One Year Pray for America Bible - Flipbook - Page 93
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thing! 8 Didn’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? 9 If 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.”
10 “That’s fair,” the man replied.
“But only the one who stole the cup
will be my slave. The rest of you may
go free.”
11 They all quickly took their sacks
from the backs of their donkeys and
opened them. 12 The palace manager
searched the brothers’ sacks, from the
oldest to the youngest. And the cup
was found in Benjamin’s sack! 13 When
the brothers saw this, they tore their
clothing in despair. Then they loaded
their donkeys again and returned to
the city.
14 Jo
seph was still in his palace
when Judah and his brothers arrived,
and they fell to the ground before him.
15 “What have you done?” Joseph demanded. “Don’t you know that a man
like me can predict the future?”
16 Ju
dah answered, “Oh, my lord,
what can we say to you? How can we
explain this? How can we prove our innocence? God is punishing us for our
sins. My lord, we have all returned to
be your slaves—all of us, not just our
brother who had your cup in his sack.”
17 “No,” Joseph said. “I would never
do such a thing! Only the man who
stole the cup will be my slave. The
rest of you may go back to your father
in peace.”
18 Then Judah stepped forward and
said, “Please, my lord, let your servant
say just one word to you. Please, do
not be angry with me, even though you
are as powerful as Pharaoh himself.
19 “My lord, previously you asked us,
your servants, ‘Do you have a father or
a brother?’ 20 And we responded, ‘Yes,
my lord, we have a father who is an old
man, and his youngest son is a child
of his old age. His full brother is dead,
and he alone is left of his mother’s
children, and his father loves him very
much.’
January 22
21 “And
you said to us, ‘Bring him
here so I can see him with my own
eyes.’ 22 But we said to you, ‘My lord,
the boy cannot leave his father, for his
father would die.’ 23 But you told us,
‘Unless your youngest brother c omes
with you, you will never see my face
again.’
24 “So we returned to your servant,
our father, and told him what you had
said. 25 Later, when he said, ‘Go back
again and buy us more food,’ 26 we
replied, ‘We can’t go unless you let
our youngest brother go with us. We’ll
never get to see the man’s face unless
our youngest brother is with us.’
27 “Then my father said to us, ‘As you
know, my wife had two sons, 28 and
one of them went away and never returned. Doubtless he was torn to pieces
by some wild animal. I have never
seen him since. 29 Now if you take his
brother away from me, and any harm
comes to him, you will send this grieving, white-haired man to his grave.*’
30 “And now, my lord, I cannot go
back to my father without the boy. Our
father’s life is bound up in the boy’s
life. 31 If he sees that the boy is not with
us, our father will die. We, your servants, will indeed be responsible for
sending that grieving, w
hite-haired
man to his grave. 32 My lord, I guaranteed to my father that I would take
care of the boy. I told him, ‘If I d
on’t
bring him back to you, I will bear the
blame forever.’
33 “So please, my lord, let me stay
here as a slave instead of the boy, and
let the boy return with his brothers.
34 For how can I return to my father if
the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear
to see the anguish this would cause
my father!”
45:1 Jo
seph
could stand it no longer.
There were many people in the room,
and he said to his attendants, “Out,
all of you!” So he was alone with his
brothers when he told them who he
was. 2 Then he broke down and wept.
He wept so loudly the Egyptians could
hear him, and word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh’s palace.
