Genesis 44:4-14
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 44
4They had just left the city, and were not far away, when Joseph said to his house steward, 'Up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? 5Is this not that from which my lord drinks, and which he indeed uses for divination? You have done wrong in doing this!’?'
6So he overtook them and spoke these words to them.
7And they said to him, 'Why does my lord say such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing!
8Behold, the money which we found in the opening of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?
9With whomever of your servants it is found, he shall die, and we also shall be my lord’s slaves.'
10So he said, 'Now let it indeed be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, but the rest of you shall be considered innocent.'
11Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack.
12And he searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
13Then they tore their clothes in grief, and when each man had loaded his donkey, they returned to the city.
King James Version
Chapter 44
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? 5Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. 6And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words. 7And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing: 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? 9With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen. 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. 11Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. 12And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at 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. 14And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 44
4They had not gone very far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, "Get up. Pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid evil for good? 5Isn't this the cup that my master drinks from and uses for divination? What you have done is wrong! ' "
6When he overtook them, he said these words to them.
7They said to him, "Why does my lord say these things? Your servants could not possibly do such a thing.
8We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found at the top of our bags. How could we steal silver or gold from your master's house?
9If it is found with one of us, your servants, he must die, and the rest of us will become my lord's slaves."
New Living Translation
Chapter 44
4But when they had gone only a short distance and were barely out of the city, Joseph said to his palace manager, 'Chase after them and stop them. When you catch up with them, ask them, ‘Why have you repaid my kindness with such evil? 5Why have you stolen my master’s silver cup, which he uses to predict the future? What a wicked thing you have done!’'
7What are you talking about?' the brothers responded. 'We are your servants and would never do such a thing!
8Didn’t we return the money we found in our sacks? We brought it back all the way from the land of Canaan. Why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house?
9If you find his cup with any one of us, let that man die. And all the rest of us, my lord, will be your slaves.'
11They all quickly took their sacks from the backs of their donkeys and opened them.
12The palace manager searched the brothers’ sacks, from the oldest to the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack!
13When the brothers saw this, they tore their clothing in despair. Then they loaded their donkeys again and returned to the city.
English Standard Version
Chapter 44
4They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? 5Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.’”
6When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words.
7They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing!
8Behold, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?
9Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord’s servants.”
10He said, “Let it be as you say: he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent.”
11Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack.
12And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
13Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.
New International Version
Chapter 44
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? 5Isn't this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.''
6When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them.
7But they said to him, 'Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that!
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?
9If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord's slaves.'
11Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it.
12Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
13At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.
New King James Version
Chapter 44
4When they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? 5Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.’ ”
6So he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words.
7And they said to him, “Why does my lord say these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing.
8Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?
9With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.”
10And he said, “Now also let it be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you shall be blameless.”
11Then each man speedily let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack.
12So he searched. He began with the oldest and left off with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
13Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.
