked his servants, saying, Have youf a father, or a brother?
20And 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 loves him.
21And youi said unto youi servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set my eyes upon him.
22And we said unto my lord, The boy cannot leave his father: for [if] he should leave his father, [his father] would die.
23And youi said unto youi servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, youf shall see my face no more.
24And it came to pass when we came up unto youri servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25And our father said, Go again, [and] buy us a little food.
26And 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.
27And youri servant my father said unto us, You1sf know that my wife bore me two [sons]:
28And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:
29If you1sf take this also from me, and mischief befall him, you1sf shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
30Now therefore when I come to youri servant my father, and the boy [be] not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the boy’s life;
31It shall come to pass, when he sees that the boy [is] not [with us], that he will die: and youri servants shall bring down the gray hairs of youri servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
32For youri servant became surety for the boy unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto youi, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever.
33Now therefore, I pray youi, let youri servant abide instead of the boy a bondman (slave) to my lord; and let the boy go up with his brethren.
34For how shall I go up to my father, and the boy [be] not with me? lest perhaps I see the evil that shall come on my father.
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Genesis 44
44
The missing cup
1-2Later, Joseph told the servant in charge of his house, “Fill the men's grain sacks with as much as they can hold and put their money in the sacks. Also put my silver cup in the sack of the youngest brother.” The servant did as he was told.
3Early the next morning, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. 4But they had not gone far from the city when Joseph told the servant, “Go after those men! When you catch them, say, ‘My master has been good to you. So why have you stolen his silver cup? 5Not only does he drink from his cup, but he also uses it to learn about the future. You have done a terrible thing.’ ”
6When the servant caught up with them, he said exactly what Joseph had told him to say. 7But they replied, “Sir, why do you say such things? We would never do anything like that! 8We even returned the money we found in our grain sacks when we got back to Canaan. So why would we want to steal any silver or gold from your master's house? 9If you find that one of us has the cup, then kill him, and the rest of us will become your slaves.”
10“Good!” the man replied, “I'll do what you have said. But only the one who has the cup will become my slave. The rest of you can go free.”
11Each of the brothers quickly put his sack on the ground and opened it. 12Joseph's servant started searching the sacks, beginning with the one that belonged to the eldest brother. When he came to Benjamin's sack, he found the cup. 13This upset the brothers so much that they began tearing their clothes in sorrow. Then they loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.
14When Judah and his brothers got there, Joseph was still at home. So they bowed down to Joseph, 15who asked them, “What have you done? Didn't you know I could find out?”
16“Sir, what can we say?” Judah replied. “How can we prove we are innocent? God has shown that we are guilty. And now all of us are your slaves, especially the one who had the cup.”
17Joseph told them, “I would never punish all of you. Only the one who was caught with the cup will become my slave. The rest of you are free to go home to your father.”
Judah pleads for Benjamin
18Judah went over to Joseph and said:
Sir, you have as much power as the king#44.18 the king: See the note at 12.15. himself, and I am only your slave. Please don't get angry if I speak. 19You asked us if our father was still alive and if we had any more brothers. 20So we told you, “Our father is a very old man. In fact, he was already old when Benjamin was born. Benjamin's brother is dead. Now Benjamin is the only one of the two brothers who is still alive, and our father loves him very much.”
21You ordered us to bring him here, so you could see him for yourself. 22We told you that our father would die if Benjamin left him. 23But you warned us that we could never see you again, unless our youngest brother came with us. 24So we returned to our father and reported what you had said.
25Later our father told us to come back here and buy more grain. 26But we answered, “We can't go back to Egypt without our youngest brother. We will never be let in to see the governor, unless he is with us.”
27Sir, our father then reminded us that his favourite wife had given birth to two sons. 28One of them was already missing and had not been seen for a long time. My father thinks the boy was torn to pieces by some wild animal, 29and he said, “I am an old man. If you take Benjamin from me, and something happens to him, I will die of a broken heart.”
30That's why Benjamin must be with us when I go back to my father. He loves him so much 31that he will die if Benjamin doesn't come back with me. 32I promised my father that I would bring him safely home. If I don't, I told my father he could blame me the rest of my life.
33Sir, I am your slave. Please let me stay here in place of Benjamin and let him return home with his brothers. 34How can I face my father if Benjamin isn't with me? I couldn't bear to see my father in such sorrow.
© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012