创世记 44
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
约瑟试验弟兄
44 约瑟吩咐管家说：“给他们的口袋装满粮食，他们能带多少就装多少，把各人的钱放回他们的口袋中， 2 再把我的银杯和买粮的钱一起放在最小的兄弟的口袋中。”管家一一办妥了。
3 第二天清早，他们就牵着驴离开了。 4 他们出城不久，约瑟对管家说：“你快去追他们，追上了就对他们说，‘你们为什么以恶报善？ 5 为什么偷我主人用来喝酒和占卜的银杯？你们这是作恶！’”
6 于是，管家追上他们，按约瑟的话问他们。 7 他们回答说：“我主为什么这样说？我们绝不会做这种事。 8 你看，我们把上次在口袋里发现的钱都从迦南带回来还你了，又怎么会偷你主人家的金银呢？ 9 你若在仆人中任何人身上搜到银杯，他就要死！我们也要做我主的奴仆。”
10 管家说：“好，就照你们的话做吧！银杯从谁那里搜出来，谁就做我的奴仆，其他人都没有罪。” 11 于是，他们急忙把口袋卸到地上打开。 12 管家就从最年长的开始搜查，最后在便雅悯的口袋里搜出了银杯。 13 他们伤心地撕裂衣服，把东西放回驴背上，返回城里。
14 犹大和他兄弟们回到约瑟家时，约瑟还在那里，他们就俯伏在他面前。 15 约瑟对他们说：“你们做的是什么事？难道你们不知道像我这样的人是懂得占卜的吗？” 16 犹大说：“我们能对我主说什么呢？我们还有什么话可说呢？我们如何洗脱罪名呢？上帝既然查出你仆人们的罪，我们跟那个被发现有银杯的弟弟一起做我主的奴仆吧！” 17 约瑟回答说：“不！我决不会这样做。从谁那里搜出了银杯，谁就做我的奴仆，其他人平安地回去见你们的父亲吧。”
犹大求情
18 犹大近前来对他说：“我主啊，你就像法老一样，求你容仆人说一句话，不要向仆人发怒。 19 我主曾经问仆人们是否有父亲和弟兄， 20 我们对我主说，‘我们有年迈的老父，他在晚年得了一个儿子，这孩子的哥哥已经死了，他母亲只剩下他这一个儿子，他父亲很疼爱他。’ 21 你吩咐仆人们把弟弟带来给你亲眼看看， 22 我们对我主说，‘这孩子不能离开他父亲，他若离开，他父亲一定会死。’ 23 可是，你说如果仆人们不把弟弟带来，就不得再见你。 24 我们回到你仆人——我们的父亲那里，把我主的话告诉了他。
25 “后来，他又吩咐仆人们回来买粮， 26 我们告诉他，我们不能来，只有我们的弟弟同来，我们才能来。否则，我们不能见你的面。 27 我父亲就对我们说，‘你们应该知道，我妻子给我生了两个儿子。 28 其中一个离开了我，我想他一定被野兽撕碎了，我再没有见过他。 29 要是你们把他的弟弟也带走，遇上什么意外的话，你们会使我这白发苍苍的老人凄凄惨惨地进坟墓。’
30 “我们父亲的命与这孩子的命紧密相连，倘若我没有把这孩子带回到你仆人——我父亲身边， 31 他一看这孩子不在，一定会死。仆人们会使自己白发苍苍的父亲凄凄惨惨地进坟墓。 32 仆人曾经向父亲保证这孩子的安全，说我若不把这孩子带回他身边，情愿一生担罪。 33 现在求你准许仆人代替这孩子做你的奴仆，让他跟他哥哥们回去吧。 34 这孩子不和我一同回去，我如何见我父亲呢？我不愿看到灾难临到我父亲。”
Genesis 44
New English Translation
The Final Test
44 He 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. 2 Then put[a] 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.[b]
3 When morning came,[c] the men and their donkeys were sent off.[d] 4 They had not gone very far from the city[e] when Joseph said[f] to the servant who was over his household, “Pursue the men at once![g] When you overtake[h] them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? 5 Doesn’t my master drink from this cup[i] and use it for divination?[j] You have done wrong!’”[k]
6 When the man[l] overtook them, he spoke these words to them. 7 They answered him, “Why does my lord say such things?[m] Far be it from your servants to do such a thing![n] 8 Look, 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? 9 If one of us has it,[o] he will die, and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves!”
