Genesis 44:18-34 - Judah's Plea For Benjamin

¹⁸ Then Judah went unto him and said, "O my lord, let thy servant speak a word in my lord's audience, and be not wroth with thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servant, saying, 'Have ye a father or a brother?' ²⁰ And we answered my lord, 'We have a father that is old, and a young lad which he begat in his age: and the brother of the said lad is dead, and he is all that is left of that mother. And his father loveth him.' ²¹ Then said my lord unto his servants, 'Bring him unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.' ²² And we answered my lord, that the lad could not go from his father, 'For if he should leave his father, he were but a dead man.' ²³ Then saidest thou unto thy servants, 'Except your youngest brother come with you, look that ye see my face no more.'

²⁴ And when we came unto thy servant our father, we showed him what my lord had said. ²⁵ And when our father said unto us, 'Go again and buy us a little food,' ²⁶ we said that we could not go. 'Nevertheless, if our youngest brother go with us then will we go, for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.' ²⁷ Then said thy servant our father unto us, 'Ye know that my wife bare me two sons. ²⁸ And the one went out from me and it is said of a surety that he is torn in pieces of wild beasts, and I saw him not since. ²⁹ If ye shall take this also away from me and some misfortune happen upon him, then shall ye bring my gray head with sorrow unto the grave.'

³⁰ Now therefore, when I come to thy servant my father, if the lad be not with me - seeing that his life hangeth by the lad's life - ³¹ then as soon as he seeth that the lad is not come, he will die. So shall we thy servants bring the gray head of thy servant our father with sorrow unto the grave. ³² For I thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father and said, 'If I bring him not unto thee again. I will bear the blame all my life long.' ³³ Now therefore let me thy servant bide here for the lad, and be my lord's bondman: and let the lad go home with his brethren. ³⁴ For how can I go unto my father, and the lad not with me: lest I should see the wretchedness that shall come on my father?"