AND WHEN [the sons of Jacob] presented themselves before Joseph, he drew his brother [Benjamin] unto himself, saying [to him in secret]: "Behold, I am thy brother! So grieve thou not over their past doings!" 69 And when he had furnished them with their furnishing; he placed the drinking-cup in his brother's pack. Thereafter a crier cried: O caravan! verily ye are thieves. 70 They turned to them and asked: "What is it you have lost?" 71 They said: We miss the king's drinking cup, and he who shall bring it shall have a camel-load and I am responsible for it. 72 (The brothers) said: "By Allah! well ye know that we came not to make mischief in the land, and we are no thieves!" 73 (The Egyptians) said: "What then shall be the penalty of this, if ye are (proved) to have lied?" 74 They [Yusuf's (Joseph) brothers] said: "The penalty should be that he, in whose bag it is found, should be held for the punishment (of the crime). Thus we punish the Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)!" 75 So he searched their saddle-bags before his brother's, then produced the cup from his brother's bag. That is how We planned an excuse for Joseph, for under the law of the king he could not detain his brother unless God so willed. We raise the status of whom We please. Over every man of knowledge there is one more knowing. 76 ۞ Said the brothers: "If he has stolen (no wonder), his brother had stolen before." But Joseph kept this secret and did not disclose it to them, and said (to himself): "You are worse in the degree of evil, for God knows better of what you allege." 77 They said: 'Mighty prince, his father is old, advanced in years, take one of us instead of him. We can see you are amongst the gooddoers' 78 He replied, "God forbid that we should take anyone other than the person on whom we found our property. In that case, we would clearly be wrongdoers." 79