Genesis 44
Expanded Bible
Joseph Sets a Trap
44 Then Joseph gave a command to the ·servant in charge of [L one over] his house. He said, “Fill the men’s sacks with as much ·grain [L food] as they can carry, and put each man’s ·money [silver] into his sack with the grain. 2 Put my silver ·cup [goblet] in the sack of the ·youngest [smallest] brother, along with his ·money [silver] for the grain.” ·The servant [L He] did what Joseph told him.
3 At dawn the ·brothers [L men] were sent away with their donkeys. 4 They were not far from the city when Joseph said to the ·servant in charge of [L one over] his house, “·Go after [L Get up and pursue] the men. When you catch up with them, say, ‘Why have you paid back evil for good? 5 ·The cup you have stolen is the one [L Is this not what…?] my ·master [lord] uses for drinking and for ·explaining dreams [divination; C perhaps by pouring oil in water as a means of telling the future (called lecanomancy)]. ·You [L Is not what you…?] have done a very wicked thing!’ ”
6 So ·the servant [L he] caught up with ·the brothers [L them] and said to them ·what Joseph had told him to say [L these words].
7 But the brothers said to the servant, “Why do ·you [my master/lord] say these things? ·We would not [L Far be it from your servants to] do anything like that! 8 We brought back to you from the land of Canaan the ·money [silver] we found in our sacks. ·So surely we would not [L Why would we…?] steal silver or gold from your ·master’s [lord’s] house. 9 If ·you find that silver cup in the sack of one of [L it is found with one of] us, then let him die, and we will be your ·slaves [servants].”
10 ·The servant [L He] said, “·We will do [It will be] as you say, but only the man who has taken the cup will become my ·slave [servant]. The rest of you ·may go free [will be innocent].”
11 Then every brother quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened ·it [L their sack]. 12 ·The servant [L He] searched the sacks, ·going from [starting with] the oldest brother to [L and ending with] the ·youngest [smallest], and found the ·cup [goblet] in Benjamin’s sack. 13 The brothers tore their clothes [C a sign of mourning; they were afraid for Benjamin’s life]. Then they ·put their sacks back on [L loaded] the donkeys and returned to the city.
14 When Judah and his brothers ·went back to [arrived at] Joseph’s house, Joseph was still there, so ·the brothers bowed facedown [L they fell] on the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “What have you done? Didn’t you know that a man like me can ·learn things by signs and dreams [L practice divination]?”
16 Judah said, “·Master [My lord], what can we say? What can we tell you? And how can we ·show we are not guilty [justify ourselves]? God has ·uncovered [L found out] our guilt, so all of us will be ·your slaves [L slaves/servants of my master/lord], not just ·Benjamin [L the one in whose hand the cup/goblet was found].”
17 But Joseph said, “·I will not make you all slaves [L Far be it from me that I should do that]! Only the man ·who stole the cup [L in whose hand the cup/goblet was found] will be my ·slave [servant]. The rest of you may go back ·safely [or in peace] to your father.”
18 Then Judah ·went to Joseph [L approached him] and said, “·Master [My lord], please let ·me [L your servant] speak ·plainly to you [L a word in your ears], and please don’t be angry with ·me [L your servant]. ·I know that you are as powerful as the king of Egypt [L You are like Pharaoh] himself. 19 ·When we were here before, you asked us [L My master/lord asked his servants], ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 And we answered ·you [L my master/lord], ‘We have an old father. And we have a younger brother, ·who was born when our father was old [L of his old age]. ·This youngest son’s [L His] brother is dead, so he is the only one of his mother’s children left alive, and ·our [L his] father loves him very much.’ 21 Then you said to ·us [L your servants], ‘Bring ·that brother [L him] to me. I want to ·see [L set my eyes on] him.’ 22 And we said to ·you [L my master/lord], ‘That young boy cannot leave his father, because if he leaves him, his father would die.’ 23 But you said to ·us [your servants], ‘If you don’t bring your youngest brother [L with you], you will not be allowed to see ·me [L my face] again.’ 24 So we went back to [L your servant] our father and told him ·what you had said [L the words of my master/lord].
25 “Later, our father said, ‘·Go again [Return] and buy us a little more food.’ 26 We said to our father, ‘We cannot go without our ·youngest [smallest] brother. Without our ·youngest [smallest] brother, we will not be allowed to see the ·governor [L face of the man].’ 27 Then [L your servant] my father said to us, ‘You know that my ·wife Rachel gave [L wife bore] me two sons. 28 When one son left me, I thought, “Surely he has been torn apart by a wild animal,” and I haven’t seen him since. 29 Now you want to take this son away from ·me [L my face/presence] also. But something ·terrible [tragic; disastrous] might happen to him, and ·I would be miserable until the day I die [L you would bring my gray head down to Sheol in sorrow].’ 30 Now what will happen if we go home to [L your servant] our father without our ·youngest [smallest] brother? ·He is so important in our father’s life [L And his life/soul is so bound up in his life/soul] that 31 when our father sees the young boy is not with us, he will die. ·And it will be our fault. We will cause the great sorrow that kills our father [L Your servants will have brought the gray head of your servant to Sheol in grief].
