Wayfinding Bible - Flipbook - Page 74
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Genesis 45
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
Joseph 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
Judah 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.”
JUDAH SPEAKS FOR HIS BROTHERS
Then Ju
dah 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.’
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 c omes to
18
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, white-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
Id
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!”
JOSEPH REVEALS HIS IDENTITY
45
Joseph 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 Pha
raoh’s palace.
3
“I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is
my father still alive?” But his brothers were
speechless! They were stunned to realize that
Joseph was standing there in front of them.
4
“Please, come closer,” he said to them. So
they came closer. And he said again, “I am Jo
seph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. 5 But d
on’t be upset, and d
on’t
be angry with yourselves for selling me to this
place. It was God who sent me here ahead of
you to preserve your lives. 6 This famine that
has ravaged the land for two years will last five
more years, and there will be neither plowing
nor harvesting. 7 God has sent me ahead of you
to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.* 8 So it was God who sent
me here, not you! And he is the one who made
me an adviser* to Pharaoh—the manager of his
entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.
9
“Now hurry back to my father and tell him,
‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has
made me master over all the land of Egypt. So
come down to me immediately! 10 You can live in
the region of Goshen, where you can be near me
with all your children and grandchildren, your
flocks and herds, and everything you own. 11 I
will take care of you there, for there are still five
years of famine ahead of us. Otherwise you, your
household, and all your animals will starve.’”
12
Then Joseph added, “Look! You can see for
yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin,
44:29 Hebrew to Sheol; also in 44:31. 45:7 Or and to save you with
an extraordinary rescue. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
45:8 Hebrew a father.
