Through My Bible Year 03 – April 23

genesis 44

¹ Joseph ordered the manager of his household, “Fill these men’s bags with as much food as they can carry. Put each person’s money in the mouth of his bag. ² Put my silver bowl, along with the grain money, in the mouth of the younger one’s bag.” The manager did exactly what Joseph told him to do.

³ As soon as the morning dawned, the people were sent on their way with their donkeys. ⁴ When they had left the city and were not far away, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up and pursue these men. When you catch them, ask them, ‘Why have you exchanged evil for good?’ ⁵ Is this not the cup from which my Lord drinks and uses it to foretell the future? By doing this you have done wrong.” ⁶ The steward caught hold of him and spoke these words to him.

⁷ They answered him, “Why does my master say such things? Your servants would never do such a thing!” ⁸ The money that we found in the mouths of our bags, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Then why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? ⁹ If your cup is found with any of your servants, let him be killed, and we too will become slaves of our lord.

¹⁰ He said, “Okay, it will be as you have said. If anyone is found with it, he will be my slave, and the rest of you will be innocent.”

¹¹ Then every man immediately dropped his bag on the ground, and every man opened his bag. ¹² The manager searched starting from the largest to the smallest and the cup was found in Benjamin’s bag. ¹³ Then they tore their clothes, loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.

¹⁴ When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell on the ground in front of him. ¹⁵ Joseph said to them, “What did you think you were doing? Did you not know that a man like me could discover things by prophecy?”

¹⁶ Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we say? How can we purify ourselves? God has exposed the guilt of your servants. Here we are. We are both my lord’s servants, and he also is the one in whose hand the cup was found.”

¹⁷ Joseph said, “I would never do that. The man in whose hand the cup is found will be my servant, but the rest of you should go to your father in peace.”

¹⁸ Then Judah came to him and said, My lord, let your servant speak directly to my lord. Let your anger not be kindled against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh. ¹⁹ My master asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ We said to our Lord, ‘Our father is old and has a child in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is left alone with his mother, and his father loves him.’ ²¹ You said to your servants, ‘Bring him to me, so that I may see him with my own eyes.’ ²² We said to our Lord, ‘A boy cannot leave his father, because if he leaves his father, his father will die.’ ²³ You said to your servants, ‘You will never see my face again until your younger brother comes with you.’ ²⁴ And it came to pass that when we came to your servant, my father, we told him about the words of our Lord. ²⁵ Our father said, ‘Go then. Buy some food for us.’ ²⁶ We said, ‘We can’t go down. If our youngest brother is with us, we will go down, because unless our youngest brother is with us, we cannot see his face.’ ²⁷ Your servant my father said to us, You know that my wife has given birth to two sons for me. ²⁸ He walked past me and I said, “I’m sure he’s blown to pieces,” and I haven’t seen him since. ²⁹ If you snatch this also from me, and calamity befalls him, you will send my gray hair to the grave with sorrow.’ ³⁰ So now when I come to my father your servant, and the boy is no longer with us, because my father’s life is bound to the boy’s life, ³¹ When he sees that the boy is no more, he will die. Your servant, our father, will cast down your servant into the grave with sorrow because of gray hair. ³² Because your servant became surety for that boy for my father. I said, ‘If I don’t bring him to you, I will bear the blame of my father forever.’ ³³ Therefore please let your servant remain as my lord’s slave instead of the boy, and let the boy go to his brothers. ³⁴ How will I go to my father if the boy is not with me? How can I see the disaster coming on my father?”