Bereshis 44
44
1And he commanded the ish over Bais Yosef, saying, Fill the sacks of the anashim with ochel, as much as they can carry, and put kesef ish in the mouth of his sack.
2And put my cup, gevi'a hakesef (cup of silver), in the mouth of the sack of the katon, and his kesef for shever (grain). And he did according to the davar Yosef had spoken.
3As soon as the boker ohr, the anashim were sent away, they and their chamorim.
4And when they were gone out of the ir, and not yet far off, Yosef said unto the ish over Bais Yosef, Up, follow after the anashim; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded ra'ah for tovah?
5Is not this it in which adoni drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? Ye have done ra'ah in so doing.
6And he overtook them, and he spoke unto them these same devarim.
7And they said unto him, Wherefore saith adoni these words? Chalilah (far be it) that thy avadim should do according to this thing;
8Hinei, the kesef, which we found in the mouth of our sacks, we brought back unto thee out of Eretz Kena'an; how then should we be ganavim stealing kesef or zahav out of the bais adoneicha?
9With whomsoever of thy avadim it be found, both let him die, and we also will be avadim of adoni.
10And he said, Now also let it be according unto your devarim; he with whom it is found shall be to me eved; and ye shall be nekiyim (blameless).
11Then they speedily took down every ish his sack to the ground, and opened every ish his sack.
12And he searched, and began at the gadol (eldest), and ended at the katon (youngest); and the gevi'a (cup, goblet) was found in the sack of Binyamin.
13Then they tore their garments, and loaded every ish his chamor, and returned to the ir.
14And Yehudah and his achim came to Bais Yosef; for he was yet there; and they fell before him on the ground.
15And Yosef said unto them, What ma'aseh (deed) is this that ye have done? Know ye not that an ish like me can find things out as a menachesh (diviner)?
16And Yehudah said, What shall we say unto adoni? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? HaElohim hath found out the avon (iniquity) of thy avadim; look at us, we are now avadim la'adoni, both we, and he also with whom the gevi'a (cup) is found.
17And he [Yosef] said, Chalilah that I should do so; but the ish in whose yad the gevi'a is found, he shall be to me eved; and as for you, go back in shalom unto avichem.
[VAYIGGASH]
18Then Yehudah came near unto him, and said, Oh, adoni, let thy eved speak now a davar in oznei adoni, and let not thine anger burn against thy eved; for thou art even like Pharaoh.
19Adoni asked his avadim, saying, Have ye an av, or an ach?
20And we said unto adoni, We have an av, a zaken, and a yeled zekunim katan (child of his old age, a little one); and achiv is dead, and he alone is left of immo, and aviv loveth him.
21And thou saidst unto thy avadim, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.
22And we said unto adoni, The na'ar cannot leave aviv; for if he should leave aviv, aviv would die.
23And thou saidst unto thy avadim, Except achichem hakaton (your youngest brother) come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.
24And it came to pass when we came up unto thy eved Avi we told him the divrei adoni.
25And avinu said, Shuvu, (go back, return) and buy us a little ochel.
26And we said, We cannot go down; if achinu hakaton (our youngest brother) be with us, then will we go down; for we may not see the face of HaIsh, except achinu hakaton be with us.
27And thy eved Avi said unto us, Ye know that my wife bore me two banim;
28And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn to pieces; and I saw him not ad-hennah (until now);
29And if ye take this also from me, and ason (evil, harm) befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hair in ra'ah (misery) to Sheol.
30Now therefore when I come to thy eved Avi, and the na'ar be not with us; seeing that his nefesh is bound up in the nefesh of the na'ar;
31It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the na'ar is not with us, that he will die; and thy avadim shall bring down the gray hair of thy eved avinu with yagon (sorrow) to Sheol,
32For thy eved became surety for the na'ar unto Avi, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame before Avi kol hayamim.
33Therefore, let thy eved, now, abide instead of the na'ar, an eved to adoni; and let the na'ar go up with his achim.
