1Then he commanded the one over his household, 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, you shall put in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, along with his grain-silver.” And he did according to the word Joseph had spoken.
3When morning grew light, the men were sent off, they and their donkeys.
4They had gone out of the city — they had not gone far — when Joseph said to the one over his household, “Rise, pursue after the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?
5Is this not the one from which my lord drinks, and by which he indeed divines? You have done evil in what you have done.’”
6So he overtook them and spoke to them these words.
7And they said to him, “Why does my lord speak words like these? Far be it from your servants to do a thing like this!
8Look, the silver that we found in the mouth of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan; so how could we steal silver or gold from the house of your lord?
9Whoever of your servants it is found with shall die, and we too will become slaves to my lord.”
10And he said, “Now indeed, let it be according to your words: the one with whom it is found shall be my slave, but you shall be blameless.”
11Then each man hurried and lowered his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack.
12And he searched, beginning with the eldest and finishing with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
13Then they tore their garments, and 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 — 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 indeed practices divination?”
16And Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we speak, and how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. Here we are, slaves to my lord — both we and the one in whose hand the cup was found.”
17But he said, “Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found — he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
18Then Judah drew near to him and said, “Please, my lord, let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not 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 an aged father and a child of his old age, a young one; his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’
21Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eye on him.’
22And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves his father, he will die.’
23But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’
24And it happened, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told him the words of my lord.
25And our father said, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’
26But we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’
27Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You yourselves know that my wife bore me two;
28and the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since.
29If you take this one also from my presence, and harm befalls him, then you will bring down my gray head in evil to Sheol.’
30So now, when I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us — since his life is bound up with the boy’s life —
31then 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 boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will have sinned against my father all my days.’
33So now, please let your servant stay in place of the boy as a slave to my lord, and let the boy go up with his brothers.
34For 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.
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