32 “·I gave my father a guarantee that the young boy would be safe [L For your servant provided surety for the young boy for his father]. I said to my father, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, ·you can blame me [L I will be condemned before my father] all my life.’ 33 So now, please allow ·me [L your servant] to stay here and be your ·slave [L servant in place of the young boy], and let the young boy go back home with his brothers. 34 I cannot go back to my father if the boy is not with me. I couldn’t stand to see my father ·that sad [suffer].”
Genesis 44
The Voice
44 After the meal was over, Joseph commanded the steward of his house.
Joseph: Fill the men’s sacks with food—as much as they can carry. Put each man’s money back into the top of his sack. 2 One more thing: I want you to put my personal cup, my silver cup, into the top of the sack of the youngest, along with his money for the grain.
The steward did everything Joseph told him to do.
3 The next morning, as soon as it was light, the men were sent off with their donkeys toward home. 4 But when they had gone only a short distance from the city, Joseph spoke to his steward.
Joseph: Go now, and follow them. When you catch up to them, say to them, “Why have you repaid kindness with evil? My master’s silver cup is missing, and you have it. 5 Isn’t this the cup from which he drinks? Doesn’t he use it for divination, to discover secrets hidden from most men? You have committed evil in doing this.”
6 So the steward went after them. And when he caught up to them, he repeated the words Joseph told him to say.
Joseph’s Brothers: 7 Why would my lord accuse us of something like this? We, your servants, would never do such a thing! 8 Remember the money we found at the top of our sacks after our first trip? We brought it back to you from the land of Canaan. Why then would we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house this time? 9 If you find his cup with any one of us, let that man be put to death, and the rest of us will become my lord’s servants.
Steward: 10 Let it be as you say, but I’ll be more lenient: whoever is found to possess the cup will become my servant. The rest of you will be considered innocent and may go free.
11 Then they all moved quickly, retrieved their sacks, lowered them to the ground, and opened them so the steward could see what was inside them. 12 He searched each sack, beginning with the eldest son and ending with the youngest; at last, the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 When the brothers saw this, they tore their clothes in anguish. They knew what had to happen. They had no choice but to load their donkeys and return to the city.
14 Judah and his brothers all came to Joseph’s house while he was still there, and they fell to the ground in front of him.
Joseph: 15 What have you done? Don’t you know that someone in my position practices divination and can discover secrets hidden from most men?
Judah (speaking for the rest): 16 What can we possibly say to you, my lord? How can we explain this? How can we clear ourselves of this mistake? God has found your servants to be guilty. Here we are then, slaves to you, my lord, all of us and also the one in whose possession the cup has been found.
Judah speaks the truth. God has uncovered their guilt and exposed it for all to see. Not that someone in their party has stolen Joseph’s cup—that’s not what he means—but years ago they conspired and stole Joseph’s freedom. Ironically they could now lose their freedom to Joseph.
Joseph: 17 Far be it from me that I should do something like that! Only the one in possession of the cup will be my slave. As for the rest of you, go in peace to your father!
18 But then Judah stepped up to Joseph and begged him for mercy.
Judah: O, my lord, let your servant please speak a private word to you. Please don’t be angry with me, for you are just like Pharaoh himself. 19 You asked us once if we had a father or a brother, 20 and we told you, “Yes. We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him dearly.” 21 Then you told us to bring the boy down to you, so that you could see him. 22 At first we said to you, “The boy cannot leave his father because his father would die without him,” 23 but you told us that unless he came with us, you wouldn’t agree to see us again.
24 When we went back to your servant, our father, we told him what you said, my lord. 25 And when our father asked us to go again to buy more food, 26 we told him, “We cannot go without our youngest brother, or we won’t be able to get in to see him.” So our youngest brother came with us. 27 Then your servant, my father, responded, “You know that my wife Rachel bore me two sons: 28 one went off and never came back, and I know he was without a doubt torn to pieces. I haven’t seen him since he left. 29 But now if you take my youngest also from me and any harm should come to him, the sorrow would kill me. I can’t allow you to condemn this old, gray head to the grave.”
30-31 So now if I go back to your servant, my father, without the boy, he will die because his life depends completely on the welfare of his boy. As soon as he sees that Benjamin is not with us, the sorrow will kill him and we, your servants, will condemn the old, gray head of our father, your servant, to the grave. 32 I gave my father my word that I would take care of the boy and return him safely home. I told him, “If I don’t bring him back to you in one piece, then I am perfectly willing to bear the blame forever.” 33 So please let me, your servant, remain as your slave in place of the boy; and let him go back with his brothers. 34 For how can I go back to my father without the boy? I couldn’t stand to see the terrible suffering this would put him through.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.