| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. | 1Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: "Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man's silver in the mouth of his sack. |
| 2And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. | 2Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the silver for his grain." And he did as Joseph said. |
| 3As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. | 3As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. |
| 4And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? | 4They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, "Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid good with evil? |
| 5Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. | 5Isn't this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.'" |
| 6And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. | 6When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. |
| 7And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing: | 7But they said to him, "Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! |
| 8Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold? | 8We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house? |
| 9With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen. | 9If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord's slaves." |
| 10And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless. | 10"Very well, then," he said, "let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame." |
| 11Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. | 11Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. |
| 12And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. | 12Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. |
| 13Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city. | 13At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city. |
| 14And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground. | 14Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. |
| 15And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? | 15Joseph said to them, "What is this you have done? Don't you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?" |
| 16And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. | 16"What can we say to my lord?" Judah replied. "What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants' guilt. We are now my lord's slaves--we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup." |
| 17And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. | 17But Joseph said, "Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace." |
| 18Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. | 18Then Judah went up to him and said: "Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. |
| 19My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? | 19My lord asked his servants, 'Do you have a father or a brother?' |
| 20And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. | 20And we answered, 'We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother's sons left, and his father loves him.' |
| 21And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. | 21"Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.' |
| 22And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die. | 22And we said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.' |
| 23And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. | 23But you told your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.' |
| 24And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. | 24When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said. |
| 25And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. | 25"Then our father said, 'Go back and buy a little more food.' |
| 26And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us. | 26But we said, 'We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.' |
| 27And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: | 27"Your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons. |
| 28And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since: | 28One of them went away from me, and I said, "He has surely been torn to pieces." And I have not seen him since. |
| 29And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. | 29If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.' |
| 30Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life; | 30"So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy's life, |
| 31It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. | 31sees that the boy isn't there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. |
| 32For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever. | 32Your servant guaranteed the boy's safety to my father. I said, 'If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!' |
| 33Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. | 33"Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord's slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. |
| 34For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father. | 34How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father." |
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