6 Israel asked, "Why did you bring this trouble to me? Why did you tell the man you had another brother?"
7 They replied, "The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. 'Is your father still living?' he asked us. 'Do you have another brother?' "We just answered his questions. How could we possibly know he would say, 'Bring your brother down here'?"
8 Judah spoke to Israel his father. "Send the boy along with me," he said. "We'll go at once. Then we and you and our children will live and not die.
9 "I myself promise to keep him safe. You can hold me accountable for him. I'll bring him back to you. I'll set him right here in front of you. If I don't, you can put the blame on me for the rest of my life.
10 "As it is, we've already waited too long. We could have gone to Egypt and back twice by now."
11 Then their father Israel spoke to them. He said, "If that's the way it has to be, then do what I tell you. Put some of the best things from our land in your bags. Take them down to the man as a gift. Take some lotion and a little honey. Take some spices and myrrh. Take some pistachio nuts and almonds.
12 Take twice the amount of money with you. You have to give back the money that was put in your sacks. Maybe it was a mistake.