English Standard Version
Genesis 42:20
20and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die." And they did so.
Genesis 42:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
- New International Version (NIV)But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so.
- New Living Translation (NLT)But you must bring your youngest brother back to me. This will prove that you are telling the truth, and you will not die.” To this they agreed.
Context of Genesis 42:20
18On the third day Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die." And they did so. 21Then they said to one another, "In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us." 22And 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."
Read all of Genesis 42Genesis 42:20 word by word
וְאֶת־אֲחִיכֶ֤ם הַקָּטֹן֙ תָּבִ֣יאוּ אֵלַ֔י וְיֵאָמְנ֥וּ דִבְרֵיכֶ֖ם וְלֹ֣א תָמ֑וּתוּ וַיַּעֲשׂוּ־כֵֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
- your youngestקָטֹןqâţân qâţôn · small: youngH6996
- brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
- unto me; so shall your wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- be verifiedאָמַן'âman · be faithfulH539
- and ye shall not dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- And they didעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
Cross-references for Genesis 42:20
- Genesis 42:15By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
- Genesis 43:5But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, 'You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.'"
- Genesis 44:23Then you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.'
- Genesis 42:26Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed.
- Genesis 6:22Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
- John 2:5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
Commentaries on Genesis 42:20
- 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. 7-20Verses 7-20 Joseph was hard upon his brethren, not from a spirit of revenge, but to bring them to repentance. Not seeing his brother Benjamin, he suspected that they had made away with him, and he gave them occasion to speak of their father and brother. God, in his providence, sometimes seems harsh with those he loves, and speaks roughly to those for whom yet he has great mercy in store. Joseph settled at last, that one of them should be left, and the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-20Rather than keep all but one, Joseph would release all but one to take grain home to their starving families.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 42:20
In the dictionaries
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
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Commentaries