Genesis 43:20

Amplified Bible

and said, "Oh, my lord, we indeed came down here the first time to buy food;

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
and said, "Oh, my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

King James Version
And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

Lexham English Bible
And they said, "Please, my lord, we surely came down once before to buy food,

New Century Version
They said, "Master, we came here once before to buy food.

New English Translation
They said, "My lord, we did indeed come down the first time to buy food.

New American Standard Bible
and said, "Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food,

Geneva Bible (1587)
And said, Oh syr, we came in deede down hither at the first time to bye foode,

Legacy Standard Bible
and they said, "Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food,

Contemporary English Version
"Sir, we came to Egypt once before to buy grain.

Complete Jewish Bible
"Please, my lord, the first time we indeed came down to buy food;

Darby Translation
and said, Ah! my lord, we came indeed down at the first to buy food.

Easy-to-Read Version
They said, "Sir, I promise this is the truth. The last time we came, we came to buy food.

English Standard Version
and said, "Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food.

George Lamsa Translation
And said, We beseech you, O our lord, we truly came down at the first time to buy grain;

Good News Translation
"If you please, sir, we came here once before to buy food.

Christian Standard Bible®
They said, “My lord, we really did come down here the first time only to buy food.

Literal Translation
And they said, Oh my lord, coming we came down to buy food.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and sayde: Syr, we came downe at the first to bye foode,

American Standard Version
and said, Oh, my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

Bible in Basic English
And said, O my lord, we only came down the first time to get food;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And sayde: oh sir, we came downe hyther at the fyrst tyme to bye foode.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
and said: 'Oh my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food.

King James Version (1611)
And said, O Sir, we came indeed downe at the first time to buy food.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
saying, We pray thee, Sir; we came down at first to buy food.

English Revised Version
and said, Oh my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

Berean Standard Bible
"Please, sir," they said, "we really did come down here the first time to buy food.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Lord, we preien that thou here vs; we camen doun now bifore that we schulden bie metis;

Young's Literal Translation
and say, `O, my lord, we really come down at the commencement to buy food;

Update Bible Version
and said, Oh, my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

Webster's Bible Translation
And said, O sir, we came down indeed at the first time to buy food:

World English Bible
and said, "Oh, my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:

New King James Version
and said, "O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food;

New Living Translation
"Sir," they said, "we came to Egypt once before to buy food.

New Life Bible
They said, "O, my lord, we came here the first time to buy food.

New Revised Standard
They said, "Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and said, May it please my lord! We, did indeed come down, at the beginning to buy food.

Douay-Rheims Bible
They said: Sir, we desire thee to hear us. We came down once before to buy food:

Revised Standard Version
and said, "Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food;

New American Standard Bible (1995)
and said, "Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food,

Contextual Overview

¹⁵Then the men took the present, and they took double the [amount of] money with them, and Benjamin; then they left and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. ¹⁶When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Bring the men into the house, and kill an animal and make [a meal] ready; for the men will dine with me at noon." ¹⁷So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph's house. ¹⁸The men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph's house; and [expecting the worst] they said, "It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time [we came] that we are being brought in, so that he may find a reason to accuse us and assail us, and take us as slaves, and seize our donkeys." ¹⁹So they approached the steward of Joseph's house, and talked with him at the entrance of the house, ²⁰and said, "Oh, my lord, we indeed came down here the first time to buy food;²¹and when we arrived at the inn [after leaving here], we opened our sacks and there was each man's money [with which he had paid for grain], in full, returned in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back [this time]. ²²"We have also brought down with us additional money to buy food; we do not know who put our money [back] in our sacks [last time]." ²³But the steward [encouraged them and] said, "Peace be to you, do not be afraid; your God and the God of your father has [miraculously] given you treasure in your sacks. I [already] had your money [which you paid to us]." Then he brought Simeon out to them. ²⁴Then the steward brought the men into Joseph's house and gave them water, and they washed [the dust off] their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

we came indeed down: Heb. coming down we came down, Genesis 43:3, Genesis 43:7, Genesis 42:3, Genesis 42:10, Genesis 42:27, Genesis 42:35

Reciprocal: Genesis 43:2 - General 1 Kings 3:17 - O my lord

Cross-References

Genesis 42:3
So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.

