Genesis 44:15

THE MESSAGE

Joseph accused them: "How can you have done this? You have to know that a man in my position would have discovered this."

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Yosef said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Don't you know that such a man as I can indeed divine?"

King James Version
And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?

Lexham English Bible
Then Joseph said to them, "What is this deed that you have done? Did you not know that a man who is like me surely practices divination?"

New Century Version
Joseph said to them, "What have you done? Didn't you know that a man like me can learn things by signs and dreams?"

New English Translation
Joseph said to them, "What did you think you were doing? Don't you know that a man like me can find out things like this by divination?"

Amplified Bible
Joseph spoke harshly to them, "What is this thing that you have done? Do you not realize that such a man as I can indeed practice divination and foretell [everything you do without outside knowledge of it]?"

New American Standard Bible
Joseph said to them, "What is this thing that you have done? Do you not know that a man who is like me can indeed practice divination?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Ioseph sayd vnto them, What acte is this, which ye haue done? know ye not that such a man as I, can deuine and prophecie?

Legacy Standard Bible
And Joseph said to them, "What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed interpret omens?"

Contemporary English Version
who asked them, "What have you done? Didn't you know I could find out?"

Complete Jewish Bible
(S: Maftir) Yosef said to them, "How could you do such a thing? Don't you know that a man such as myself can learn the truth by divination?"

Darby Translation
And Joseph said to them, What deed is this which ye have done? Did ye not know that such a man as I can certainly divine?

Easy-to-Read Version
Joseph said to them, "Why have you done this? Didn't you know that I have a special way of learning secrets? No one is better at this than I am!"

English Standard Version
Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?"

George Lamsa Translation
And Joseph said to them, What deed is this that you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly divine?

Good News Translation
and Joseph said, "What have you done? Didn't you know that a man in my position could find you out by practicing divination?"

Christian Standard Bible®
“What is this you have done?” Joseph said to them. “Didn’t you know that a man like me could uncover the truth by divination?”

Literal Translation
And Joseph said to them, What is this deed which you have done? Did you not know that a man like me would practice divination?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Ioseph sayde vnto them: What maner of dede is this, that ye haue done? Knewe ye not, that soch a man as I am, can prophecy?

American Standard Version
And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? know ye not that such a man as I can indeed divine?

Bible in Basic English
And Joseph said, What is this thing which you have done? had you no thought that such a man as I would have power to see what is secret?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Ioseph sayde vnto them: what deede is this that ye haue done? Wote ye not that suche a man as I do consult with propheciers?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Joseph said unto them: 'What deed is this that ye have done? know ye not that such a man as I will indeed divine?'

King James Version (1611)
And Ioseph said vnto them, What deed is this that ye haue done? wote ye not, that such a man as I can certainely diuine?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Joseph said to them, What is this thing that ye have done? know ye not that a man such as I can surely divine?

English Revised Version
And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? know ye not that such a man as I can indeed divine?

Berean Standard Bible
"What is this deed you have done?" Joseph declared. "Did you not know that a man like me can surely divine the truth?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
To whiche he seide, Whi wolden ye do so? whether ye witen not, that noon is lijk me in the kunnyng of dyuinyng?

Young's Literal Translation
and Joseph saith to them, `What [is] this deed that ye have done? have ye not known that a man like me doth diligently observe?'

Update Bible Version
And Joseph said to them, What deed is this that you have done? don't you know that a man such as I can indeed use magic [to find out]?

Webster's Bible Translation
And Joseph said to them, What deed [is] this that ye have done? knew ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?

World English Bible
Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Don't you know that such a man as I can indeed divine?"

New King James Version
And Joseph said to them, "What deed is this you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?"

New Living Translation
"What have you done?" Joseph demanded. "Don't you know that a man like me can predict the future?"

New Life Bible
Joseph said to them, "What is this that you have done? Did you not know that a man like me has power to know what is not known by others?"

New Revised Standard
Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that one such as I can practice divination?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Joseph said to them, What is this deed which ye have done? Know ye not that such a man as I, can even divine?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said to them: Why would you do so? know you not that there is no one like me in the science of divining.

Revised Standard Version
Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed divine?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Joseph said to them, "What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed practice divination?"

Contextual Overview

¹Joseph ordered his house steward: "Fill the men's bags with food—all they can carry—and replace each one's money at the top of the bag. Then put my chalice, my silver chalice, in the top of the bag of the youngest, along with the money for his food." He did as Joseph ordered. ³At break of day the men were sent off with their donkeys. They were barely out of the city when Joseph said to his house steward, "Run after them. When you catch up with them, say, ‘Why did you pay me back evil for good? This is the chalice my master drinks from; he also uses it for divination. This is outrageous!'" ⁶ He caught up with them and repeated all this word for word. ⁷They said, "What is my master talking about? We would never do anything like that! Why, the money we found in our bags earlier, we brought back all the way from Canaan—do you think we'd turn right around and steal it back from your master? If that chalice is found on any of us, he'll die; and the rest of us will be your master's slaves." ¹⁰ The steward said, "Very well then, but we won't go that far. Whoever is found with the chalice will be my slave; the rest of you can go free." ¹¹They outdid each other in putting their bags on the ground and opening them up for inspection. The steward searched their bags, going from oldest to youngest. The chalice showed up in Benjamin's bag. ¹³ They ripped their clothes in despair, loaded up their donkeys, and went back to the city. ¹⁴ Joseph was still at home when Judah and his brothers got back. They threw themselves down on the ground in front of him. ¹⁵ Joseph accused them: "How can you have done this? You have to know that a man in my position would have discovered this." ¹⁶ Judah as spokesman for the brothers said, "What can we say, master? What is there to say? How can we prove our innocence? God is behind this, exposing how bad we are. We stand guilty before you and ready to be your slaves—we're all in this together, the rest of us as guilty as the one with the chalice."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What: Genesis 44:4, Genesis 44:5, Genesis 3:13, Genesis 4:10

wot ye not: Genesis 21:26, Genesis 39:8, Exodus 32:1

divine: or, make trial, Genesis 44:5

Reciprocal: Genesis 12:18 - General Proverbs 16:10 - A divine sentence Acts 3:17 - wot Romans 11:2 - Wot

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
"The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."

