7. They said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing as this.
8. Look, the money we found in the opening of our bags, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. So how could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?
9. Whoever among your servants is found with it, let him die! And we, we’ll also be my lord’s slaves.”
10. “Even now let it be according to your words,” he said. “The one with whom it is found shall be my slave. But the rest of you shall be innocent.”
11. Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground and each man opened his sack.
12. He searched them beginning with the eldest and finishing with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
13. Then they tore their clothing, and each one loaded up his donkey and they returned to the city.
14. When Judah and his brothers entered Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell to the ground before him.
15. “What’s this deed you’ve done?” Joseph said to them, “Didn’t you know that a man like me can discern by divination?”
16. Then Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we as well as the one in whose hand the cup was found.”
17. But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The one in whose hand the cup was found—he will be my slave. But you, go up to your father in peace.”
18. Then Judah approached him and said, “I beg your pardon, my lord. Please let your servant say a word in my lord’s ears, and don’t be angry with your servant, since you are like Pharaoh.
19. My lord asked his servants saying, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
20. So we said to my lord, ‘We have a father who is old, a child born to him of his old age is young. Now his brother is dead, so he is the only one of his mother’s children left, and his father loves him.’
21. Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so that I can look at him.’
22. But we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he were to leave his father, he would die.’
23. Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you won’t see my face again.’