10 He replied, “You have suggested your own punishment![p] The one who has it will become my slave,[q] but the rest of[r] you will go free.”[s] 11 So each man quickly lowered[t] his sack to the ground and opened it. 12 Then the man[u] searched. He began with the oldest and finished with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack! 13 They all tore their clothes! Then each man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.
14 So Judah and his brothers[v] came back to Joseph’s house. He was still there,[w] and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “What did you think you were doing?[x] Don’t you know that a man like me can find out things like this by divination?”[y]
16 Judah replied, “What can we say[z] to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves?[aa] God has exposed the sin of your servants![ab] We are now my lord’s slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”
17 But 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[ac] you may go back[ad] to your father in peace.”
18 Then Judah approached him and said, “My lord, please allow your servant to speak a word with you.[ae] Please do not get angry with your servant,[af] for you are just like Pharaoh.[ag] 19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 We said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old.[ah] The boy’s[ai] brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left,[aj] and his father loves him.’
21 “Then you told your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see[ak] him.’[al] 22 We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves his father, his father[am] will die.’[an] 23 But you said to your servants, ‘If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 24 When we returned to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’ 26 But we replied, ‘We cannot go down there.[ao] If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go,[ap] for we won’t be permitted to see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’
27 “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave me two sons.[aq] 28 The first disappeared[ar] and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” I have not seen him since. 29 If you take[as] this one from me too and an accident happens to him, then you will bring down my gray hair[at] in tragedy[au] to the grave.’[av]
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.[aw] 31 When he sees the boy is not with us,[ax] he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave. 32 Indeed,[ay] 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.’
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. 34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see[az] my father’s pain.”[ba]
Footnotes
- Genesis 44:2 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express Joseph’s instructions.
- Genesis 44:2 tn Heb “and he did according to the word of Joseph which he spoke.”
- Genesis 44:3 tn Heb “the morning was light.”
- Genesis 44:3 tn Heb “and the men were sent off, they and their donkeys.” This clause, like the preceding one, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.
- Genesis 44:4 tn Heb “they left the city, they were not far,” meaning “they had not gone very far.”
- Genesis 44:4 tn Heb “and Joseph said.” This clause, like the first one in the verse, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.
- Genesis 44:4 tn Heb “arise, chase after the men.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.
- Genesis 44:4 tn After the imperative this perfect verbal form with vav consecutive has the same nuance of instruction. In the translation it is subordinated to the verbal form that follows (also a perfect with vav consecutive): “and overtake them and say,” becomes “when you overtake them, say.”
- Genesis 44:5 tn Heb “Is this not what my master drinks from.” The word “cup” is not in the Hebrew text, but is obviously the referent of “this,” and so has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 44:5 tn Heb “and he, divining, divines with it.” The infinitive absolute is emphatic, stressing the importance of the cup to Joseph.
- Genesis 44:5 tn Heb “you have caused to be evil what you have done.”
- Genesis 44:6 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 44:7 tn Heb “Why does my lord speak according to these words?”
- Genesis 44:7 tn Heb “according to this thing.”
- Genesis 44:9 tn Heb “The one with whom it is found from your servants.” Here “your servants” (a deferential way of referring to the brothers themselves) has been translated by the pronoun “us” to avoid confusion with Joseph’s servants.
- Genesis 44:10 tn Heb “Also now, according to your words, so it is.” As the next statement indicates, this does mean that he will do exactly as they say. He does agree with them the culprit should be punished, but not as harshly as they suggest. Furthermore, the innocent parties will not be punished.
