Genesis 44 Parallel Bible Translations

Genesis 44 ▼
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1 Later, Joseph commanded his palace manager, |Fill the men's sacks to full capacity with food and replace each man's money at the top of the sack. Then he commanded the steward of his house, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, Now 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.
2 Then place my cup—the silver one—in the top of the sack belonging to the youngest one, along with the money he brought to buy grain.| So the manager did precisely what Joseph told him to do. and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him. Then 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.
3 Early the next morning, the men were sent on their way, along with their donkeys. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.
4 They had not traveled far from the city when Joseph ordered his palace manager, |Get up, follow those men, and when you've caught up with them, ask them, 'Why did you repay evil for good? They 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? They 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?
5 Don't you have the cup that my master uses to drink from and also uses to practice divination? You're wrong to have done this.'| Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.’” Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’”
6 So he went after them and made that accusation. When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words. When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them.
7 |Your Excellency,| they replied, |Why do you speak like this? Far be it from your servants to act like this. They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that!
8 Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money that we found at the top of our sacks. How, then, could we have stolen silver or gold from your master's palace? Behold, 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? We 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?
9 Go ahead and execute whichever one of your servants is discovered to have it, and we'll remain as your master's slaves.| Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord’s servants.” If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”
10 |Agreed,| he responded. |Just as you've said, the one who is found to have it in his possession will become my slave, and the rest of you will be innocent.| He 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.” “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.”
11 So they quickly dismounted, unloaded their sacks onto the ground, and each one of them opened his own sack. Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it.
12 The palace manager searched for the cup, beginning with the oldest brother's sack and ending with the youngest brother's sack, and there it was!—in Benjamin's sack. And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
13 At this, they all tore their clothes, reloaded their donkeys, and returned to the city. Then they tore their clothes, and every man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city. At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.
14 Joseph was waiting for them back at his palace when his brothers returned. They fell to the ground in front of him, When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him.
15 and Joseph asked them, |Why did you do this? Don't you know that I'm an expert at divination?| Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?” Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?”
16 |What can we say, Your Excellency?| Judah replied. |How can we explain this or justify ourselves? God has discovered the sin of your servants, and now we've become slaves to you, Your Excellency, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been discovered.| And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.” “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.”
17 |Far be it from me to do this,| Joseph responded. |The man in whose possession the cup was discovered will be my slave, but the rest of you may leave in peace to be with your father.| But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.” But 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.”
18 But Judah approached him and begged him, |Your Excellency, please allow your servant to speak to you privately. Please don't be angry with your servant, since you are equal to Pharaoh. Then Judah went up to him and said, “Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. Then 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.
19 Your Excellency asked his servants, 'Do you have a father or brother?' My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?’ My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
20 and we answered Your Excellency, 'We have an aged father and a younger child who was born when he was old. His brother is now dead, so he's the only surviving son of his mother. His father loves him.' And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’ And 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.’
21 |But then you ordered your servants, 'Bring him here to me so I can see him for myself.' Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’ “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’
22 So we told Your Excellency, 'The young man cannot leave his father, because if he were to do so, his father would die.' We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’
23 But then you told your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes back with you, you won't see my face again.' Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’ But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’
24 Later on, after we had gone back to your servant, my father, we told him what Your Excellency had said. “When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.
25 |'Go back,' our father ordered, 'and buy us a little food.' And when our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food,’ “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’
26 |But we told him, 'We can't go back there. If our youngest brother accompanies us, we'll go back, but we cannot see the man's face again unless our youngest brother accompanies us.' we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ But 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.’
27 |Then your servant, our father, told us, 'You know my wife bore me two sons. Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. “Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.
28 One of them left me, so I concluded |I'm certain that he has been torn to pieces,| and I haven't seen him since then. One left me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have never seen him since. One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since.
29 If you take this one from me, too, and then something harmful happens to him, then it will be death for me and my sad, gray hair!' If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.’ If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’
30 |So when I go back to your servant, my father, and the young man isn't with us, since he's constantly living life focused on his son, “Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy’s life, “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,
31 when he notices that the young man hasn't come back with us, he'll die, and your servants really will have brought death to your servant, our father, along with his sad, gray hair! as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. sees 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.
32 Also, your servant pledged his own life as a guarantee of the young man's safety. I told my father, 'If I don't bring him back to you, you can blame me forever.' For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’ Your 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!’
33 Therefore, please allow your servant to remain as a slave to Your Excellency, instead of the young man, and let the young man go back home with his brothers. Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. “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.
34 After all, how can I go back to my father if the young man doesn't accompany me? I'm afraid of what might happen to my father.| For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.” How 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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