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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Genesis 44 ISV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/genesis/44.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/genesis/44-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">ISV</a> > Genesis 44</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../genesis/43.htm" title="Genesis 43">◄</a> Genesis 44 <a href="../genesis/45.htm" title="Genesis 45">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">International Standard Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/isv/esv/genesis/44.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="heading">The Brothers Leave for Canaan</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Later, Joseph<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="44:1 Lit. he">a</a></span> commanded his palace manager, “Fill the men’s sacks to full capacity with food and replace each man’s money at the top of the sack. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>Then place my cup—the silver one—in the top of the sack belonging to the youngest one, along with the money he brought to buy<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="44:2 The Heb. lacks he brought to buy">b</a></span> grain.” So the manager<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="44:2 Lit. So he">c</a></span> did precisely what Joseph told him to do.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>Early the next morning, the men were sent on their way, along with their donkeys. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>They had not traveled far from the city when Joseph ordered his palace manager, “Get up, follow those men, and when you’ve caught up with them, ask them, ‘Why did you repay evil for good? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Don’t you have<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="44:5 Lit. Isn’t this">d</a></span> the cup that my master uses to drink from and also uses to practice divination? You’re wrong to have done this.’” <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>So he went after them and made that accusation.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>“Your Excellency,” they replied, “Why do you speak like this? Far be it from your servants to act like this. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money that we found at the top of our sacks. How, then, could we have stolen silver or gold from your master’s palace? <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>Go ahead and execute whichever one of your servants is discovered to have it, and we’ll remain as your master’s slaves.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>“Agreed,” he responded. “Just as you’ve said, the one who is found to have it in his possession will become my slave, and the rest of<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="44:10 The Heb. lacks the rest of">e</a></span> you will be innocent.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>So they quickly dismounted, unloaded their sacks onto the ground, and each one of them opened his own sack. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>The palace manager<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="44:12 Lit. Then he">f</a></span> searched for the cup, beginning with the oldest brother’s sack and ending with the youngest brother’s sack, and there it was!—in Benjamin’s sack. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>At this, they all tore their clothes,<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="44:13 I.e., a response of despair">g</a></span> reloaded their donkeys, and returned to the city.</p> <p class="heading">Joseph Confronts His Brothers</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>Joseph was waiting for them back at his palace when his brothers returned. They fell to the ground in front of him, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>and Joseph asked them, “Why did you do this? Don’t you know that I’m an expert at divination?”</p> <p class="heading">Judah Explains Their Predicament</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>“What can we say, Your Excellency?” Judah replied. “How can we explain this or justify ourselves? God has discovered the sin of your servants, and now we’ve become slaves to you, Your Excellency, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been discovered.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>“Far be it from me to do this,” Joseph<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="44:17 Lit. he">h</a></span> responded. “The man in whose possession the cup was discovered will be my slave, but the rest of you may leave in peace to be with your father.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>But Judah approached him and begged him, “Your Excellency, please allow your servant to speak to you privately.<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="44:18 Lit. speak a word in your ears">i</a></span> Please don’t be angry with your servant, since you are equal to Pharaoh. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>Your Excellency asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or brother?’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>and we answered Your Excellency, ‘We have an aged father and a younger child who was born when he was old. His brother is now dead, so he’s the only surviving son of his mother. His father loves him.’</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>“But then you ordered your servants, ‘Bring him here to me so I can see him for myself.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>So we told Your Excellency, ‘The young man cannot leave his father, because if he were to do so, his father would die.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>But then you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes back with you, you won’t see my face again.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>Later on, after we had gone back to your servant, my father, we told him what Your Excellency had said.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>“‘Go back,’ our father ordered, ‘and buy us a little food.’</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>“But we told him, ‘We can’t go back there. If our youngest brother accompanies us, we’ll go back, but we cannot see the man’s face again unless our youngest brother accompanies us.’</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>“Then your servant, our father, told us, ‘You know my wife bore me two sons. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>One of them left me, so I concluded “I’m certain that he has been torn to pieces,” and I haven’t seen him since then. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>If you take this one from me, too, and then something harmful happens to him, then it will be death for me and my sad, gray hair!’<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="44:29 Lit. then you’ll send me and my gray hair to Sheol; i.e. to the realm of the dead">j</a></span> </p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>“So when I go back to your servant, my father, and the young man isn’t with us, since he’s constantly living life focused on his son,<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="44:30 Lit. since his soul is bound to his son’s soul">k</a></span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>when he notices that the young man hasn’t come back with us, he’ll die, and your servants really will have brought death to your servant, our father,<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="44:31 Lit. have brought your servant, our father, to Sheol; i.e. to the realm of the dead">l</a></span> along with his sad, gray hair! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>Also, your servant pledged his own life as<span class="fn"><a href="#ftn" title="44:32 The Heb. lacks his own life as">m</a></span> a guarantee of the young man’s safety. I told my father, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, you can blame me forever.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>Therefore, please allow your servant to remain as a slave to Your Excellency, instead of the young man, and let the young man go back home with his brothers. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/44-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>After all, how can I go back to my father if the young man doesn’t accompany me? I’m afraid of what might happen to my father.”</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="ftn"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn1"><span class="fnb">a</span> 44:1 Lit. <i>he</i><br /><span class="fnb">b</span> 44:2 The Heb. lacks <i>he brought to buy</i><br /><span class="fnb">c</span> 44:2 Lit. <i>So he</i><br /><span class="fnb">d</span> 44:5 Lit. <i>Isn’t this</i><br /><span class="fnb">e</span> 44:10 The Heb. lacks <i>the rest of</i><br /><span class="fnb">f</span> 44:12 Lit. <i>Then he</i><br /><span class="fnb">g</span> 44:13 I.e., a response of despair<br /><span class="fnb">h</span> 44:17 Lit. <i>he</i><br /><span class="fnb">i</span> 44:18 Lit. <i>speak a word in your ears</i><br /><span class="fnb">j</span> 44:29 Lit. <i>then you’ll send me and my gray hair to Sheol</i>; i.e. to the realm of the dead<br /><span class="fnb">k</span> 44:30 Lit. <i>since his soul is bound to his son’s soul</i><br /><span class="fnb">l</span> 44:31 Lit. <i>have brought your servant, our father, to Sheol</i>; i.e. to the realm of the dead<br /><span class="fnb">m</span> 44:32 The Heb. lacks <i>his own life as</i><br /></span><br><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><div align="center"><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1<br />Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation<br />ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../genesis/43.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Genesis 43"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Genesis 43" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../genesis/45.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Genesis 45"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Genesis 45" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/genesis/44-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><div align="center" style="background-color:#F2FAFF"><br /><br /><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="6710025936" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></td></tr></table><br /><br /><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>  <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="6710025936" data-ad-format="auto"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></td></tr></table></div><br /><br /> </div><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/botmenubhnm2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe><div align="center"><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span></div></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>