Genesis 42:22

Genesis 42:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)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."
• New King James Version (NKJV)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.”

Context of Genesis 42:22

20But you must return to Egypt and you must bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that what you have said is true. Then you will not die.’ Joseph's brothers agreed to do what he told them. 21The brothers said to each other, ‘This punishment is happening to us because of what we did to Joseph. We saw how upset he was when he asked us not to kill him. But we refused to be kind to him. That is why we have all this trouble.’ Reuben said, ‘I told you not to do anything bad to the boy. But you would not agree! We killed him and now we must receive the punishment.’ 23While they said all this, they did not know that Joseph could understand them. Joseph had been speaking in the Egyptian language and someone else told the brothers his message in Hebrew. 24Joseph went away from his brothers and he began to weep. But then he returned to speak to them again. While they watched, Joseph told his men to tie Simeon's hands and take him away.

Genesis 42:22 word by word

וַיַּעַן֩ רְאוּבֵ֨ן אֹתָ֜ם לֵאמֹ֗ר הֲלוֹא֩ אָמַ֨רְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶ֧ם׀ לֵאמֹ֛ר אַל־תֶּחֶטְא֥וּ בַיֶּ֖לֶד וְלֹ֣א שְׁמַעְתֶּ֑ם וְגַם־דָּמ֖וֹ הִנֵּ֥ה נִדְרָֽשׁ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Reubenרְאוּבֵןre'ûbên · ReubenH7205
• answeredעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
• them, sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Do not sinחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
• against the childיֶ֫לֶדyeled · youthH3206
• and ye would not hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• therefore, behold, also his bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• is requiredדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875

Cross-references for Genesis 42:22

• Genesis 37:21When Reuben heard this, he tried to save Joseph from the other brothers. He said, ‘We should not kill him.
• Luke 23:41We two men have done very bad things. So it is right that we should die. But this man has not done anything wrong.’
• Romans 2:15Those people show that they know what is right. It is as if God has written his Law deep inside them. Their thoughts tell them the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Sometimes their thoughts say: ‘You did something that is wrong.’ And sometimes their thoughts say: ‘You did what is right.’
• Genesis 4:10Then the Lord God said, ‘Why have you done this bad thing? Now your brother's blood is lying there on the ground. That is like his voice which is shouting to me for help.
• Genesis 9:5If any person or animal kills a human, I will certainly punish them. Their punishment will be death.
• 1 Kings 2:32The Lord will now punish him because of the murders that he did. He used his sword to attack and kill two men, but he did not tell my father David about it. He murdered Ner's son Abner, the leader of Israel's army. He also murdered Jether's son Amasa, the leader of Judah's army. Both those men were better and more honest than Joab was.
• 2 Chronicles 24:22King Joash forgot that Zechariah's father Jehoiada had been a faithful servant. He killed Jehoiada's son. Zechariah said, as he was dying, ‘I pray that the Lord sees what you have done! May he punish you because of it!’
• Psalms 9:12God punishes murderers, and he takes care of people who receive pain from others. When they call to him, he does not refuse to help them.
• Ezekiel 3:18I may say to a wicked person, “Your punishment will be death.” Then you must warn that person. You must tell him to stop doing wicked things so that he may save his life. If you do not tell the wicked person this, he will die because of his sins. But I will say that you are guilty, as if you had killed him yourself.
• Luke 11:50Since the beginning of the world, people have killed God's prophets. But God will punish the people who are alive today for all those murders.
• Acts 28:4The people who lived on the island saw the snake. They saw that it was hanging from Paul's hand. So they said to each other, ‘We know now that this man murdered someone. He did not die in the sea but now the snake will kill him. The god who punishes people for the bad things that they do will not let him live.’
• Revelation 13:10‘If it is right for someone's enemy to catch him, that is what will happen. If it is right for someone's enemy to kill him with a sword, that is what will happen.’ This means that God's people must be patient and strong. They must continue to trust God.
• Revelation 16:9The strong heat burned people and it hurt them very much. As a result, they said bad things against God's name, because he had the power to cause these terrible troubles. But they refused to change how they lived. They refused to agree that God is great.

Commentaries on Genesis 42:22

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-38Verses 1-38 - Joseph and Ten of His Brethren 1. שׁבר sheber “fragment, crumb, hence, grain.” בר bar “pure,” “winnowed,” hence, “corn” (grain). 6. שׁליט shallı̂yṭ “ruler, governor, hence,” Sultan. Not elsewhere found in the Pentateuch. 25. כלי kelı̂y “vessel,” here any portable article in which grain may be conveyed. שׂק śaq “sack,” the very word which remains in our language to this day. אמתחת 'amtachath “bag.” Twenty years, the period of Joseph‘s long…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-24Verses 21-24 The office of conscience is to bring to mind things long since said and done. When the guilt of this sin of Joseph's brethren was fresh, they made light of it, and sat down to eat bread; but now, long afterward, their consciences accused them of it. See the good of afflictions; they often prove the happy means of awakening conscience, and bringing sin to our remembrance. Also, the evil of guilt as to our brethren. Conscience now reproached…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22you would not listen: Reuben had lost his place as leader (see study notes on 42:37; 49:3–4).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-2417-24. put them ... into ward three days--Their confinement had been designed to bring them to salutary reflection. And this object was attained, for they looked upon the retributive justice of God as now pursuing them in that foreign land. The drift of their conversation is one of the most striking instances on record of the power of conscience [Ge 42:21, 22].Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 42:22

• Chiding
• Commerce
• Conviction
• Reuben

In the dictionaries

• Reuben
• Bereave
• Espy
• Famine
• Fear
• Joseph
• Lade
• Lord
• Nakedness
• Sack

Commentaries on Genesis 42

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings