Genesis 44
44
CHAPTER 44
1Forsooth Joseph commanded the dispenser of his house, and said, Fill thou their sacks with wheat, as much as they may take, and put thou the money of each in the height [or the top] of the sack;
2forsooth put thou in the sack’s mouth of the youngest my silver cup, and the price of the wheat which he gave; and it was done so.
3And when the morrowtide arose, they were delivered with their asses.
4And now they had gone out of the city, and had gone forth a little; then Joseph said, when the dispenser of his house was called, Rise thou, pursue the men, and say thou when they be taken, Why have ye yielded evil for good?
5The cup, which ye have stolen, is that in which my lord drinketh, and in which he is wont to divine; ye have done a full wicked thing.
6He did as Joseph commanded, and when they were overtaken, he spake by order these things;
7the which answered, Why speaketh our lord so, that thy servants have done so great a trespass?
8We brought again to thee from the land of Canaan the money that we found in the height [or the top] of our sacks, and how is it pursuing [or following] that we have stolen from thy lord’s house gold or silver?
9At whomever of thy servants this that thou seekest is found, die he, and we shall be servants of my lord.
10Which said to them, Be it done by your sentence; at whom it is found, be he my servant; forsooth ye shall be guiltless.
11And so they did down hastily their sacks on the earth, and all they opened them,
12the which he sought through; and he began at the most till to the least, and he found the cup in Benjamin’s sack.
13And when they had rent their clothes, and had charged again their asses, they turned again into the city.
14And Judah entered with his brethren to Joseph; for Joseph had not gone yet from the place; and all they fell together on the earth before him.
15To whom he said, Why would ye do so? whether ye wot not, that none is like me in the knowing of divining?
16To whom Judah said, What shall we answer to my lord, or what shall we speak, either what may we justly against-say? God hath found the wickedness of thy servants; lo! all we be the servants of my lord, both we and he at whom the cup is found.
17Joseph answered, Far be it from me, that I do so; he be my servant that stole the cup; forsooth go ye free to your father.
18Soothly Judah nighed near, and said trustily, My lord, I pray thee, thy servant speak a word in thine ears, and be thou not wroth to thy servant; for after Pharaoh thou art my lord.
19Thou askedest first thy servants, Have ye a father, or a brother?
20And we answered to my lord, An eld [or old] father is to us, and a little child that was born in his eld age, whose brother of the same womb is dead, and his mother hath him alone; forsooth his father loveth him tenderly.
21And thou saidest to thy servants, Bring ye him to me, and I shall set mine eyes on him.
22We made suggestion to thee, my lord, the child may not forsake his father; for if he shall leave his father, his father shall die.
23And thou saidest to thy servants, If your youngest brother shall not come down with you, ye shall no more see my face.
24Therefore when we had gone up to thy servant, our father, we told to him all things which my lord spake to us;
25and our father said, Turn ye again, and buy ye to you a little of wheat;
26to whom we said, We may not go; only if our least brother shall go down with us, we shall go forth together; else, if he is absent, we dare not see the lord’s face.
27To which things our father answered, Ye know that my wife childed two sons to me;
28one went out, and ye said, A beast [hath] devoured him, and hither-to he appeareth not;
29if ye take also this son, and anything befall to him in the way, ye shall lead forth mine hoar hairs with mourning to hells [or to hell].
30Therefore if I enter again to thy servant, our father, and the child fail to be with us, since his life hangeth of the life of the child,
31and he see that the child is not with us, he shall die, and thy servants shall lead forth his hoar hairs with sorrow to hells [or to hell].
32Be I properly thy servant, which received this child on my faith, and I promised, and said, If I shall not bring again him to thee, I shall be guilty of sin against my father in all time;
33and so I shall dwell thy servant for the child into the service of my lord, and the child go up with his brethren;
34for I may not go again to my father, if the child be absent, lest I stand a witness of the wretchedness that shall oppress my father.
