1. Then Joseph gave a command to his servant. He said, “Fill the men’s sacks with as much grain as they can carry. Then put each man’s money into his sack with the grain.
2. Put the youngest brother’s money in his sack too. But also put my special silver cup in his sack.” So the servant obeyed Joseph.
3. Early the next morning the brothers and their donkeys were sent back to their country.
4. After they had left the city, Joseph said to his servant, “Go and follow the men. Stop them and say to them, ‘We were good to you! So why have you been bad to us? Why did you steal my master’s silver cup?
5. My master drinks from that cup, and he uses it to learn secret things. What you did was wrong!’”
6. So the servant obeyed. He rode out to the brothers and stopped them. The servant said to them what Joseph had told him to say.
7. But the brothers said to the servant, “Why does the governor say these things? We wouldn’t do anything like that!
8. We brought back the money that we found in our sacks before. So surely we wouldn’t steal silver or gold from your master’s house.
9. If you find the silver cup in any of our sacks, let that man die. You can kill him, and we will be your slaves.”
10. The servant said, “I agree, except that only the man who is found to have the cup will be my slave. The others will be free.”
11. Then every brother quickly opened his sack on the ground.
12. The servant started looking in the sacks. He started with the oldest brother and ended with the youngest. He found the cup in Benjamin’s sack.
13. The brothers were very sad. They tore their clothes to show their sadness. They put their sacks back on the donkeys and went back to the city.
14. When Judah and his brothers went back to Joseph’s house, Joseph was still there. The brothers fell to the ground and bowed down before him.
15. Joseph said to them, “Why have you done this? Didn’t you know that I have a special way of learning secrets? No one is better at this than I am!”
16. Judah said, “Sir, there is nothing we can say. There is no way to explain. There is no way to show that we are not guilty. God has judged us guilty for something else we have done. So all of us, even Benjamin, will be your slaves.”