Genesis 42:10
But they said to him, "No, my lord, for your servants have [only] come to buy food.

Genesis 42:27
And at the lodging place, as one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey, he saw his money in the opening of his sack.

Genesis 42:35
Now when they emptied their sacks, every man's bundle of money [paid to buy grain] was in his sack. When they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

Genesis 43:3
But Judah said to him, "The man [representing Pharaoh] solemnly and sternly warned us, saying, 'You will not see my face [again] unless your brother is with you.'

Genesis 43:7
And they said, "The man asked us straightforward questions about ourselves and our relatives. He said, 'Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?' And we answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down [here to Egypt]'?"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And said, O sir,.... Or, "on me, my lord" a, one said in the name of the rest, perhaps Judah, on me let the blame lie, if guilty of rudeness in making our address to thee; or as the Vulgate Latin version, "we pray, sir, that thou wouldest hear us"; and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra say the phrase is expressive of beseeching, entreating, and supplicating:

we came indeed down at the first time to buy food; not to spy the land but to buy corn, and not to get it by fraud or tricking but by paying for it the price that was required.

a בי אדני "in me Domine mi", Montanus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Joseph and His Eleven Brethren

11. דבשׁ d^ebash, “honey,” from the bee, or sirup from the juice of the grape. בטנים bôṭ^en, “pistachio nuts.” שׁקד shâqêd, “almond tree;” related: “awake.” The tree is also called לוּז lûz. Some refer the former to the fruit, the latter to the tree.

The eleven brothers are now to bow down before Joseph.

Genesis 43:1-10

The famine was severe. The pressure began to be felt more and more. The twelve households had at length consumed all the corn they had purchased, and the famine still pressed heavily upon them. Jacob directs them to return. “And Judah said.” Reuben had offended, and could not come forward. Simon and Levi had also grieved their father by the treacherous slaughter of the Shekemites. Judah therefore, speaks. “Is your father yet alive?” “Have ye a brother?” These questions do not come out in the previous narrative, on account of its brevity. But how pointed they are, and how true to Joseph’s yearnings! They explain how it was that these particulars came out in the replies of the brothers to Joseph. For the charge of being spies did not call for them in exculpation. Judah now uses all the arguments the case would admit of, to persuade his father to allow Benjamin to go with them. He closes with the emphatic sentence, If I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me have sinned against thee all my days; that is, let me bear the blame, and of course the penalty of having sinned against thee in so tender a point. Both Judah and his father knew that this was a matter that touched the interest of the former very deeply. Reuben was bearing the blame of a grievous sin, and had no hope of the birthright. Simon and Levi were also bearing blame, and, besides, had not the natural right, which belonged only to Reuben. Judah came next, and a failure in securing the safe return of Benjamin might set him also aside. He undertakes to run this risk.

Genesis 43:11-15

Jacob at length reluctantly sends Benjamin with them. He employs all means, as is usual with him, of securing a favorable result. “The best of the land” - the sung or celebrated products of the land. “A little honey.” Palestine abounded with bee honey. A sirup obtained by boiling down the juice of the grape was also called by the same name, and formed an article of commerce. “Nuts.” These are supposed to be pistachio nuts, from the pistacia vera, a tree resembling the terebinth, a native of Anatolia, Syria, and Palestine. “Almonds.” The almond tree buds or flowers earlier in the spring than other trees. It is a native of Palestine, Syria, and Persia. For the other products see Genesis 37:25. “Other silver;” not double silver, but a second sum for the new purchase. “God Almighty” - the Great Spirit, who can dispose the hearts of men as he pleases. Jacob looks up to heaven for a blessing, while he uses the means. “If I am bereaved, I am bereaved.” This is the expression of acquiescence in whatever may be the will of Providence. “Double silver,” - what was returned and what was to pay for a second supply of corn.

