| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1He instructed the servant who was over his household, "Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack. | 1When his brothers were ready to leave, Joseph gave these instructions to his palace manager: “Fill each of their sacks with as much grain as they can carry, and put each man’s money back into his sack. |
| 2Then put my cup--the silver cup--in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the money for his grain." He did as Joseph instructed. | 2Then put my personal silver cup at the top of the youngest brother’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” So the manager did as Joseph instructed him. |
| 3When morning came, the men and their donkeys were sent off. | 3The brothers were up at dawn and were sent on their journey with their loaded donkeys. |
| 4They had not gone very far from the city when Joseph said to the servant who was over his household, "Pursue the men at once! When you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid good with evil? | 4But when they had gone only a short distance and were barely out of the city, Joseph said to his palace manager, “Chase after them and stop them. When you catch up with them, ask them, ‘Why have you repaid my kindness with such evil? |
| 5Doesn't my master drink from this cup and use it for divination? You have done wrong!'" | 5Why have you stolen my master’s silver cup, which he uses to predict the future? What a wicked thing you have done!’” |
| 6When the man overtook them, he spoke these words to them. | 6When the palace manager caught up with the men, he spoke to them as he had been instructed. |
| 7They answered him, "Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! | 7“What are you talking about?” the brothers responded. “We are your servants and would never do such a thing! |
| 8Look, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Why then would we steal silver or gold from your master's house? | 8Didn’t we return the money we found in our sacks? We brought it back all the way from the land of Canaan. Why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? |
| 9If one of us has it, he will die, and the rest of us will become my lord's slaves!" | 9If you find his cup with any one of us, let that man die. And all the rest of us, my lord, will be your slaves.” |
| 10He replied, "You have suggested your own punishment! The one who has it will become my slave, but the rest of you will go free." | 10“That’s fair,” the man replied. “But only the one who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go free.” |
| 11So each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. | 11They all quickly took their sacks from the backs of their donkeys and opened them. |
| 12Then the man searched. He began with the oldest and finished with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin's sack! | 12The palace manager searched the brothers’ sacks, from the oldest to the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack! |
| 13They all tore their clothes! Then each man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city. | 13When the brothers saw this, they tore their clothing in despair. Then they loaded their donkeys again and returned to the city. |
| 14So Judah and his brothers came back to Joseph's house. He was still there, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. | 14Joseph was still in his palace when Judah and his brothers arrived, and they fell to the ground before him. |
| 15Joseph said to them, "What did you think you were doing? Don't you know that a man like me can find out things like this by divination?" | 15“What have you done?” Joseph demanded. “Don’t you know that a man like me can predict the future?” |
| 16Judah replied, "What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves? God has exposed the sin of your servants! We are now my lord's slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found." | 16Judah answered, “Oh, my lord, what can we say to you? How can we explain this? How can we prove our innocence? God is punishing us for our sins. My lord, we have all returned to be your slaves—all of us, not just our brother who had your cup in his sack.” |
| 17But Joseph said, "Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found will become my slave, but the rest of you may go back to your father in peace." | 17“No,” Joseph said. “I would never do such a thing! Only the man who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go back to your father in peace.” Judah Speaks for His Brothers |
| 18Then Judah approached him and said, "My lord, please allow your servant to speak a word with you. Please do not get angry with your servant, for you are just like Pharaoh. | 18Then Judah stepped forward and said, “Please, my lord, let your servant say just one word to you. Please, do not be angry with me, even though you are as powerful as Pharaoh himself. |
| 19My lord asked his servants, 'Do you have a father or a brother?' | 19“My lord, previously you asked us, your servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ |
| 20We said to my lord, 'We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. The boy's brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother's sons left, and his father loves him.' | 20And we responded, ‘Yes, my lord, we have a father who is an old man, and his youngest son is a child of his old age. His full brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him very much.’ |
| 21"Then you told your servants, 'Bring him down to me so I can see him.' | 21“And you said to us, ‘Bring him here so I can see him with my own eyes.’ |
| 22We said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves his father, his father will die.' | 22But we said to you, ‘My lord, the boy cannot leave his father, for his father would die.’ |
| 23But you said to your servants, 'If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.' | 23But you told us, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes with you, you will never see my face again.’ |
| 24When we returned to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. | 24“So we returned to your servant, our father, and told him what you had said. |
| 25"Then our father said, 'Go back and buy us a little food.' | 25Later, when he said, ‘Go back again and buy us more food,’ |
| 26But we replied, 'We cannot go down there. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go, for we won't be permitted to see the man's face if our youngest brother is not with us.' | 26we replied, ‘We can’t go unless you let our youngest brother go with us. We’ll never get to see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ |
| 27"Then your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife gave me two sons. | 27“Then my father said to us, ‘As you know, my wife had two sons, |
| 28The first disappeared and I said, "He has surely been torn to pieces." I have not seen him since. | 28and one of them went away and never returned. Doubtless he was torn to pieces by some wild animal. I have never seen him since. |
| 29If you take this one from me too and an accident happens to him, then you will bring down my gray hair in tragedy to the grave.' | 29Now if you take his brother away from me, and any harm comes to him, you will send this grieving, white-haired man to his grave. ’ |
| 30"So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us--his very life is bound up in his son's life. | 30“And now, my lord, I cannot go back to my father without the boy. Our father’s life is bound up in the boy’s life. |
| 31When he sees the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave. | 31If he sees that the boy is not with us, our father will die. We, your servants, will indeed be responsible for sending that grieving, white-haired man to his grave. |
| 32Indeed, your servant pledged security for the boy with my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame before my father all my life.' | 32My lord, I guaranteed to my father that I would take care of the boy. I told him, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, I will bear the blame forever.’ |
| 33"So now, please let your servant remain as my lord's slave instead of the boy. As for the boy, let him go back with his brothers. | 33“So please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. |
| 34For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn't bear to see my father's pain." | 34For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see the anguish this would cause my father!” |
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