Genesis 44
44
1And he commandeth him who [is] over his house, saying, ‘Fill the bags of the men [with] food, as they are able to bear, and put the money of each in the mouth of his bag;
2and my cup, the silver cup, thou dost put in the mouth of the bag of the young one, and his corn-money;’ and he doth according to the word of Joseph which he hath spoken.
3The morning is bright, and the men have been sent away, they and their asses —
4they have gone out of the city — they have not gone far off — and Joseph hath said to him who [is] over his house, ‘Rise, pursue after the men; and thou hast overtaken them, and thou hast said unto them, Why have ye recompensed evil for good?
5Is not this that with which my lord drinketh? and he observeth diligently with it; ye have done evil [in] that which ye have done.’
6And he overtaketh them, and speaketh unto them these words,
7and they say unto him, ‘Why doth my lord speak according to these words? far be it from thy servants to do according to this word;
8lo, the money which we found in the mouth of our bags we brought back unto thee from the land of Canaan, and how do we steal from the house of thy lord silver or gold?
9with whomsoever of thy servants it is found, he hath died, and we also are to my lord for servants.’
10And he saith, ‘Now, also, according to your words, so it [is]; he with whom it is found becometh my servant, and ye are acquitted;’
11and they hasten and take down each his bag to the earth, and each openeth his bag;
12and he searcheth — at the eldest he hath begun, and at the youngest he hath completed — and the cup is found in the bag of Benjamin;
13and they rend their garments, and each ladeth his ass, and they turn back to the city.
14And Judah — his brethren also — cometh in unto the house of Joseph, and he is yet there, and they fall before him to the earth;
15and Joseph saith to them, ‘What [is] this deed that ye have done? have ye not known that a man like me doth diligently observe?’
16And Judah saith, ‘What do we say to my lord? what do we speak? and what — do we justify ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants; lo, we [are] servants to my lord, both we, and he in whose hand the cup hath been found;’
17and he saith, ‘Far be it from me to do this; the man in whose hand the cup hath been found, he becometh my servant; and ye, go ye up in peace unto your father.’
18And Judah cometh nigh unto him, and saith, ‘O, my lord, let thy servant speak, I pray thee, a word in the ears of my lord, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant — for thou art as Pharaoh.
19My lord hath asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father or brother?
20and we say unto my lord, We have a father, an aged one, and a child of old age, a little one; and his brother died, and he is left alone of his mother, and his father hath loved him.
21‘And thou sayest unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, and I set mine eye upon him;
22and we say unto my lord, The youth is not able to leave his father, when he hath left his father, then he hath died;
23and thou sayest unto thy servants, If your young brother come not down with you, ye add not to see my face.
24‘And it cometh to pass, that we have come up unto thy servant my father, that we declare to him the words of my lord;
25and our father saith, Turn back, buy for us a little food,
26and we say, We are not able to go down; if our young brother is with us, then we have gone down; for we are not able to see the man's face, and our young brother not with us.
27‘And thy servant my father saith unto us, Ye — ye have known that two did my wife bare to me,
28and the one goeth out from me, and I say, Surely he is torn — torn! and I have not seen him since;
29when ye have taken also this from my presence, and mischief hath met him, then ye have brought down my grey hairs with evil to sheol.
30‘And now, at my coming in unto thy servant my father, and the youth not with us (and his soul is bound up in his soul),
31then it hath come to pass when he seeth that the youth is not, that he hath died, and thy servants have brought down the grey hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to sheol;
32for thy servant obtained the youth by surety from my father, saying, If I bring him not in unto thee — then I have sinned against my father all the days.
33‘And now, let thy servant, I pray thee, abide instead of the youth a servant to my lord, and the youth goeth up with his brethren,
34for how do I go up unto my father, and the youth not with me? lest I look on the evil which doth find my father.’
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
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®)
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