Genesis 4:10
God said, "What have you done! The voice of your brother's blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you'll get nothing but curses from this ground; you'll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You'll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You'll be a homeless wanderer on Earth."

Genesis 39:8
He wouldn't do it. He said to his master's wife, "Look, with me here, my master doesn't give a second thought to anything that goes on here—he's put me in charge of everything he owns. He treats me as an equal. The only thing he hasn't turned over to me is you. You're his wife, after all! How could I violate his trust and sin against God?"

Exodus 32:1
When the people realized that Moses was taking forever in coming down off the mountain, they rallied around Aaron and said, "Do something. Make gods for us who will lead us. That Moses, the man who got us out of Egypt—who knows what's happened to him?"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Joseph said unto them, what deed is this ye have done?.... An action so wicked, base, and ungrateful, attended with such aggravated circumstances, that it can scarcely be said how bad a one it is, and may be well wondered at, that men who had received such favours could ever be guilty of; this he said, putting on a stern countenance, and seemingly in great anger and wrath:

wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? either that he could divine himself, though not by the cup, of which here no mention is made, but in some other way used by the Egyptians; or that he had diviners with him, as Aben Ezra, with whom he could consult, to find out the person that took the cup; or surely they must needs think that such a man as he, who had such great knowledge of things, natural and political, and whose name was Zaphnathpaaneah, a revealer of secrets, would be able to search into and find out an affair of this kind;

:-; and they might well conclude, that a man so sagacious and penetrating would easily conjecture who were the persons that took away his cup, even the strangers that had dined with him so lately, and therefore could never expect to go off with it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- The Ten Brothers Were Tested

Joseph has had the satisfaction of seeing his brother Benjamin safe and well. He has heard his brothers acknowledging their guilt concerning himself. He resolves to put their attachment to Benjamin, and the genuineness of their change of disposition, to a test that will at the same time expose Benjamin to no hazard.

Genesis 44:1-5

And my cup. - Besides returning each man’s money as before, a silver cup of Joseph’s is put in Benjamin’s bag, after which, when daylight comes, they are dismissed. They are scarcely out of the town when Joseph’s steward is ordered to overtake them, and charge them with stealing the cup. “And whereby indeed he divineth.” Divining by cups, we learn from this, was a common custom in Egypt (Herodotus ii. 83). It is here mentioned to enhance the value of the cup. Whether Joseph really practised any sort of divination cannot be determined from this passage.

Genesis 44:6-12

The cup is found in Benjamin’s bag. “Spake unto them these words.” The words of Joseph, supplying of course the mention of the cup which is expressed in the text only by the pronoun this. “We brought back to thee.” Silver that we might have retained, and to which you made no claim when we tendered it, we brought back. How or why should we therefore, steal silver? “Now also according to your words let it be.” He adopts their terms with a mitigation. He with whom the cup is found shall become a slave for life, and the rest be acquitted. The steward searches from the oldest to the youngest. The cup is found where it was put.

Genesis 44:13-17

“They rent their garments;” the natural token of a sorrow that knows no remedy. “And Judah went.” He had pledged himself for the safety of Benjamin to his father. And he was yet there; awaiting no doubt the result which he anticipated. “They fell before him on the earth.” It is no longer a bending of the head or bowing of the body, but the posture of deepest humiliation. How deeply that early dream penetrated into the stern reality! “Wot ye not that such a man as I doth certainly divine?” Joseph keeps up the show of resentment for a little longer, and brings out from Judah the most pathetic plea of its kind that ever was uttered. “The God,” the great and only God, “hath found out the iniquity of thy servants;” in our dark and treacherous dealing with our brother. “Behold, we are servants to my lord.” He resigns himself and all to perpetual bondage, as the doom of a just God upon their still-remembered crime. “He shall be my servant; and ye, go up in peace to your father.” Now is the test applied with the nicest adjustment. Now is the moment of agony and suspense to Joseph. Will my brothers prove true? says he within himself. Will Judah prove adequate to the occasion? say we. His pleading with his father augured well.

Verse 18-34

“And Judah came near unto him.” He is going to surrender himself as a slave for life, that Benjamin may go home with his brothers, who are permitted to depart. “Let thy servant now speak a word in the ears of my lord.” There is nothing here but respectful calmness of demeanor. “And let not thine anger burn against thy servant.” He intuitively feels that the grand vizier is a man of like feelings with himself. He will surmount the distinction of rank, and stand with him on the ground of a common humanity. “For so art thou as Pharaoh.” Thou hast power to grant or withhold my request. This forms, the exordium of the speech. Then follows the plea. This consists in a simple statement of the facts, which Judah expects to have its native effect upon a rightly-constituted heart. We will not touch this statement, except to explain two or three expressions. A young lad - a comparative youth. “Let me set mine eyes upon him” - regard him with favor and kindness. “He shall leave his father and he shall die.” If he were to leave his father, his father would die. Such is the natural interpretation of these words, as the paternal affection is generally stronger than the filial. “And now let thy servant now abide instead of the lad a servant to my lord.” Such is the humble and earnest petition of Judah. He calmly and firmly sacrifices home, family, and birthright, rather than see an aged father die of a broken heart.