Genesis 44
44
1And he commanded him who was over his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry; and put every man's money in the mouth of his sack. 2And put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain-money. And he did according to the word of Joseph which he had spoken. 3In the morning, when it was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. 4They were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, when Joseph said to him who was over his house, Up! follow after the men; and when thou overtakest them, thou shalt say to them, Why have ye rewarded evil for good? 5Is not this it in which my lord drinks, and in which indeed he divines? Ye have done evil in what ye have done. 6And he overtook them, and he spoke to them these words. 7And they said to him, Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from thy servants to do such a thing! 8Behold, the money that we found in our sacks' mouths we have brought again to thee from the land of Canaan; and how should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold? 9With whomsoever of thy servants it is found, let him die; and we also will be my lord's bondmen. 10And he said, Now also let it be according to your words: let him with whom it is found be my bondman, but ye shall be blameless. 11And they hasted and laid down every man his sack on the ground, and opened every man his sack. 12And he searched carefully: he began at the eldest, and ended at the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. 13Then they rent their clothes, and loaded every man his ass, and they returned to the city. 14And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; and he was still there; and they fell down before him to the ground. 15And Joseph said to them, What deed is this which ye have done? Did ye not know that such a man as I can certainly divine? 16And Judah said, What shall we say to my lord? what shall we speak, and how justify ourselves? God#GodHebrew: Elohim has found out the iniquity of thy servants; behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we, and he in whose hand the cup has been found. 17And he said, Far be it from me to do so! The man in whose hand the cup has been found, he shall be my bondman; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.
18Then Judah came near to him, and said, Ah! my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant; for thou art even as Pharaoh. 19My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? 20And we said to my lord, We have an aged father, and a child born to him in his old age, yet young; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother; and his father loves him. 21And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down to me, that I may set mine eye on him. 22And we said to my lord, The youth cannot leave his father: if he should leave his father, his father would die. 23And thou saidst to thy servants, Unless your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. 24And it came to pass when we came up to thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25And our father said, Go again, buy us a little food. 26But 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 unless our youngest brother is with us. 27And thy servant my father said to us, Ye know that my wife bore me two sons; 28and the one went out from me, and I said, He must certainly have been torn in pieces; and I have not seen him again hitherto. 29And if ye take this one also from me, and mischief should befall him, ye will bring down my grey hairs with misery to Sheol. 30And now, when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us, — seeing that his life is bound up with his life, 31it will come to pass when he sees that the lad is not there, that he will die; and thy servants will bring down the grey hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. 32For thy servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, If I bring him not to thee, then I shall be guilty toward my father all my days. 33And now, let thy servant stay, I pray thee, instead of the lad a bondman to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brethren; 34for how should I go up to my father if the lad were not with me? — lest I see the evil that would come on my father.
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Genesis 44: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Genesis 44
44
Joseph’s Final Test
1Joseph commanded his steward, “Fill the men’s bags with as much food as they can carry, and put each one’s silver at the top of his bag.#Gn 42:25 2Put my cup, the silver one, at the top of the youngest one’s bag, along with the silver for his grain.” So he did as Joseph told him.
3At morning light, the men were sent off with their donkeys. 4They had not gone very far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Get up. Pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? 5Isn’t this the cup that my master drinks from and uses for divination?#Gn 30:27; 44:15; Lv 19:26; Dt 18:10–14 What you have done is wrong! ’”
6When he overtook them, he said these words to them. 7They said to him, “Why does my lord say these things? Your servants could not possibly do such a thing. 8We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found at the top of our bags. How could we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 9If it is found with one of us, your servants, he must die, and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”#Gn 31:32
10The steward replied, “What you have said is right, but only the one who is found to have it will be my slave, and the rest of you will be blameless.”
11So each one quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 12The steward searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13Then they tore their clothes,#Gn 37:29 and each one loaded his donkey and returned to the city.
14When Judah and his brothers reached Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell to the ground before him.#Gn 37:7–10; 42:6; 43:26–28 15“What have you done?” Joseph said to them. “Didn’t you know that a man like me could uncover the truth by divination?”
16“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed your servants’ iniquity. We are now my lord’s slaves — both we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”
17Then Joseph said, “I swear that I will not do this. The man in whose possession the cup was found will be my slave. The rest of you can go in peace to your father.”
Judah’s Plea for Benjamin
18But Judah approached him and said, “My lord, please let your servant speak personally to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh.#Gn 37:7–8; 41:40–44 19My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20and we answered my lord, ‘We have an elderly father and a younger brother, the child of his old age.#Gn 37:3; 43:8; 44:30 The boy’s brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’ 21Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him to me so that I can see him.’#Gn 42:15,20 22But we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he were to leave, his father would die.’ 23Then you said to your servants, ‘If your younger brother does not come down with you, you will not see me again.’#Gn 43:3,5
24“This is what happened when we went back to your servant my father: We reported to him the words of my lord. 25But our father said, ‘Go again, and buy us a little food.’#Gn 43:2 26We told him, ‘We cannot go down unless our younger brother goes with us. If our younger brother isn’t with us, we cannot see the man.’ 27Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28One is gone from me — I said he must have been torn to pieces — and I have never seen him again.#Gn 37:31–35 29If you also take this one from me and anything happens to him, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.’#Gn 42:38
30“So if I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us — his life is wrapped up with the boy’s life — 31when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. Then your servants will have brought the gray hairs of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow. 32Your servant became accountable to my father for the boy, saying, ‘If I do not return him to you, I will always bear the guilt for sinning against you, my father.’#Gn 43:9 33Now please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave, in place of the boy. Let him go back with his brothers. 34For how can I go back to my father without the boy? I could not bear to see the grief that would overwhelm my father.”
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers