New Century Version NCV
New International Version NIV
18 Then Judah went to Joseph and said, "Master, please let me speak plainly to you, and please don't be angry with me. I know that you are as powerful as the king of Egypt himself.
18
Then 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.
19 When we were here before, you asked us, 'Do you have a father or a brother?'
19
My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’
20 And we answered you, 'We have an old father. And we have a younger brother, who was born when our father was old. This youngest son's brother is dead, so he is the only one of his mother's children left alive, and our father loves him very much.'
20
And 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 us, 'Bring that brother to me. I want to see him.'
21
“Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’
22 And we said to you, 'That young boy cannot leave his father, because if he leaves him, his father would die.'
22
And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’
23 But you said to us, 'If you don't bring your youngest brother, you will not be allowed to see me again.'
23
But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’
24 So we went back to our father and told him what you had said.
24
When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.
25 "Later, our father said, 'Go again and buy us a little more food.'
25
“Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’
26 We said to our father, 'We cannot go without our youngest brother. Without our youngest brother, we will not be allowed to see the governor.'
26
But 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 Then my father said to us, 'You know that my wife Rachel gave me two sons.
27
“Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.
28 When one son left me, I thought, "Surely he has been torn apart by a wild animal," and I haven't seen him since.
28
One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.