Genesis 44

1Then Joseph gave orders 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.

2And put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph told him.

3As soon as morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.

4They had gone only a short distance from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Get up and go after the men. When you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?

5Is this not the cup my master drinks from, and which he actually uses for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.’”

6When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them.

7They said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that!

8Look, we even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found in 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 must die, and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”

10He said, “Very well, let it be as you say: the one who is found to have it will become my slave, and the rest of you will be free of blame.”

11Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it.

12Then the steward searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.

13At this they tore their clothes. Then each man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

14When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they threw themselves on the ground before him.

15Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can find things out by divination?”

16Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we tell you? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves, both we and the one who was found with the cup.”

17But he said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found with the cup will be my slave. The rest of you, go back in peace to your father.”

18Then Judah went up to him and said, “Please, my lord, let your servant speak a word in my lord’s hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh himself.

19My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’

20And we said to my lord, ‘We have an elderly 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.’

21Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so that I can see him for myself.’

22We 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.

25Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’

26But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go down. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’

27Your 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 must have 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 gray head down to Sheol in misery.’

30So now, if I go back to your servant my father and the boy is not with us—since his life is bound up with the boy’s life—

31when he sees that the boy is not there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of your servant our father down to Sheol in grief.

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 my father all my life.’

33So now, please let your servant stay here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy go back with his brothers.

34How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I could not bear to see the misery that would come on my father.”