Genesis 44
44
The Brothers Are Brought Back
1Then 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. 2And put my cup, the silver cup, in the opening of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.” And he did #44:2 Or according to the wordas Joseph had told him. 3#44:3 Lit The morning was lightAs soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys. 4They had just left 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? 5Is this not that from which my lord drinks, and which he indeed uses for divination? You have done wrong in doing this!’ ”
6So #44:6 I.e., the stewardhe overtook them and spoke these words to them. 7And they said to him, “Why does my lord say such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! 8Behold, 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? 9With whomever of your servants it is found, he shall die, and we also shall be my lord’s slaves.” 10So 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.” 11Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. 12And he searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13Then they tore their clothes in grief, and when each man had loaded his donkey, they returned to the city.
14When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell down to the ground before him. 15Joseph 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 divination?” 16So 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 slaves, both we and the one in whose #44:16 Lit handpossession the cup has been found.” 17But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose #44:17 Lit handpossession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
18Then Judah approached him and said, “Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and #44:18 Lit let not your anger burn againstdo not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh. 19My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ 20And we said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a little boy born in our father’s old age. Now his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’ 21Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so that I may set my eyes on him.’ 22But we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, #44:22 Lit he wouldhis father would die.’ 23You said to your servants, however, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 24So it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25And our father said, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’ 26But 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.’ 27Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons; 28and the one left me, and I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since. 29If you also take this one from #44:29 Lit my faceme, and harm happens to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in #44:29 Lit evilsorrow.’ 30So now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us—since #44:30 Lit his soul is bound with his soulour father’s life is so attached to the boy’s life— 31when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. So your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant, our father, down to Sheol in sorrow. 32For your servant accepted responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then #44:32 Lit I will be culpable for all the days before my fathermy father can let me take the blame forever.’ 33So 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. 34For 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 #44:34 Lit findovertake my father.”
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Genesis 44: NASB2020
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Genesis 44
44
A silver cup in a sack
1Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: ‘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. 2Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.’ And he did as Joseph said.
3As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. 4They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, ‘Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, “Why have you repaid good with evil? 5Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.” ’
6When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. 7But they said to him, ‘Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! 8We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 9If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.’
10‘Very well, then,’ he said, ‘let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.’
11Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 12Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.
14Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 15Joseph said to them, ‘What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?’
16‘What can we say to my lord?’ Judah replied. ‘What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves – we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.’
17But Joseph said, ‘Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.’
18Then Judah went up to him and said: ‘Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. 19My lord asked his servants, “Do you have a father or a brother?” 20And we answered, “We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.”
21‘Then you said to your servants, “Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.” 22And we said to my lord, “The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.” 23But you told your servants, “Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.” 24When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.
25‘Then our father said, “Go back and buy a little more food.” 26But 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.”
27‘Your servant my father said to us, “You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28One of them went away from me, and I said, ‘He has surely been torn to pieces.’ And I have not seen him since. 29If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my grey head down to the grave in misery.”
30‘So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, 31sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the grey head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. 32Your 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!”
33‘Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. 34How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.’
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