Genesis 43:15–44:14

15 So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver,t and Benjamin also. They hurriedu down to Egypt and presented themselvesv to Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjaminw with them, he said to the steward of his house,x “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal;y they are to eat with me at noon.”

17 The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house.z 18 Now the men were frighteneda when they were taken to his house.b They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacksc the first time. He wants to attack usd and overpower us and seize us as slavese and take our donkeys.f”

19 So they went up to Joseph’s stewardg and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 20 “We beg your pardon, our lord,” they said, “we came down here the first time to buy food.h 21 But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver—the exact weight—in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us.i 22 We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in our sacks.”

23 “It’s all right,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father,j has given you treasure in your sacks;k I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.l

24 The steward took the men into Joseph’s house,m gave them water to wash their feetn and provided fodder for their donkeys. 25 They prepared their giftso for Joseph’s arrival at noon,p because they had heard that they were to eat there.

26 When Joseph came home,q they presented to him the giftsr they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground.s 27 He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged fathert you told me about? Is he still living?”u

28 They replied, “Your servant our fatherv is still alive and well.” And they bowed down,w prostrating themselves before him.x

29 As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son,y he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?”z And he said, “God be gracious to you,a my son.” 30 Deeply movedb at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and weptc there.

31 After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself,d said, “Serve the food.”e

32 They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews,f for that is detestable to Egyptians.g 33 The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstbornh to the youngest;i and they looked at each other in astonishment. 34 When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s.j So they feastedk and drank freely with him.

A Silver Cup in a Sack

44 Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house:l “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack.m 2 Then put my cup,n the silver one,o in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said.

3 As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.p 4 They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward,q “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?r 5 Isn’t this the cups my master drinks from and also uses for divination?t This is a wicked thing you have done.’ ”

6 When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. 7 But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servantsu to do anything like that!v 8 We even brought back to you from the land of Canaanw the silverx we found inside the mouths of our sacks.y So why would we stealz silver or gold from your master’s house? 9 If any of your servantsa is found to have it, he will die;b and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.c”

10 “Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have itd will become my slave;e the rest of you will be free from blame.”f

11 Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 12 Then the stewardg proceeded to search,h beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest.i And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.j 13 At this, they tore their clothes.k Then they all loaded their donkeysl and returned to the city.

14 Joseph was still in the housem when Judahn and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him.o