the Week of Proper 5 / Ordinary 10
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Genesis 42:22
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- CondensedParallel Translations
Re'uven answered them, saying, "Didn't I tell you, saying, 'Don't sin against the child,' and you wouldn't listen? Therefore also, behold, his blood is required."
And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
Then Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not say to you, do not sin against the boy? But you did not listen, and now, behold, his blood has been sought."
Then Reuben said to them, "I told you not to harm the boy, but you refused to listen to me. So now we are being punished for what we did to him."
Reuben said to them, "Didn't I say to you, ‘Don't sin against the boy,' but you wouldn't listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!"
Reuben answered them, "Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the boy'; and you would not listen? Now the accounting for his blood is required [of us for we are guilty of his death]."
Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the boy'; and you would not listen? Now justice for his blood is required."
And Reuben answered them, saying, Warned I not you, saying, Sinne not against the childe, and ye would not heare? and lo, his blood is now required.
And Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not tell you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy'; yet you would not listen? So also his blood, behold, it is required of us."
Reuben spoke up, "Didn't I tell you not to harm the boy? But you wouldn't listen, and now we have to pay the price for killing him."
Re'uven answered them, "Didn't I tell you, ‘Don't wrong the boy'? But you wouldn't hear of it. Now comes the reckoning for his blood!"
And Reuben answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Do not sin against the lad? But ye did not hearken; and now behold, his blood also is required.
And Reuben answered them, "Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood."
And Reuben answered and said to them, Did I not tell you, Do not sin against the boy; but you did not listen? So now his blood is required.
Reuben said, "I told you not to harm the boy, but you wouldn't listen. And now we are being paid back for his death."
But Reuben replied: “Didn’t I tell you not to harm the boy? But you wouldn’t listen. Now we must account for his blood!”
And Reuben replied to them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Do not sin against the youth, and you did not listen? And, behold, his blood is also required.
Ruben answered them, and saide: Tolde not I you ye same, whan I sayde: O synne not agaynst ye lad, but ye wolde not heare. Now is his bloude requyred.
And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore also, behold, his blood is required.
And Reuben said to them, Did I not say to you, Do the child no wrong? but you gave no attention; so now, punishment has come on us for his blood.
And Ruben aunswered them, saying: sayd I not vnto you, that you shoulde not sinne against the lad, and ye would not heare? and see, nowe his blood is required.
And Reuben answered them, saying: 'Spoke I not unto you, saying: Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore also, behold, his blood is required.'
And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not vnto you, saying, Doe not sinne against the childe, and ye would not heare? therefore behold also, his blood is required.
And Ruben answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Hurt not the boy, and ye heard me not? and, behold, his blood is required.
And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore also, behold, his blood is required.
But Reuben replied: "Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you would not listen. Now we must account for his blood!"
Of which oon, Ruben, seide, Whether Y seide not to yow, Nyle ye do synne ayens the child, and ye herden not me? lo! his blood is souyt.
And Reuben answereth them, saying, `Spake I not unto you, saying, Sin not against the lad? and ye hearkened not; and his blood also, lo, it is required.'
And Reuben answered them, saying, Didn't I speak to you, saying, Don't sin against the child; and you would not hear? therefore also, look, his blood is required.
And Reuben answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Do not sin against the young man; and ye would not hear? therefore behold also his blood is required.
Reuben answered them, saying, "Didn't I tell you, saying, 'Don't sin against the child,' and you wouldn't listen? Therefore also, behold, his blood is required."
And Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not speak to you, saying, "Do not sin against the boy'; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us."
"Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy?" Reuben asked. "But you wouldn't listen. And now we have to answer for his blood!"
Reuben answered them, "Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy?' But you would not listen. Now we must pay for his blood."
Then Reuben answered them, "Did I not tell you not to wrong the boy? But you would not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood."
And Reuben responded to them, saying - Spake I not unto you saying, Do not sin against the child! And ye hearkened not? His very blood, therefore lo! it is required.
And Ruben, one of them, said: Did not I say to you: Do not sin against the boy; and you would not hear me? Behold his blood is required.
And Reuben answered them, "Did I not tell you not to sin against the lad? But you would not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood."
Reuben broke in. "Didn't I tell you, ‘Don't hurt the boy'? But no, you wouldn't listen. And now we're paying for his murder."
Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the boy'; and you would not listen? Now comes the reckoning for his blood."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Spake I: Genesis 37:21, Genesis 37:22, Genesis 37:29, Genesis 37:30, Luke 23:41, Romans 2:15
his blood: Genesis 4:10, Genesis 9:5, Genesis 9:6, 1 Kings 2:32, 2 Chronicles 24:22, Psalms 9:12, Ezekiel 3:18, Luke 11:50, Luke 11:51, Acts 28:4, Revelation 13:10, Revelation 16:9
Reciprocal: Genesis 27:42 - comfort himself Genesis 29:32 - his name Genesis 44:16 - God hath Genesis 45:24 - See that 1 Samuel 19:4 - sin against 1 Kings 17:18 - art thou come 2 Chronicles 21:13 - hast slain Psalms 10:13 - Thou Psalms 51:14 - Deliver Jeremiah 26:15 - ye shall Ezekiel 33:6 - his blood Amos 6:6 - but Matthew 5:23 - rememberest Matthew 27:4 - I have sinned Luke 23:51 - had not John 8:9 - being Acts 27:21 - ye should 1 Corinthians 8:12 - when
Cross-References
Then the Lord said, "What have you done? You killed your brother and the ground opened up to take his blood from your hands. Now his blood is shouting to me from the ground. So you will be cursed from this ground.
