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 oldest 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 say we are innocent, when God has shown 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 sent us back here to buy more grain. 26But we told him, “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 favorite 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.
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Berĕshith (Genesis) 44
44
1And he commanded the one over his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as they are able to bear, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack.
2And put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and the silver for his grain. And he did according to the word of Yosĕph which he spoke.
3As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys.
4And when they had gone out of the city, not having gone far, Yosĕph said to the one over his house, “Rise up, follow the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?
5Is this not the one from which my master drinks, and with which he indeed divines? You have done evil in what you have done.’ ”
6So he overtook them and spoke these words to them.
7And they said to him, “Why does my master say these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do according to this word.
8“See, we brought back to you from the land of Kena‛an the silver which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then should we steal silver or gold from your master’s house?
9“With whomever of your servants it is found – he shall die and we shall become my master’s slaves as well.”
10And he said, “Now also let it be according to your words: he with whom it is found becomes my slave, and you are innocent.”
11And they hurried, each man let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack.
12And he searched, with the oldest first and with the youngest last, and the cup was found in Binyamin’s sack.
13And they tore their garments, and each man loaded his donkey and went back to the city.
14And Yehuḏah and his brothers came to Yosĕph’s house, and he was still there. And they fell before him on the ground.
15And Yosĕph said to them, “What deed is this you have done? Did you not know that a man like me indeed divines?”
16And Yehuḏah said, “What do we say to my master? What do we speak? Or how do we clear ourselves? Elohim has found out the crookedness of your servants. See, we are my master’s slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.”
17But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose hand the cup was found, he becomes my slave. And you, go up in peace to your father.”
18And Yehuḏah came near to him and said, “O my master, please let your servant speak a word in my master’s hearing, and do not let your displeasure burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh.
19“My master asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’
20And we said to my master, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young child of his old age, and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’ ”
21“And you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, and let me set my eyes on him.’
22And we said to my master, ‘The boy is not able to leave his father, for if he leaves his father, his father shall die.’ ”
23“But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you do not see my face again.’
24“And it came to be, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told him the words of my master.
25“And our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’
26But we said, ‘We are not able to go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we shall go down, for we are not able to see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ ”
27“Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons,
28and the one went out from me, and I said, “Truly, he is torn, torn to pieces!” And I have not seen him since.
29And if you take this one from me too, and harm comes to him, you shall bring down my grey hair with evil to She’ol.’
30“And now, if I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us – since his own life is bound up in his life –
31then it shall be, when he sees that the boy is not with us, that he shall die. So your servants shall bring down the grey hair of your servant our father with evil to She’ol.
32For your servant went guaranty for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall be a sinner before my father forever.’ ”
33“And now, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a slave to my master, and let the boy go up with his brothers.
34“For how do I go up to my father if the boy is not with me, lest I see the evil that would come upon my father?”
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