Chapter 44
1
He commanded the one over his house, saying, "Fill the men's bags with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's silver in the mouth of his bag."
2
You shall put the silver cup in the mouth of the youngest one's bag, along with the silver for his purchase. And he did according to the word of Joseph that he had spoken.
3
The morning dawned, and the men were sent away with their donkeys.
4
They had gone out from the city but had not gone far when Joseph said to the one over his house, "Get up, pursue the men, overtake them, and say to them, 'Why have you repaid evil for good?'"
5
Isn't this the cup with which my lord drinks, and with which he divines? You have done evil—it has divined it.
6
He overtook them and spoke these words to them.
7
They said to him, "Why does my lord speak such words? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing."
8
Look, the silver that we found in the mouth of our sacks we returned to you from the land of Canaan. How could we steal silver or gold from the house of your lord?
9
Whichever of your servants is found with it will die, and we will also be slaves to our lord.
10
He said, "Even now, according to your words, so it is: the one who finds it will be my servant, and the rest of you will be innocent."
11
They hurried and brought down each man his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack.
12
He searched from the eldest, beginning with him, and ending with the youngest, and he found the cup in Benjamin's bag.
13
They tore their cultic garments, and he loaded the man on his donkey, and they set out toward the city.
14
Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was still there. They fell before him to the earth.
15
Joseph said to them, "What is this deed that you have done? Did you not know that a man such as I can surely divine?"
16
Judah said, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? And how shall we be justified? God has found the iniquity of your servants. Here we are, slaves to my lord—both we and he with whom the cup is found in his hand."
17
And he said, "Far be it from me to do this: the man in whose hand the cultic goblet was found—he will be my servant, and you go up in peace to your father."
18
And Judah drew near to him and said, "Please, my lord, let your servant speak a word in the ears of my lord, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh."
19
My lord asked his servants, saying, "Do you have a father or a brother?"
20
And we said to my lord, "We have an old father and a child of his old age, a little one. His brother is dead, and he alone remains to his mother, and his father loves him."
21
And he said to your servants, "Bring him down to me, and I will set my eyes on him."
22
We said to my lord, "The boy cannot leave his father, or his father will die."
23
And he said to your servants, "If your younger brother does not go down with you, you shall not see my face."
24
And when we came to your servant our father and told him the words of my lord.
25
And our father said, "Go back and procure a little food for us."
26
And we said, "No, we cannot go down unless our little brother is with us; we will go down only if we can see the man's face, and our little brother is not with us."
27
And your servant my father said to us, "You know that my wife bore two sons to me."
28
And the one went out from me, and he said, "Surely torn in pieces, torn in pieces! And I have not seen him until now."
29
And you will take this one also from my presence, and disaster will happen to him, and you will bring down my old age in evil to Sheol.
30
And now, when I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us—his soul bound to his soul—
31
And it will be, when he sees that the boy is not there and he dies, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in grief to Sheol.
32
For your servant has guaranteed the youth to my father, saying, "If I do not bring him to you, then I have sinned against my father all my days."
33
And now please let your servant remain as a servant to my lord in place of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers.
34
For how can I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? Lest I see the evil that would come upon my father.