EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Genesis 44:16
16Judah said, ‘We do not know what to say to you, my lord. We cannot say that we did not do this. God has shown that we are guilty of this sin. Now we are your slaves. We are all your slaves, as well as the one who had your cup in his bag.’
Genesis 44:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.
- New International Version (NIV)“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Judah said, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord's servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; here we are, my lord’s slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.”
Context of Genesis 44:16
14Joseph was still in his house when Judah and his brothers arrived. They threw themselves on the ground in front of Joseph. 15Joseph said, ‘Why have you done this bad thing? You should have known about an important man like me. I can use magic to find out what people do.’ Judah said, ‘We do not know what to say to you, my lord. We cannot say that we did not do this. God has shown that we are guilty of this sin. Now we are your slaves. We are all your slaves, as well as the one who had your cup in his bag.’ 17But Joseph said, ‘I would not do a thing like that! Only the man who had the cup will be my slave. The rest of you can return to your father. You may go as my friends.’ 18Then Judah went and he spoke to Joseph. He said, ‘Please, my lord. Let me speak to you. You have all of Pharaoh's authority, but please do not be angry with me, your servant.
Read all of Genesis 44Genesis 44:16 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוּדָ֗ה מַה־נֹּאמַר֙ לַֽאדֹנִ֔י מַה־נְּדַבֵּ֖ר וּמַה־נִּצְטַדָּ֑ק הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים מָצָא֙ אֶת־עֲוֹ֣ן עֲבָדֶ֔יךָ הִנֶּנּ֤וּ עֲבָדִים֙ לַֽאדֹנִ֔י גַּם־אֲנַ֕חְנוּ גַּ֛ם אֲשֶׁר־נִמְצָ֥א הַגָּבִ֖יעַ בְּיָדֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto my lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- what shall we speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- or how shall we clear ourselvesצָדֵקtsâdaq · to justifyH6663
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- hath found outמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
- the iniquityעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: guiltH5771
- of thy servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
- alsoגַּםgam · alsoH1571
- with whomיָדyâd · handH3027
- with whomאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- the cupגָּבִיעַgebîya‛ · cupH1375
Cross-references for Genesis 44:16
- Genesis 44:32I promised my father that I would take care of the boy. I said, “I will bring the boy back. If I do not, then you can say that I am guilty. I will be guilty for all of my life.”
- Genesis 43:8Then Judah said to his father Jacob, ‘Agree to send the boy with me. We will go to Egypt immediately. Then all our family can continue to live. We will not die.
- Deuteronomy 25:1When there is an argument between two people, they must both go to the judges. Then the judges will decide which of the two people is right. They will decide the punishment for the guilty person.
- Ezra 9:10Our God, we can say nothing good about ourselves. We have turned away from your commands.
- Job 40:4‘I am only a foolish man. I cannot answer your questions. I cover my mouth with my hand so that I say nothing.
- Proverbs 17:15If a judge says that a guilty person is not guilty, the Lord hates it. If a judge punishes someone who is not guilty, the Lord hates that too.
- Isaiah 5:3So now, listen to me, you people who live in Jerusalem and in Judah. You must be the judge! Who did what was right? Was it me or my vineyard? You decide!
- Daniel 9:7Our Lord, you always do what is right. Today we are very ashamed. The people of Judah, Jerusalem and all Israel have not been faithful to you. You have sent our people away to many countries. Some are near and some are far away. We are all ashamed because we have turned away from you.
- Acts 2:37The people heard what Peter said to them. They were very upset. So they said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Friends, tell us what we should do.’
- Genesis 37:18But his brothers recognized Joseph, while he was still far away. Before he had arrived where they were, they decided on a way to kill him.
- Genesis 42:21The 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.’
- Numbers 32:23But if you do not do what you have promised, that will be a sin against the Lord. And be sure that God will punish you for your sin.
- Joshua 7:1The Israelites did not obey what Joshua had said about the valuable things that belonged to God. Achan took some of these things for himself. He was Carmi's son, who was the son of Zimri, who was the son of Zerah. They were from the tribe of Judah. The Lord was very angry with the Israelites.
- Judges 1:7King Adoni-Bezek said, ‘God has punished me because I did the same thing to 70 other kings. I cut off their thumbs and big toes. I made them pick up bits of food to eat under my table.’ The Israelites took King Adoni-Bezek back to Jerusalem. He died there.
- Proverbs 28:17Someone who is guilty of murder will be running until he dies. Nobody should help him to escape.
- Matthew 7:2God will think about you in the same way that you think about other people. He will use the same rules for you as you use for other people.
Commentaries on Genesis 44:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16What shall we say, etc. - No words can more strongly mark confusion and perturbation of mind. They, no doubt, all thought that Benjamin had actually stolen the cup; and the probability of this guilt might be heightened by the circumstance of his having that very cup to drink out of at dinner; for as he had the most honorable mess, so it is likely he had the most honorable cup to drink out of at the entertainment.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-34Verses 1-34 - 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16Judah again spoke for the group. God has exposed the iniquity of your servants: God was completing the work of repentance in their hearts. Judah again proposed that they all be punished. Benjamin was seemingly guilty of this theft, but all of the others were guilty of sin against Joseph. They preferred not returning to Jacob at all versus seeing his grief at the loss of Benjamin (44:34).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-3416-34. Judah said, What shall we say?--This address needs no comment--consisting at first of short, broken sentences, as if, under the overwhelming force of the speaker's emotions, his utterance were choked, it becomes more free and copious by the effort of speaking, as he proceeds. Every word finds its way to the heart; and it may well be imagined that Benjamin, who stood there speechless like a victim about to be laid on the altar, when he heard the…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 44:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 44
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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