 In act 3, Joseph has the Egyptian guards catch up to and seize the brothers, bring them back, and accuses them of stealing the cup.Playing the guilt and drama to the hilt, he demands to keep Benjamin as a prisoner to test the brothers if they will abandon Benjamin as they did him all those years ago.The brothers plead for their fathers sake—the heartbreak of losing another youngest son would kill him—and Simeon offers himself in Benjamin's stead.