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Genesis 44: WBMS
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Wycliffe’s Bible with Modern Spelling ©2017
Wycliffe’s Apocrypha ©2013, 2015
Wycliffe’s Bible © 2012, 2015
Wycliffe’s New Testament ©2001, 2011
Wycliffe’s Old Testament ©2001, 2010
Genesis 44
44
1Joseph ordered his household supervisor, “Fill the men's sacks with as much grain as they can hold and put each man's money at the top of his sack. 2Then put my special silver cup at the top of the sack of the youngest, along with the money for his grain.” He did as Joseph told him. 3At sunrise they were sent on their way with their donkeys. 4They had hardly left the city when Joseph told his household supervisor, “Go after those men, and when you catch up with them, ask them, ‘Why have you paid back good with evil by stealing my master's silver cup?#44:4. “By stealing my master's silver cup”: Septuagint addition, used for clarity. 5This is the cup he personally drinks from, and which he uses for divination.#44:5. “Divination”: a way of discovering secrets or hidden knowledge. Sometimes this is close to magic, but, in this case, it may be that Joseph is using a common superstition to cover up his plan. What you've done is really evil!’”
6When he caught up with them, he told them what Joseph had said.
7“My lord, what are you saying?” they replied. “We your servants wouldn't do anything like that! 8Remember that we brought back the money we found at the top of our sacks when we returned from Canaan. Why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house? 9If any one of us is found with it, he shall die, and all of us will become your slaves.”
10“Whatever you say,” the man replied, “but only the one found with it will become my slave since the rest of you will be free of any blame.” 11They all unloaded their sacks and put them on the ground. They each opened their own sacks. 12The household supervisor searched the sacks, beginning with the oldest and working his way down to the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin's sack. 13The brothers tore their clothes in grief. Then they loaded their sacks back on their donkeys and headed back to the city.
14Joseph was still at home when Judah and his brothers arrived, and they fell to the ground before him. 15“Why did you do this?” Joseph asked. “Don't you know a man like me can find out things through divination?”
16“My lord, what can we say?” Judah replied. “How can we explain this to you? In what way can we prove our innocence? God has exposed the guilt of your servants. My lord, we are your slaves—all of us, including the one who was found with the cup.”
17“I wouldn't do anything like that!” Joseph replied. “Only the man who was found with the cup will become my slave. The rest of you are free to return to your father.”
18Judah came closer and said to him, “If you please, my lord, let your servant just say a word. Please don't become angry with your servant, even though you are as powerful as Pharaoh himself. 19My lord, previously you asked us, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20We told you, my lord, ‘We have an elderly father, and a younger brother, born when our father was already old. The boy's brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother's children left, and his father loves him dearly.’
21Then you ordered us, ‘Bring him here to me so I can see him.’ 22We told you, ‘The boy can't leave his father; if he did, his father would die.’ 23But you told us, ‘If your youngest brother doesn't come with you, you won't see me again.’
24So when we went back to your servant, our father, we explained to him everything you had told us. 25However, later on, our father told us, ‘Go back and buy some more food.’ 26But we said, ‘There's no way we can go back unless Benjamin our youngest brother goes with us, because we won't be able to see the man if Benjamin isn't with us.’
27Then my father said to us, ‘You realize that my wife#44:27. “My wife”: referring to Rachel. Evidently Jacob considered her as his one true wife. had two sons for me. 28One is no more, ripped to pieces no doubt,#44:28. See 37:33. for I've never seen him since. 29If you take this one away from me too, and something bad happens to him, you'll send this old man to his grave in grief.’
30So if the boy isn't with us when I go back to my father, whose life depends on the life of the boy, 31as soon as he sees the boy isn't there he'll die, and we will really send this old man, our father, to his grave in grief. 32In fact I gave myself as the guarantee for the boy to my father. I told him, ‘If I don't bring him back to you, then I will always carry the blame!’
33So please let me stay here as my lord's slave instead of the boy. Let him go back home with his brothers. 34For how could I ever go back to my father if the boy wasn't with me? I couldn't stand seeing the anguish that would cause my father.”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com