The famine was very bad in Canaan, so there were many people from Canaan who went to Egypt to buy grain. Among them were the sons of Israel.
Joseph was the governor of Egypt at the time. He was the one who checked the sale of grain to people who came to Egypt to buy it. Joseph's brothers came to him and bowed before him.
They said to each other, "We are being punished for the bad thing we did to our younger brother Joseph. We saw the trouble he was in. He begged us to save him, but we refused to listen. So now we are in trouble."
Then Reuben said to them, "I told you not to do anything bad to that boy, but you refused to listen to me. Now we are being punished for his death."
The brothers went back to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. They told him about everything that had happened.
They said, "The governor of that country spoke rudely to us. He thought that we were spies!
Joab killed two men who were much better than he was. He killed Abner son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah. He did this without my father's knowledge. But now the Lord will punish Joab for the men he killed.
Joash the king didn't remember Jehoiada's kindness to him. Jehoiada was Zechariah's father. But Joash killed Zechariah, Jehoiada's son. Before Zechariah died, he said, "May the Lord see what you are doing and punish you!"
He punishes murderers and remembers those who are in need. When suffering people cry for help, he does not ignore them.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And Reuben answered them,.... Being the eldest, and who had been most concerned for the life of Joseph, and most tender and careful of him:
saying, spake I not unto you, saying, do not sin against the child,
and ye would not hear? it seems by this that Reuben endeavoured to dissuade his brethren from selling Joseph, when they first proposed it, to which they would not attend; since it is certain they did hearken to him as not to kill him directly, as they first consulted, and they hearkened to him to cast him into a pit, where he did not intend he should continue, but till he had an opportunity of taking him out, and returning him to his father: but it seems probable that Reuben was with them when they first spied the Ishmaelites, and proposed to sell Joseph to them, which he objected to, and entreated they would not do it; and perhaps he went out from them, and took a circuit, with a view to get to the pit and take Joseph out, but before he got thither his brethren had taken him out, and sold him: or this may refer to the general advice he always gave them, to do nothing that might endanger the life of Joseph, or be the means of his death, which selling him for a slave he supposed had been:
therefore, behold, also, his blood is required; the Targum of Jonathan adds, "of us"; they were accessary to his death, and guilty of it; for Reuben supposed he was dead, and now they must suffer for it, as a just retaliation, being threatened with death unless they could clear themselves.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Joseph and Ten of His Brethren
1. ש××ר sheber, âfragment, crumb, hence, grain.â ×ר bar âpure,â âwinnowed,â hence, âcornâ (grain).
6. ש×××× shallıÌytÌ£, âruler, governor, hence,â Sultan. Not elsewhere found in the Pentateuch.
25. ××× kelıÌy, âvessel,â here any portable article in which grain may be conveyed. ש×ק sÌaq, âsack,â the very word which remains in our language to this day. ××ת×ת 'amtachath âbag.â
Twenty years, the period of Josephâs long and anxious waiting, have come to an end. The dreams of his boyhood are now at length to be fulfilled. The famine has reached the chosen family, and they look at one another perplexed and irresolute, not knowing what to do.
Genesis 42:1-5
The aged Jacob is the only man of counsel. âBehold, I have heard there is grain in Mizraim:â go down and buy. The ten brothers are sent, and Benjamin, the youngest, is retained, not merely because of his youth, for he was now twenty-four years of age, but because he was the son of his fatherâs old age, the only son of Rachel now with him, and the only full brother of the lost Joseph. âLest mischief befall him,â and so no child of Rachel would be left. âAmong those that went.â The dearth was widespread in the land of Kenaan.
Genesis 42:6-17
The ten brothers meet with a rough reception from the lord of the land. âThe governorâ - the sultan. This, we see, is a title of great antiquity in Egypt or Arabia. Joseph presided over the cornmarket of the kingdom. âBowed down to him with their faces to the earth.â Well might Joseph think of those never-to-be-forgotten dreams in which the sheaves and stars bowed down to him. âAnd knew them.â How could he fail to remember the ten full-grown men of his early days, when they came before him with all their peculiarities of feature, attitude, and mother tongue. âAnd he made himself strange unto them.â All that we know of Josephâs character heretofore, and throughout this whole affair, goes to prove that his object in all his seemingly harsh treatment was to get at their hearts, to test their affection toward Benjamin, and to bring them to repent of their unkindness to himself.
