7. They answered, “The man kept asking about us and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother? ’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’? ”
8. Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me. We will be on our way so that we may live and not die — neither we, nor you, nor our children.
9. I will be responsible for him. You can hold me personally accountable! If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, I will be guilty before you forever.
10. If we had not wasted time, we could have come back twice by now.”
11. Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and take them down to the man as a gift — some balsam and some honey, aromatic gum and resin, pistachios and almonds.
12. Take twice as much money with you. Return the money that was returned to you in the top of your bags. Perhaps it was a mistake.
13. Take your brother also, and go back at once to the man.
14. May God Almighty cause the man to be merciful to you so that he will release your other brother and Benjamin to you. As for me, if I am deprived of my sons, then I am deprived.”
15. The men took this gift, double the amount of money, and Benjamin. They made their way down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
16. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his steward, “Take the men to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for they will eat with me at noon.”
17. The man did as Joseph had said and brought them to Joseph’s house.
18. But the men were afraid because they were taken to Joseph’s house. They said, “We have been brought here because of the money that was returned in our bags the first time. They intend to overpower us, seize us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys.”
19. So they approached Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the doorway of the house.
20. They said, “Sir, we really did come down here the first time only to buy food.
21. When we came to the place where we lodged for the night and opened our bags of grain, each one’s money was at the top of his bag! It was the full amount of our money, and we have brought it back with us.
22. We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our money in the bags.”