Genesis 44

¹And he commanded the one who was over his house, saying: Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they are able to carry, and put each man's silver in the mouth of his sack.

²And my cup, the silver cup, put in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and the silver of his grain.' And he did according to the word of Joseph that he spoke.

³The morning was light, and the men were sent off — they and their donkeys.

⁴They had gone out of the city, not gone far, and Joseph said to the one who was over his house: Rise up, pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them: Why have you repaid bad in place of good?

⁵Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and with it he indeed divines? You have done badly in what you have done.

⁶And he overtook them and spoke to them these words.

⁷And they said to him: 'Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing!'

⁸Look — the silver that we found in the mouth of our sacks, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. And how would we steal from your master's house silver or gold?

⁹Whoever among your servants it is found with shall die, and we also will become slaves to my lord.'

¹⁰And he said: Indeed, now let it be according to your words — the one with whom it is found shall be my slave, but as for you, you shall be innocent.

¹¹And they hurried and each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack.

¹²And he searched, beginning with the eldest and finishing with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

¹³And they tore their garments, and each man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

¹⁴And Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was still there, and they fell before him to the ground.

¹⁵And Joseph said to them, 'What is this deed that you have done? Did you not know that a man like me would surely divine?'

¹⁶And Judah said: 'What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? And how can we prove ourselves innocent? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Here we are, servants to my lord — both we and the one in whose hand the cup was found.'

¹⁷And he said: Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, go up in peace to your father.

¹⁸And Judah drew near to him and said: Please, my lord, let your servant speak a word in my lord's ears, and do not let your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh.

¹⁹My lord asked his servants, saying: Do you have a father or a brother?

²⁰And we said to my lord: we have a father, an old man, and a child of old age, the youngest. And his brother died, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.

²¹And you said to your servants: Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes upon him.

²²And we said to my lord, 'The lad cannot leave his father, for if he were to leave his father, he would die.'

²³And you said to your servants, 'If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you shall not see my face again.'

²⁴And it came to pass, when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.

²⁵And our father said: Go back, buy us a little food.

²⁶And we said, We are not able to go down; if our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down, for we are not able to see the man's face when our youngest brother is not with us.

²⁷And your servant my father said to us: You know that two sons my wife bore to me.

²⁸And the one went out from me, and I said, 'Surely he has been torn to pieces,' and I have not seen him since.

²⁹And if you take this one also from me, and calamity meets him, you will bring down my gray head in calamity to Sheol.

³⁰And now, when I come to your servant my father, and the youth is not with us — and his life is bound up in his life —

³¹And it will happen, when he sees that the boy is not there, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray head of your servant our father in sorrow to Sheol.

³²For your servant became surety for the youth to my father, saying: If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the guilt before my father all my days.

³³And now, please let your servant remain instead of the youth as a servant to my lord, and let the youth go up with his brothers.

³⁴For how can I go up to my father when the boy is not with me, lest I see the harm that would find my father?