‘Then they tore their clothes and every man loaded his ass and returned to the city.'
The joy of freedom and success has gone. They accepted that the verdict of guilty was a foregone conclusion. ‘They tore their clothes', an accepted way of conveying despair and sorrow. And their minds were numb. They could not understand what had happened. But they knew what it meant. Did they believe Benjamin was guilty? Probably not. The cup had appeared in some strange way just like the silver. They simply accepted that fate was against them.