⁷ “Your Excellency,” they replied, “Why do you speak like this? Far be it from your servants to act like this. ⁸ Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money that we found at the top of our sacks. How, then, could we have stolen silver or gold from your master’s palace? ⁹ Go ahead and execute whichever one of your servants is discovered to have it, and we’ll remain as your master’s slaves.”