Genesis 44

1 Then Joseph gave orders to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. 2 And put my silver cup in the sack of the youngest, along with the price of his grain.” And it was done just as Joseph said. 3 At morning light, the men were sent on their way, they and their donkeys. 4 When they had left the city and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up and chase after the men. When you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? 5 Why have you stolen my silver cup? Is this not the cup my lord drinks from — and reads omens with? What you have done is evil.’” [a] 6 And he caught up with them, and said these very words to them. 7 And they said to him, “Why does our lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do any such thing. 8 Look — the money we found in our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then would we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? 9 Whichever of your servants is found with the cup — let him die, and the rest of us will be slaves to our lord.” 10 And he said, “Then let it be as you say: the one found with the cup shall be my slave, and the rest of you shall be clear.” 11 And they hurried — each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. 12 And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest — and he found the cup in Benjamin’s sack. 13 Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his sack back on his donkey, and they returned to the city. 14 And Judah and his brothers came in to Joseph — he was still there — and they fell to the ground before him. 15 And Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Did you not know that a man like me surely reads omens?” 16 And Judah said, “What can we answer our lord? What can we say — how could we prove ourselves righteous? God has uncovered the injustice of your servants. Look: we are slaves to our lord — we, and the one in whose sack the cup was found.” 17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing. The man in whose sack the cup was found — he shall be my slave. The rest of you, go up in safety to your father.”

18 Then Judah came near him and said, “Please, sir — let your servant speak a word in your hearing, and do not be angry with your servant. For you are next to Pharaoh himself. 19 Sir, you asked your servants, ‘Do you have a father, or a brother?’ 20 And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father — an old man — and he has a son of his old age, a young one. 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 I will look after him.’ 22 And we said to my lord, ‘The child cannot leave his father — if he leaves his father, his father will die.’ 23 But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your younger brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’ 24 So when we went up to your servant our father, we told him the words of our lord. 25 And our father said, ‘Go again — buy us a little food.’ 26 And we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our younger brother goes with us will we go — for we cannot see the man’s face without our younger brother with us.’ 27 And your servant our father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One went out from me, and you said a wild animal had devoured him — and I have not seen him since. 29 If you take this one too from my presence, and illness strikes him on the way, you will bring my old age down to Hades in sorrow.’ [b] 30 So now — if I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us, when his soul hangs upon the boy’s soul, 31 then when he sees the boy is not with us, he will die — and your servants will have brought the old age of your servant our father down to Hades in grief. 32 For your servant took the boy in pledge from his father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, I will have sinned against my father for all my days.’ 33 So now — let me stay behind as your slave in the boy’s place, a servant of my lord, and let the boy go up with his brothers. 34 For how could I go up to my father without the boy with us? I could not bear to see the evil that would overtake my father.”