Genesis 44

vayetsav et-asher al-beto lemor malle et-amtekhot ha'anashim okhel ka'asher yukhelun se'et vesim kesef-ish befi amtakhto

Then he instructed his house steward as follows, “Fill the men’s bags with food, as much as they can carry, and put each one’s money in the mouth of his bag.

ve'et-gevi'i gevia hakkesef tasim befi amtakhat haqqaton ve'et kesef shivro vayya'as kidvar yosef asher dibber

Put my silver goblet in the mouth of the bag of the youngest one, together with his money for the rations.” And he did as Joseph told him.

habboqer or veha'anashim shullekhu hemmah vakhamorehem

With the first light of morning, the men were sent off with their pack animals.

hem yatse'u et-ha'ir lo hirkhiqu veyosef amar la'asher al-beto qum redof akhare ha'anashim vehissagtam ve'amarta alehem lammah shillamtem ra'ah takhat tovah

They had just left the city and had not gone far, when Joseph said to his house steward, “Up, go after those men! And when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why did you repay good with evil?

halo zeh asher yishteh adoni bo vehu nakhesh yenakhesh bo hare'otem asher asitem

It is the very one from which my master drinks and that he uses for divination. It was a wicked thing for you to do!’”

vayyassigem vayedabber alehem et-haddevarim ha'elleh

He overtook them and spoke those words to them.

vayyomeru elayw lammah yedabber adoni kaddevarim ha'elleh khalilah la'avadekha me'asot kaddavar hazzeh

And they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything of the kind!

hen kesef asher matsanu befi amtekhotenu heshivonu elekha me'erets kena'an ve'ekh nignov mibbet adonekha kesef o zahav

Here we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money that we found in the mouths of our bags. How then could we have stolen any silver or gold from your master’s house!

asher yimmatse itto me'avadekha vamet vegam-anakhnu nihyeh ladoni la'avadim

Whichever of your servants it is found with shall die; the rest of us, moreover, shall become slaves to my lord.”

vayyomer gam-attah khedivrekhem ken-hu asher yimmatse itto yihyeh-lli aved ve'attem tihyu neqiyyim

He replied, “Although what you are proposing is right, only the one with whom it is found shall be my slave; but the rest of you shall go free.”

vayemaharu vayyoridu ish et-amtakhto aretsah vayyiftekhu ish amtakhto

So each one hastened to lower his bag to the ground, and each one opened his bag.

vayekhappes baggadol hekhel uvaqqaton killah vayyimmatse haggavia be'amtakhat binyamin

He searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and the goblet turned up in Benjamin’s bag.

vayyiqre'u simlotam vayya'amos ish al-khamoro vayyashuvu ha'irah

At this they rent their clothes. Each reloaded his pack animal, and they returned to the city.

vayyavo yehudah ve'ekhayw betah yosef vehu odennu sham vayyippelu lefanayw aretsah

When Judah and his brothers reentered the house of Joseph, who was still there, they threw themselves on the ground before him.

vayyomer lahem yosef mah-hamma'aseh hazzeh asher asitem halo yedatem ki-nakhesh yenakhesh ish asher kamoni

Joseph said to them, “What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me practices divination?”

vayyomer yehudah mah-nnomar ladoni mah-nnedabber umah-nnitstaddaq ha'elohim matsa et-avon avadekha hinnennu avadim ladoni gam-anakhnu gam asher-nimtsa haggavia beyado

Judah replied, “What can we say to my lord? How can we plead, how can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered the crime of your servants. Here we are, then, slaves of my lord, the rest of us as much as the one in whose possession the goblet was found.”

vayyomer khalilah li me'asot zot ha'ish asher nimtsa haggavia beyado hu yihyeh-lli aved ve'attem alu leshalom el-avikhem

But he replied, “Far be it from me to act thus! Only the man in whose possession the goblet was found shall be my slave; the rest of you go back in peace to your father.”

vayyiggash elayw yehudah vayyomer bi adoni yedabber-na avdekha davar be'ozne adoni ve'al-yikhar appekha be'avdekha ki khamokha kefaroh

Then Judah went up to him and said, “Please, my lord, let your servant appeal to my lord, and do not be impatient with your servant, you who are the equal of Pharaoh.

adoni sha'al et-avadayw lemor hayesh-lakhem av o-akh

My lord asked his servants, ‘Have you a father or another brother?’

vannomer el-adoni yesh-lanu av zaqen veyeled zequnim qatan ve'akhiv met vayyivvater hu levaddo le'immo ve'aviv ahevo

We told my lord, ‘We have an old father, and there is a child of his old age, the youngest; his full brother is dead, so that he alone is left of his mother, and his father dotes on him.’

vattomer el-avadekha horiduhu elay ve'asimah eni alayw

Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set eyes on him.’

vannomer el-adoni lo-yukhal hanna'ar la'azov et-aviv ve'azav et-aviv vamet

We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he were to leave him, his father would die.’

vattomer el-avadekha im-lo yered akhikhem haqqaton ittekhem lo tosifun lirot panay

But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, do not let me see your faces.’

vayehi ki alinu el-avdekha avi vannagged-lo et divre adoni

When we came back to your servant my father, we reported my lord’s words to him.

vayyomer avinu shuvu shivru-lanu me'at-okhel

“Later our father said, ‘Go back and procure some food for us.’

vannomer lo nukhal laredet im-yesh akhinu haqqaton ittanu veyaradnu ki-lo nukhal lirot pene ha'ish ve'akhinu haqqaton enennu ittanu

We answered, ‘We cannot go down; only if our youngest brother is with us can we go down, for we may not show our faces to the man unless our youngest brother is with us.’

vayyomer avdekha avi elenu attem yedatem ki shenayim yaledah-lli ishti

Your servant my father said to us, ‘As you know, my wife bore me two sons.

vayyetse ha'ekhad me'itti va'omar akh tarof toraf velo re'itiv ad-hennah

But one is gone from me, and I said: Alas, he was torn by a beast! And I have not seen him since.

uleqakhtem gam-et-zeh me'im panay veqarahu ason vehoradtem et-sevati bera'ah she'olah

If you take this one from me, too, and he meets with disaster, you will send my white head down to Sheol in sorrow.’

ve'attah kevo'i el-avdekha avi vehanna'ar enennu ittanu venafsho qeshurah venafsho

“Now, if I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us—since his own life is so bound up with his—

vehayah kiroto ki-en hanna'ar vamet vehoridu avadekha et-sevat avdekha avinu beyagon she'olah

when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will send the white head of your servant our father down to Sheol in grief.

ki avdekha arav et-hanna'ar me'im avi lemor im-lo avi'ennu elekha vekhatati le'avi kol-hayyamim

Now your servant has pledged himself for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I shall stand guilty before my father forever.’

ve'attah yeshev-na avdekha takhat hanna'ar eved ladoni vehanna'ar ya'al im-ekhayw

Therefore, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go back with his brothers.

ki-ekh e'eleh el-avi vehanna'ar enennu itti pen ereh vara asher yimtsa et-avi

For how can I go back to my father unless the boy is with me? Let me not be witness to the woe that would overtake my father!”