And when they went in before Joseph, he took his brother unto him, saying: Lo! I, even I, am thy brother, therefore sorrow not for what they did. 69 So when he had furnished them with their supplies, he put the [gold measuring] bowl into the bag of his brother. Then an announcer called out, "O caravan, indeed you are thieves." 70 Turning back they asked: "What have you 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 They said, "By Allah, you have certainly known that we did not come to cause corruption in the land, and we have not been thieves." 73 The Egyptians said, "What do you suggest should be the punishment for the thief, if it is proved that you are lying?" 74 Joseph's brothers replied, "In whosoever baggage it is found, that person will be your bondsman. Thus is the punishment of the unjust." 75 So he [Yusuf (Joseph)] began (the search) in their bags before the bag of his brother. Then he brought it out of his brother's bag. Thus did We plan for Yusuf (Joseph). He could not take his brother by the law of the king (as a slave), except that Allah willed it. (So Allah made the brothers to bind themselves with their way of "punishment, i.e. enslaving of a thief.") We raise to degrees whom We please, but over all those endowed with knowledge is the All-Knowing (Allah). 76 ۞ They said, "If he is a thief, a brother of his had [also] committed theft before him." But Joseph kept his secret and revealed nothing to them. He said [to himself], "Your deed was worse. God best knows the things you speak of." 77 They said: O ruler of the land! Lo! he hath a very aged father, so take one of us instead of him. Lo! we behold thee of those who do kindness. 78 He replied, "God forbid! How could I take someone in place of the thief? In doing so I would be committing injustice." 79