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.
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?
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."
Then Judah went to Joseph and said, "Sir, please let me speak plainly with you. Please don't be angry with me. I know that you are like Pharaoh himself.
And we answered you, 'We have a father—he is an old man. And we have a younger brother. Our father loves him because he was born while our father was old. This youngest son's brother is dead, so he is the only son who is left from that mother. Our father loves him very much.'
We said to our father, 'We cannot go without our youngest brother. The governor said he will not sell us grain again until he sees our youngest brother.'