34For how shall I go up to Avi, and the na'ar be not with me? Lest I see the rah that would overtake Avi.
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Bereshis 44: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Genesis 44
44
1 Then Joseph instructed the steward of his house, saying: "Fill their sacks with grain, as much as they are able to hold. And place each one's money at the top of the sack.
2 But place my silver bowl, and the price that he gave for the wheat, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest." And so it was done.
3 And when morning arose, they were sent away with their donkeys.
4 And now they had departed from the city and had set out a short distance. Then Joseph, sending for the steward of his house, said: "Rise up and pursue the men. And when you have overtaken them, say: 'Why have you returned evil for good?
5 The cup that you have stolen, it is that from which my lord drinks, and in which he is accustomed to discern signs. You have done a very sinful thing.' "
6 He did as he had been ordered. And having overtaken them, he spoke to them according to the order.
7 And they responded: "Why does our lord speak in this way, as though your servants had committed such a shameful act?
8 The money, which we found at the top of our sacks, we carried back to you from the land of Canaan. So in what way does it follow that we would steal, from the house of your lord, gold or silver?
9 Whichever of your servants will be found to have what you seek, may he die, and we shall be the servants of my lord."
10 And he said to them: "Let it be according to your verdict. With whomever it will be found, let him be my servant, but you will be unharmed."
11 And so, they quickly placed their sacks down to the ground, and each one was opened.
12 And when he had searched, beginning with the oldest, all the way to the youngest, he found the cup in Benjamin's sack.
13 But they, tearing their garments and burdening their donkeys again, returned to the town.
14 And Judah, first among his brothers, entered to Joseph (for he had not yet departed from the place) and together they all fell down before him to the ground.
15 And he said to them: "Why would you choose to act in this way? Could you be ignorant that there is no one like me in the knowledge of discerning signs?"
16 And Judah said to him, "What could we answer to my lord? And what would we be able to say, or to justly claim? God has discovered the iniquity of your servants. See, we have all become servants to my lord, both we, and he with whom the cup was found."
17 Joseph responded: "Far be it from me that I should act in this way. He who stole the cup, he will be my servant. But you may go away free to your father."
18 Then Judah, approaching closer, said confidently: "I beg you, my lord, let your servant speak a word in your ears, and do not be angry with your servant. For you are next to Pharaoh.
19 My lord, you questioned your servants before: 'Do you have a father or a brother?'
20 And we answered you, my lord: 'There is our father, an old man, and a young boy, who was born in his old age. His brother of the same womb has died, and he alone is left to his mother and father, who truly love him tenderly.'
21 And you said to your servants, 'Bring him to me, and I will set my eyes on him.'
22 We suggested to my lord: 'The boy is not able to leave his father. For if he sends him away, he will die.'
23 And you said to your servants: 'Unless your youngest brother arrives with you, you will not see my face any more.'
24 Therefore, when we had gone up to your servant our father, we explained to him all that my lord had spoken.
25 And our father said: 'Return and buy us a little wheat.'
26 And we said to him: 'We cannot go. If our youngest brother descends with us, we will set out together. Otherwise, in his absence, we do not dare to see the face of the man.'
27 To which he responded: 'You know that my wife conceived twice by me.
28 One went out, and you said, "A beast devoured him." And since then, he has not appeared.
29 If you take this one also, and anything happens to him on the way, you will lead my grey hairs down with grief to the grave.'
30 Therefore, if I would have gone to your servant, our father, with the boy not present, (though his life depends upon the life of him)
31 and if he were to see that he is not with us, he would die, and your servants will lead his grey hairs down with sorrow to the grave.
32 Let me be your very own servant, for I accepted this one into my trust, and I promised, saying: 'Unless I lead him back, I will be guilty of a sin against my father for all time.'
33 And so I, your servant, will remain in place of the boy, in ministry to my lord, and then let the boy go up with his brothers.
34 For I cannot return to my father without the boy, lest I appear as a witness to the calamity that will oppress my father."
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