Yehuda’s petition to Yosef seems perfectly clear and readily understandable. Did the Midrash actually intend to correct the mistaken impression that we might have from the plain reading of the text, and tell us that Yehuda spoke with hostility? Or, are these comments intended to complement, rather than supplant, the simple reading?
The likely explanation, as discussed by Professor Nechama Leibowitz in her Studies, is that the Midrash refers here to a conversation that took place in Yehuda’s mind, rather than an actual exchange between Yehuda and Yosef.