- 1
- Now 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.
- 2
- Then 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.
- 3
- As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.
- 4
- They 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?
- 5
- Isn't this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination?
- This is a wicked thing you have done.'"
- 6
- When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them.
- 7
- But they said to him, "Why does my lord say such things?
- Far be it from your servants to do anything like that!
- 8
- We 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?
- 9
- If 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."
- 11
- Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it.
- 12
- Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest
- and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
- 13
- At this, they tore their clothes.
- Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.
- 14
- Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in,
- and they threw themselves to the ground before him.
- 15
- Joseph 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."
- 17
- But 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."
- 18
- Then Judah went up to him and said:
- "Please, my lord, let your servant speak a word to my lord.
- Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself.
- 19
- My lord asked his servants, `Do you have a father or a brother?'
- 20
- And 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.'
- 22
- And we said to my lord, `The boy cannot leave his father;
- if he leaves him, his father will die.'
- 23
- But you told your servants, `Unless your youngest brother
- comes down with you, you will not see my face again.'
- 24
- When 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.'
- 26
- But 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.
- 28
- One of them went away from me, and I said,
- "He has surely been torn to pieces." And I have not seen him since.
- 29
- If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him,
- you will bring my gray 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,
- 31
- sees that the boy isn't there, he will die. Your servants will bring
- the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow.
- 32
- Your 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.
- 34
- How 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 upon my father."