Benjamin and the Silver Cup

1And Ioseph commaunded the ruler of his house, and sayde: Fyll the mens sackes with foode, as moch as they maye carye, 2and put euery mans money in his sacke mouth, & put my syluer cuppe in the sack mouth of the yongest with the money for ye vytayles. He dyd as Ioseph had sayde. 3And on the morow whan it was daye, they let ye men go with their Asses. 4But whan they were out of the cite, and not come farre, Ioseph sayde to the ruler of his house: Vp, and folowe after the me, and whan thou ouertakest them, saie vnto them: Wherfore haue ye rewarded euell for good? 5Is not that it, that my lorde drynketh out of? and that he prophecieth withall? It is euell done of you, that ye haue done.

6And whan he had ouertaken them, he sayde the same wordes vnto them. 7They answered him: Wherfore saieth my lorde soch wordes? God forbyd, that thy seruauntes shulde do eny soch thinge? 8Beholde, the money that we foude in oure sackes mouthes, that brought we vnto the agayne, out of the lande of Canaan: how shulde we then haue stollen either syluer or golde out of thy lordes house? 9Loke by whom it shall be founde amonge thy seruauntes, let him dye: yee and we also wyll be my lordes bondmen. 10He sayde: let it so be, as ye haue spoken. Loke by whom it shall be founde, let him be my seruaunt, but ye shalbe harmlesse. 11And they made haist, and toke downe euery man his sack to the grounde, and euery man opened his sack: 12And he searched & beganne at the greatest vnto the yongest, and the cuppe was founde in Ben Iamins sacke. 13Then rente they their clothes, and euery man lade the burthen vpon his Asse, & wente agayne vnto the cite.

14And Iuda wente with his brethren vnto Iosephs house (for he was there yet) and they fell before him on the groude. 15Ioseph sayde vnto them: What maner of dede is this, that ye haue done? Knewe ye not, that soch a man as I am, can prophecy? 16Iuda sayde: What shall we saye vnto my lorde? or how shal we speake? and what excuse shal we make? God hath founde out ye wickednesse of thy seruauntes. Beholde, we and he, by whom the cuppe is founde, are my lordes seruauntes. 17But he sayde: God forbyd that I shulde do so. The man by whom the cuppe is founde, shall by my seruaunt, but go ye vp in peace vnto youre father.

Judah Pleads for Benjamin

18The stepte Iuda vnto him, and sayde: My lorde, let thy seruaunt speake one worde in thine eares my lorde, be not displesed at yi seruaunt also, for thou art eue as Pharao. 19My lorde axed his seruauntes, and sayde: Haue ye yet a father or brother? 20Then answered we: We haue a father, which is olde, and a yonge lad begotten in his age, and his brother is deed, & he is left alone of his mother, and his father loueth him. 21Then saydest thou: Brynge him downe vnto me, and I wil se him. 22But we answered my lorde: The lad can not come from his father, yf he shulde come from him, he were but a deed man. 23Then saydest thou vnto thy seruauntes: Yf youre yongest brother come not hither with you, ye shall se my face nomore. 24Then wente we vp vnto thy seruaunt my father, and tolde him my lordes wordes. 25Then sayde oure father: Go youre waye agayne, and bye vs a litle foode. 26But we sayde: We can not go downe, excepte oure yongest brother be with vs, then wyll we go downe: for we darre not loke the man in the face, yf oure yongest brother be not with vs. 27Then sayde thy seruaunt my father vnto vs: Ye knowe that my wife bare me two sonnes, 28one wente out fro me, and I sayde: he is torne in peces. 29Yf ye take this fro me also, and eny mysfortune happe him, then shal ye brynge my gray heer with sorowe downe vnto the graue. 30Yf I now come home vnto my father, & the lad be not with me (seynge his soule hangeth by the soule of this) 31then shall it come to passe, that yf he se not the lad there, he shal dye. So shal we thy seruauntes brynge the gray heer of thy seruaunt oure father with sorowe downe to the graue. 32For I thy seruaunt became suertye for the lad vnto my father, and sayde: yf I brynge him not agayne, I will beare the blame all my lyfe longe. 33Therfore let thy seruaunt byde here in steade of ye lad, to be my lordes bonde man, and let the lad go vp with his brethren. 34For how can I go vp vnto my father, yf the lad be not with me? Then shulde I se the mysery that shulde happen vnto my father.