- Genesis 44:10 tn Heb “The one with whom it is found will become my slave.”
- Genesis 44:10 tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 44:10 tn The Hebrew word נָקִי (naqi) means “acquitted,” that is, free of guilt and the responsibility for it.sn The rest of you will be free. Joseph’s purpose was to single out Benjamin to see if the brothers would abandon him as they had abandoned Joseph. He wanted to see if they had changed.
- Genesis 44:11 tn Heb “and they hurried and they lowered.” Their speed in doing this shows their presumption of innocence.
- Genesis 44:12 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 44:14 sn Judah and his brothers. The narrative is already beginning to bring Judah to the forefront.
- Genesis 44:14 tn The disjunctive clause here provides supplemental information.
- Genesis 44:15 tn Heb “What is this deed you have done?” The demonstrative pronoun (“this”) adds emphasis to the question. A literal translation seems to contradict the following statement, in which Joseph affirms that he is able to divine such matters. Thus here the emotive force of the question has been reflected in the translation, “What did you think you were doing?”
- Genesis 44:15 tn Heb “[is] fully able to divine,” meaning that he can find things out by divination. The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis, stressing his ability to do this.
- Genesis 44:16 tn The imperfect verbal form here indicates the subject’s potential.
- Genesis 44:16 tn The Hitpael form of the verb צָדֵק (tsadeq) here means “to prove ourselves just, to declare ourselves righteous, to prove our innocence.”
- Genesis 44:16 sn God has exposed the sin of your servants. The first three questions are rhetorical; Judah is stating that there is nothing they can say to clear themselves. He therefore must conclude that they have been found guilty.
- Genesis 44:17 tn The words “the rest of” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 44:17 tn Heb “up” (reflecting directions from their point of view—“up” to Canaan; “down” to Egypt).
- Genesis 44:18 tn Heb “Please my lord, let your servant speak a word into the ears of my lord.”
- Genesis 44:18 tn Heb “and let not your anger burn against your servant.”
- Genesis 44:18 sn You are just like Pharaoh. Judah’s speech begins with the fear and trembling of one who stands condemned. Joseph has as much power as Pharaoh, either to condemn or to pardon. Judah will make his appeal, wording his speech in such a way as to appeal to Joseph’s compassion for the father, whom he mentions no less than fourteen times in the speech.
- Genesis 44:20 tn Heb “and a small boy of old age,” meaning that he was born when his father was elderly.
- Genesis 44:20 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the boy just mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 44:20 tn Heb “he, only he, to his mother is left.”
- Genesis 44:21 tn The cohortative after the imperative indicates purpose here.
- Genesis 44:21 tn Heb “that I may set my eyes upon him.”
- Genesis 44:22 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the boy’s father, i.e., Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 44:22 tn The last two verbs are perfect tenses with vav consecutive. The first is subordinated to the second as a conditional clause.
- Genesis 44:26 tn The direct object is not specified in the Hebrew text, but is implied; “there” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 44:26 tn Heb “go down.”
- Genesis 44:27 tn Heb “that two sons my wife bore to me.”
- Genesis 44:28 tn Heb “went forth from me.”
- Genesis 44:29 tn The construction uses a perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive to introduce the conditional clause and then another perfect verbal form with a vav consecutive to complete the sentence: “if you take…then you will bring down.”
- Genesis 44:29 sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole—they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble. See Gen 42:38.
- Genesis 44:29 tn Heb “evil/calamity.” The term is different than the one used in the otherwise identical statement recorded in v. 31 (see also 42:38).
- Genesis 44:29 tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.
- Genesis 44:30 tn Heb “his life is bound up in his life.”
- Genesis 44:31 tn Heb “when he sees that there is no boy.”
- Genesis 44:32 tn Or “for.”
- Genesis 44:34 tn The Hebrew text has “lest I see,” which expresses a negative purpose—“I cannot go up lest I see.”
- Genesis 44:34 tn Heb “the calamity which would find my father.”
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