Genesis 44:15-32
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 44
15Joseph said to them, 'What is this thing that you have done? Do you not know that a man who is like me can indeed practice divination?' 16So Judah said, 'What can we say to my lord? What words can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s slaves, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been found.' 17But he said, 'Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.'
18Then Judah approached him and said, 'Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh.
19My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’
20And we said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a little boy born in our father’s old age. Now his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’
21Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so that I may set my eyes on him.’
22But we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’
23You said to your servants, however, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’
24So it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25And our father said, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’
26But we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’
27Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons;
28and the one left me, and I said, 'Surely he is torn to pieces,' and I have not seen him since.
29If you also take this one from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.’
30So now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us—since our father’s life is so attached to the boy’s life—
31when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. So your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant, our father, down to Sheol in sorrow.
32For your servant accepted responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then my father can let me take the blame forever.’
King James Version
18Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.
19My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?
20And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.
21And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.
22And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.
23And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.
24And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.
26And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.
27And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:
28And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:
29And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
30Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;
31It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
32For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.
Christian Standard Bible
18But Judah approached him and said, "My lord, please let your servant speak personally to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh.
19My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
20and we answered my lord, ‘We have an elderly father and a younger brother, the child of his old age. The boy’s brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’
21Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him to me so that I can see him.’
22But we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he were to leave, his father would die.’
23Then you said to your servants, ‘If your younger brother does not come down with you, you will not see me again.’
24"This is what happened when we went back to your servant my father: We reported to him the words of my lord.
25But our father said, ‘Go again, and buy us a little food.’
26We told him, ‘We cannot go down unless our younger brother goes with us. If our younger brother isn’t with us, we cannot see the man.’
27Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.
28One is gone from me—I said he must have been torn to pieces—and I have never seen him again.
29If you also take this one from me and anything happens to him, you will bring my gray hairs down to Sheol in sorrow.’
30"So if I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us—his life is wrapped up with the boy’s life—
31when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. Then your servants will have brought the gray hairs of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow.
32Your servant became accountable to my father for the boy, saying, ‘If I do not return him to you, I will always bear the guilt for sinning against you, my father.’
New Living Translation
Chapter 44
15What have you done?' Joseph demanded. 'Don’t you know that a man like me can predict the future?'
19My lord, previously you asked us, your servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
20And 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.’
21And you said to us, ‘Bring him here so I can see him with my own eyes.’
22But we said to you, ‘My lord, the boy cannot leave his father, for his father would die.’
23But you told us, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes with you, you will never see my face again.’
24So we returned to your servant, our father, and told him what you had said.
25Later, when he said, ‘Go back again and buy us more food,’
26we 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.’
27Then my father said to us, ‘As you know, my wife had two sons,
28and one of them went away and never returned. Doubtless he was torn to pieces by some wild animal. I have never seen him since.
29Now 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. ’
30And 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.
31If 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.
32My lord, I guaranteed to my father that I would take care of the boy. I told him, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, I will bear the blame forever.’
English Standard Version
Chapter 44
15Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?" 16And Judah said, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord 's servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found." 17But he said, "Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father."
18Then Judah went up to him and said, "Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord 's ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.
19My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?’
20And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother 's children, and his father loves him.’
21Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’
22We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’
23Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’
24"When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25And when our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food,’
26we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man 's face unless our youngest brother is with us.’
27Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.
28One left me, and I said, "Surely he has been torn to pieces," and I have never seen him since.
29If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.’
30"Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy 's life,
31as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol.
32For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’
New International Version
18Then Judah went up to him and said: "Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself.
19My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
20And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’
21"Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’
22And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’
23But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’
24When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.
25"Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’
26But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’
27"Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.
28One of them went away from me, and I said, "He has surely been torn to pieces." And I have not seen him since.
29If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’
30"So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life,
31sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow.
32Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’
New King James Version
18Then Judah came near to him and said: “O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even like Pharaoh.
19My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’
20And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, who is young; his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’
21Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’
22And we said to my lord, ‘The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’
23But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.’
24“So it was, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told him the words of my lord.
25And our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’
26But we said, ‘We cannot go down; if our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we may not see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’
27Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons;
28and the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces”; and I have not seen him since.
29But if you take this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.’
30“Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad’s life,
31it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
32For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.’
