16. Judah said, “Sir, there is nothing we can say. There is no way to explain. There is no way to show that we are not guilty. God has judged us guilty for something else we have done. So all of us, even Benjamin, will be your slaves.”
17. But Joseph said, “I will not make you all slaves! Only the man who stole the cup will be my slave. You others can go in peace to your father.”
18. Then Judah went to Joseph and said, “Sir, please let me speak plainly with you. Please don’t be angry with me. I know that you are like Pharaoh himself.
19. When we were here before, you asked us, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
20. And we answered you, ‘We have a father—he is an old man. And we have a younger brother. Our father loves him because he was born while our father was old. This youngest son’s brother is dead, so he is the only son who is left from that mother. Our father loves him very much.’
21. Then you said to us, ‘Bring that brother to me. I want to see him.’
22. And we said to you, ‘That young boy cannot come. He cannot leave his father. If his father loses him, his father will be so sad that he will die.’
23. But you said to us, ‘You must bring your youngest brother, or I will not sell you grain again.’
24. So we went back to our father and told him what you said.
25. “Later, our father said, ‘Go back and buy us some more food.’
26. We said to our father, ‘We cannot go without our youngest brother. The governor said he will not sell us grain again until he sees our youngest brother.’
27. Then my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife Rachel gave me two sons.