International Standard Version

King James Bible

1Later, Joseph commanded his palace manager, "Fill the men's sacks to full capacity with food and replace each man's money at the top of the sack.

1And 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.

2Then place my cup—the silver one—in the top of the sack belonging to the youngest one, along with the money he brought to buy grain." So the manager did precisely what Joseph told him to do.

2And 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.

3Early the next morning, the men were sent on their way, along with their donkeys.

3As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.

4They had not traveled far from the city when Joseph ordered his palace manager, "Get up, follow those men, and when you've caught up with them, ask them, 'Why did you repay evil for good?

4And 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?

5Don't you have the cup that my master uses to drink from and also uses to practice divination? You're wrong to have done this.'"

5Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.

6So he went after them and made that accusation.

6And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.

7"Your Excellency," they replied, "Why do you speak like this? Far be it from your servants to act like this.

7And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:

8Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money that we found at the top of our sacks. How, then, could we have stolen silver or gold from your master's palace?

8Behold, 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?

9Go ahead and execute whichever one of your servants is discovered to have it, and we'll remain as your master's slaves."

9With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.

10"Agreed," he responded. "Just as you've said, the one who is found to have it in his possession will become my slave, and the rest of you will be innocent."

10And 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.

11So they quickly dismounted, unloaded their sacks onto the ground, and each one of them opened his own sack.

11Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.

12The palace manager searched for the cup, beginning with the oldest brother's sack and ending with the youngest brother's sack, and there it was!—in Benjamin's sack.

12And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

13At this, they all tore their clothes, reloaded their donkeys, and returned to the city.

13Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.

14Joseph was waiting for them back at his palace when his brothers returned. They fell to the ground in front of him,

14And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.

15and Joseph asked them, "Why did you do this? Don't you know that I'm an expert at divination?"

15And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?

16"What can we say, Your Excellency?" Judah replied. "How can we explain this or justify ourselves? God has discovered the sin of your servants, and now we've become slaves to you, Your Excellency, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been discovered."

16And 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.

17"Far be it from me to do this," Joseph responded. "The man in whose possession the cup was discovered will be my slave, but the rest of you may leave in peace to be with your father."

17And 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.

18But Judah approached him and begged him, "Your Excellency, please allow your servant to speak to you privately. Please don't be angry with your servant, since you are equal to Pharaoh.

18Then 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.

19Your Excellency asked his servants, 'Do you have a father or brother?'

19My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?

20and we answered Your Excellency, 'We have an aged father and a younger child who was born when he was old. His brother is now dead, so he's the only surviving son of his mother. His father loves him.'

20And 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.

21"But then you ordered your servants, 'Bring him here to me so I can see him for myself.'

21And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.

22So we told Your Excellency, 'The young man cannot leave his father, because if he were to do so, his father would die.'

22And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.

23But then you told your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes back with you, you won't see my face again.'

23And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.

24Later on, after we had gone back to your servant, my father, we told him what Your Excellency had said.

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

25"'Go back,' our father ordered, 'and buy us a little food.'

25And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.

26"But we told him, 'We can't go back there. If our youngest brother accompanies us, we'll go back, but we cannot see the man's face again unless our youngest brother accompanies us.'

26And 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.

27"Then your servant, our father, told us, 'You know my wife bore me two sons.

27And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:

28One of them left me, so I concluded "I'm certain that he has been torn to pieces," and I haven't seen him since then.

28And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:

29If you take this one from me, too, and then something harmful happens to him, then it will be death for me and my sad, gray hair!'

29And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

30"So when I go back to your servant, my father, and the young man isn't with us, since he's constantly living life focused on his son,

30Now 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;

31when he notices that the young man hasn't come back with us, he'll die, and your servants really will have brought death to your servant, our father, along with his sad, gray hair!

31It 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.

32Also, your servant pledged his own life as a guarantee of the young man's safety. I told my father, 'If I don't bring him back to you, you can blame me forever.'

32For 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.

33Therefore, please allow your servant to remain as a slave to Your Excellency, instead of the young man, and let the young man go back home with his brothers.

33Now 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.

34After all, how can I go back to my father if the young man doesn't accompany me? I'm afraid of what might happen to my father."

34For 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.

The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.