âThey knew not him.â Twenty years make a great change in a youth of seventeen. And besides, with his beard and head shaven, his Egyptian attire, his foreign tongue, and his exalted position, who could have recognized the stripling whom, twenty years ago, they had sold as a slave? âSpies are ye.â This was to put a color of justice on their detention. To see the nakedness of the land, not its unfortified frontier, which is a more recent idea, but its present impoverishment from the famine. âSons of one man are we.â It was not likely that ten sons of one man would be sent on the hazardous duty of spies. âAnd behold the youngest is with our father this day.â It is intensely interesting to Joseph to hear that his father and full brother are still living. âAnd one is not.â Time has assuaged all their bitter feelings, both of exasperation against Joseph and of remorse for their unbrotherly conduct. This little sentence, however, cannot be uttered by them, or heard by Joseph, without emotion. âBy the life of Pharaoh.â Joseph speaks in character, and uses an Egyptian asseveration. âSend one of you.â This proposal is enough to strike terror into their hearts. The return of one would be a heavy, perhaps a fatal blow to their father. And how can one brave the perils of the way? They cannot bring themselves to concur in this plan. Sooner will they all go to prison, as accordingly they do. Joseph is not without a strong conviction of incumbent duty in all this. He knows he has been put in the position of lord over his brethren in the foreordination of God, and he feels bound to make this authority a reality for their moral good.
Genesis 42:18-25
After three days, Joseph reverses the numbers, allowing nine to return home, and retaining one. âThis do and live.â Joseph, notwithstanding the arbitrary power which his office enabled him to exercise, proves himself to be free from caprice and unnecessary severity. He affords them a fair opportunity of proving their words true, before putting them to death on suspicion of espionage. âThe God do I fear.â A singular sentence from the lord paramount of Egypt! It implies that the true God was not yet unknown in Egypt. We have heard the confession of this great truth already from the lips of Pharaoh Genesis 41:38-39. But it intimates to the brothers the astonishing and hopeful fact that the grand vizier serves the same great Being whom they and their fathers have known and worshipped; and gives them a plain hint that they will be dealt with according to the just law of heaven.
âCarry grain for your houses.â The governor then is touched with some feeling for their famishing households. The brothers, though honoring their aged father as the patriarch of their race, had now their separate establishments. Twelve households had to be supplied with bread. The journey to Egypt was not to be undertaken more than once a year if possible, as the distance from Hebron was upwards of two hundred miles. Hence, the ten brothers had with them all their available beasts of burden, with the needful retinue of servants. We need not be surprised that these are not especially enumerated, as it is the manner of Scripture to leave the secondary matters to the intelligence and experience of the reader, unless, as in the case of Abrahamâs three hundred and eighteen trained servants, they happen to be of essential moment in the process of events. âYour youngest brother.â Joseph longs to see his full brother alive, whom he left at home a child of four summers. âVerily guilty are we concerning our brother.â
Their affliction is beginning to bear the fruit of repentance. âBecause we saw the distress of his soul when he besought us, and we would not hear.â How vividly is the scene of Josephâs sale here brought before us. It now appears that he besought them to spare him, and they would not hear! âThis distress.â Retribution has come at last. âHis blood is required.â Reuben justly upbraids them with their hardness of heart. Their brotherâs blood is required; for murder was intended, and when he was sold his death was pretended. âThe interpreter was betwixt them.â The dragoman was employed in holding conversation with them. But Joseph heard the spontaneous expressions of remorse, coming unprompted from their lips. The fountain of affection is deeply stirred. He cannot repress the rising tear. He has to retire for a time to recover his composure. He now takes, not Reuben, who was not to blame, but Simon, the next oldest, and binds him before them: a speaking act. He then gives orders to supply them with corn (grain), deposit their money in their sacks without their knowledge, and furnish them with provision for the way. Joseph feels, perhaps, that he cannot take money from his father. He will pay for the corn out of his own funds. But he cannot openly return the money to his brothers without more explanation than he wishes at present to give.
Genesis 42:26-34
The nine brothers return home and record their wonderful adventure. âIn the inn;â the lodge or place where they stopped for the night. This place was not yet perhaps provided with even the shelter of a roof. It was merely the usual place of halting. They would probably occupy six or seven days on the journey. Apparently at the first stage one opened his sack to give provender to his ass. The discovery of the silver in its mouth strikes them with terror. In a strange land and with an uneasy conscience they are easily alarmed. It was not convenient or necessary to open all the bags on the way, and so they make no further discovery.
Genesis 42:35-38
Upon emptying the other sacks all the silver turns up, to their great amazement and consternation. Jacob laments the loss of his son. Reuben offers two of his sons to Jacob as pledges for Benjamin, to be slain if he did not bring him back in safety. The sorrowing parent cannot yet bring himself to consent to Benjaminâs departure on this hazardous journey. âAnd ye shall bring down.â Jacob either speaks here in the querulous tone of afflicted old age, or he had come to know or suspect that his brothers had some hand in the disappearance of Joseph.
