1Joseph gave his household manager this order: "Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man's money back in the top of his sack.
2Also, put my cup, the silver one, in the top of the youngest brother's sack, along with the money for his grain." The manager did exactly what Joseph told him.
3As soon as it was dawn, the men and their donkeys were sent on their way.
4They had left the city and were not yet far away when Joseph said to his manager, "Go after those men right away. When you catch up to them, ask them, 'Why have you repaid good with evil?
5Isn't this the cup my master drinks from, and the one he uses for fortune-telling? You have done a very wrong thing!'"
6The manager caught up to them and said these words.
7They said to him, "Why does our master say such things? We would never do such a thing!
8We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money we found at the top of our sacks. Why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house?
9If the cup is found with any of your servants, that person should die, and the rest of us will become our master's slaves."
10The manager replied, "All right, let it be as you say: the one found with the cup will be my slave, and the rest of you will not be blamed."
11Then they quickly lowered each man's sack to the ground and each man opened his sack.
12The manager searched, starting with the oldest and finishing with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
13Then they tore their clothes in distress, and each man reloaded his donkey and returned to the city.
14Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was still there. They all fell to the ground before him.
15Joseph said to them, "What is this you have done? Don't you know that a man like me can discover things?"
16Judah said, "What can we tell my lord? What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered the guilt of your servants. Look, we are all your servants, my lord, both us and the one who had the cup found in his possession."
17But he said, "I would never do that! Only the man who had the cup found in his possession will be my servant. The rest of you can go back to your father in peace."
18Then Judah approached him and said, "Please, my lord, allow your servant to say a word to you, and don't be angry with me, for you are like Pharaoh himself."
19My lord asked your servants, saying, 'Do you have a father or a brother?'
20We told my lord, 'We have an aged father, and a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, so he is the only one left from his mother, and his father loves him.'
21Then you told your servants, 'Bring him down to me so I can see him.'
22We told my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father. If he were to leave his father, his father would die.'
23But you told your servants, 'If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.'
24When we went back to your servant our father, we told him what you, my lord, had said.
25Our father then said, ‘Go back and buy us a little more food.’
26We answered, ‘We cannot go down. We will only go down if our youngest brother is with us, because we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’
27Your servant, my father, said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave birth to two sons for me.
28One of them left me, and I said, “He must have been torn apart by a wild animal,” and I haven’t seen him since.
29If you take this son from me too, and something bad happens to him, you will bring my old, sorrowful self down to the grave.’
30So now, when I go back to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us—since his life is so tied to the boy’s life—
31when he sees that the boy is not there, he will die. Then your servants will be responsible for bringing our father’s old, sorrowful self down to the grave.
32Besides, your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father, saying, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, then I will be to blame before my father forever.’
33Therefore, please let your servant stay here as my lord’s servant in place of the boy, and let the boy go back with his brothers.
34How can I go back to my father if the boy isn’t with me? I couldn’t bear to see the sorrow that would come upon my father.”