A Silver Cup in a Sack

44 Joseph told the manager of his house what to do. “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry,” he said. “Put each man’s money in his sack. ² Then put my silver cup in the youngest one’s sack. Put it there along with the money he paid for his grain.” So the manager did what Joseph told him to do.

³ When morning came, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. ⁴ They hadn’t gone very far from the city when Joseph spoke to his manager. “Go after those men right away,” he said. “Catch up with them. Say to them, ‘My master was good to you. Why have you paid him back by doing evil? ⁵ Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from? Doesn’t he also use it to find things out? You have done an evil thing.’ ”

⁶ When the manager caught up with them, he told them what Joseph had said. ⁷ But they said to him, “Why do you say these things? We would never do anything like that! ⁸ We even brought back to you from Canaan the money we found in our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? ⁹ If you find out that any of us has the cup, he will die. And the rest of us will become your slaves.”

¹⁰ “All right, then,” he said. “As you wish. The one found to have the cup will become my slave. But the rest of you will not be blamed.”

¹¹ Each of them quickly put his sack down on the ground and opened it.

¹⁸ Then Judah went up to him. He said, “Please, sir. Let me speak a word to you. Don’t be angry with me, even though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. ¹⁹ You asked us, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’

³³ “Now then, please let me stay here. Let me be your slave in place of the boy. Let the boy return with his brothers. ³⁴ How can I go back to my father if the boy isn’t with me? No! Don’t let me see the pain and suffering that would come to my father.”