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Genesis 43:7

5 But if you will not send him, we will not go; for the man told us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”

6 “Why did you bring this trouble upon me?” Israel asked. “Why did you tell the man you had another brother?”

They replied, “The man questioned us in detail about ourselves and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?”

8 And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will go at once, so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our children.

9 I will guarantee his safety. You may hold me personally responsible. If I do not bring him back and set him before you, then may I bear the guilt before you all my life.

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Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
They replied, “The man questioned us in detail about ourselves and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?”
KJV
And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
WEB
They said, “The man asked directly concerning ourselves, and concerning our relatives, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ We just answered his questions. Is there any way we could know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”
ASV
And they said, The man asked straitly concerning ourselves, and concerning our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye [another] brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we in any wise know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
DARBY
And they said, The man asked very closely after us, and after our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye a brother? And we told him according to the tenor of these words. Could we at all know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
BLB
And they said, “The man surely asked about us and about our family, saying, ‘[Is] your⁺ father still alive? Is there unto you⁺ a brother?’ And we told him, according to the mouth, these words. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring down your⁺ brother’?”
ÅB
Og Juda sa til Israel, sin far: Send gutten med meg! Så vil vi gjøre oss rede og dra avsted, så vi kan leve og ikke skal dø, både vi og du og våre små barn.
OTB
De sa: «Mannen spurte oss nøye om oss selv og vår familie, og spurte: ‘Er deres far fortsatt i live? Har dere en annen bror?’ Vi svarte på hans spørsmål. Hvordan kunne vi ha visst at han ville si: ‘Ta med deres bror hit’?»
B1930
Og Juda sa til Israel, sin far: Send gutten med mig I Så vil vi gjøre oss rede og dra avsted, så vi kan leve og ikke skal dø, både vi og du og våre små barn.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Genesis 43:3

    But Judah replied, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’

    Read in context

  • Genesis 42:13

    But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”

    Read in context

  • Genesis 43:27

    He asked if they were well, and then he asked, “How is your elderly father you told me about? Is he still alive?”

    Read in context