Genesis 43:16-18

The invitation into Joseph’s house fills the brothers with alarm. “Saw with them Benjamin.” This was an unspeakable relief to Joseph, who was afraid that his full brother, also the favorite of his father, might have incurred the envy and persecution of the brothers. “Brought the men to Joseph’s house.” This he eventually did, but not until after the conference between him and them took place. The men were afraid of a plot to rob them of their liberty and property.

Genesis 43:19-25

They are encouraged by the steward of Joseph’s house to lay aside their fears, and prepare their present. “Spake to him at the door of the house.” This was, of course, before they entered. “When we came to the inn.” The relater is prone to lump matters in the narration, for the sake of brevity. They began to “open their bags” at the first lodging-place, and finished the process at the last when they got home. Other silver. This explains the phrase “second silver” in Genesis 43:12. “Peace be to you.” Be at rest. All is well. Your God. The steward of Joseph expresses himself as one who fears and trusts God, the God of the Hebrews, who had displayed his omniscience and omnipotence in Egypt. “He brought out unto them Simon.” While they still linger at the entrance, the considerate steward bethought himself of bringing out Simon to them, which reassured their hearts, and induced them to enter willingly. He now succeeds therefore, in bringing them in, and then bestows upon them the usual attentions of Eastern hospitality. They now “make ready their present.”

Genesis 43:26-34

They are now entertained by Joseph. They brought the present, and made a lowly obeisance before him. “They bent the head.” See Genesis 24:26. “God be gracious unto thee, my son.” His kind treatment of Benjamin, on whose presence he had so much insisted, was calculated to reassure the brothers. The latter was born in his thirteenth year, and therefore, he was entitled to assume the paternal style in regard to him. Joseph still appeals with a natural and unconstrained reverence to his own God. “And Joseph hastened away.” The little touch of tenderness he had involuntarily thrown into his address to Benjamin, is too much for his feelings, which yearn toward his brother, and he is obliged to retreat to his chamber to conceal his tears and compose his countenance. “They set for him by himself.” As the governor, or as connected by affinity with the priestly caste, Joseph does not eat with the other Egyptians. The Egyptians cannot eat with the Hebrews. “That is an abomination to the Mizrites.” For the Hebrews partook of the flesh of kine, both male and female.

But Herodotus informs us (ii. 41), that “male kine, if clean, are used by the Egyptians, but the females they are not allowed to sacrifice, since they are sacred to Isis.” And he adds that “a native of Egypt will not kiss a Greek, use his knife, his spit, or his cauldron, or taste the flesh cut with a Greek knife.” They considered all foreigners unclean, and therefore, refused to eat with them (see Rawlinson’s Herodotus on p. q.). They sat in his presence; arranged according to the order of their birth, to their great amazement. Egypt was to them a land of wonders, and Egypt’s sultan a man of wonder. “Benjamin’s mess.” The honored guest was distinguished by a larger or daintier portion of the fare (1 Samuel 9:23-24; Homer, ii. 7,321). A double portion was assigned to the Spartan kings. The fivefold division was prominent in Egyptian affairs Genesis 41:34; Genesis 45:22; Genesis 47:2, Genesis 47:24, Genesis 47:26. “And were merry.” They drank freely, so as to be exhilarated, because their cares were dissipated by the kindness they were receiving, the presence of Simon, and the attention paid to Benjamin.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 43:20. O sir, we came indeed - to buy food — There is a frankness now in the conduct of Joseph's brethren that did not exist before; they simply and honestly relate the whole circumstance of the money being found in their sacks on their return from their last journey. Afflictions from the hand of God, and under his direction, have a wonderful tendency to humble the soul. Did men know how gracious his designs are in sending such, no murmur would ever be heard against the dispensations of Divine Providence.