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1 And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.
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2 And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.
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3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.
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4 And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?
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5 Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.
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6 And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.
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7 And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:
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8 Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold?
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9 With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.
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10 And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.
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11 Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.
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12 And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
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13 Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.
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14 And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.
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15 And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?
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16 And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.
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17 And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.
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18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.
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19 My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?
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20 And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.
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21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.
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22 And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.
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23 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.
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24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
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25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.
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26 And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.
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27 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:
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28 And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:
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29 And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
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30 Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;
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31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
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32 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.
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33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.
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34 For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.
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- 1 Then he commanded his house steward, saying, “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 “Put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph had told him.
- 3 As soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys.
- 4 They had just gone out of the city, and were not far off, when Joseph said to his house steward, “Up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid evil for good?
- 5 'Is not this the one from which my lord drinks and which he indeed uses for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.'”
- 6 So he overtook them and spoke these words to them.
- 7 They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing.
- 8 “Behold, the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord's house?
- 9 “With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's slaves.”
- 10 So he said, “Now let it also be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and the rest of you shall be innocent.”
- 11 Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack.
- 12 He searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
- 13 Then they tore their clothes, and when each man loaded his donkey, they returned to the city.
- 14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him.
- 15 Joseph said to them, “What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed practice divination?”
- 16 So 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; behold, we are my lord's slaves, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been found.”
- 17 But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
- 18 Then Judah approached him, and said, “Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord's ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh.
- 19 “My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father or a brother?'
- 20 “We said to my lord, 'We have an old father and a little child of his old age. Now his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.'
- 21 “Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me that I may set my eyes on him.'
- 22 “But we said to my lord, 'The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.'
- 23 “You said to your servants, however, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.'
- 24 “Thus it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
- 25 “Our father said, 'Go back, buy us a little food.'
- 26 “But 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.'
- 27 “Your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons;
- 28 and the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn in pieces,” and I have not seen him since.
- 29 'If you take this one also from me, and harm befalls him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.'
- 30 “Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad's life,
- 31 when he sees that the lad is not with us, he will die. Thus your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow.
- 32 “For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame before my father forever.'
- 33 “Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.
- 34 “For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me—for fear that I see the evil that would overtake my father?”
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