A reading from the book of Genesis.

Judah approached Joseph and said,

I beg you, my Lord, let your servants speak earnestly to my Lord,

and do not become angry with your servant,

for you are the equal of Pharaoh.

My Lord ask your servants, have you a father or another brother?

So we said to my lord, we have an aged father and a young brother, the child of his old age.

This one's full brother is dead, and since he is the only one of that mother who has left,

his father dotes on him.

Then you told your servants, bring him down to me that my eyes may look on him.

Unless your youngest brother comes back with you, you shall not come into my presence again.

When we returned to your servant, our father, we reported to him the words of my Lord.

Later, our father told us to come back and buy some food for the family.

So we reminded him, we cannot go down there, only if our youngest brother is with us, can we go?

For we may not see the man if our youngest brother is not with us. Then your servant our father said to us,

As you know, my wife bore me two sons, one of them, however, disappeared,

and I had to conclude that he must have been torn to pieces by wild beasts.

I have not seen him since.

If you now take this one away from me too, and some disaster

befalls him, you will send my white head down to the netherworld in grief. Joseph could no longer

control himself in the presence of all his attendance, so he cried out, have everyone withdrawn

from me.

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