New International Version
Genesis 50:18
18His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
Genesis 50:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
- English Standard Version (ESV)His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then his brothers came and threw themselves down before Joseph. “Look, we are your slaves!” they said.
Context of Genesis 50:18
16So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. 19But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Read all of Genesis 50Genesis 50:18 word by word
וַיֵּלְכוּ֙ גַּם־אֶחָ֔יו וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ לְפָנָ֑יו וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ הִנֶּ֥נּֽוּ לְךָ֖ לַעֲבָדִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 50:18
- Genesis 27:29May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”
- Genesis 37:7We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
- Genesis 42:6Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.
- Genesis 44:14Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him.
- Genesis 45:3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.
Commentaries on Genesis 50:18
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-26Verses 1-26 - The Burial of Jacob 10. אטד 'āṭâd Atad, “the buck-thorn.” 11. מצרים אבל 'ābêl -mı̂tsrayı̂m Abel-Mitsraim, “mourning of Mizraim,” or meadow of Mizraim. This chapter records the burial of Jacob and the death of Joseph, and so completes the history of the chosen family, and the third bible for the instruction of man. Genesis 50:1-3 After the natural outburst of sorrow for his deceased parent, Joseph gave orders to embalm the body…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-21Verses 15-21 Various motives might cause the sons of Jacob to continue in Egypt, notwithstanding the prophetic vision Abraham had of their bondage there. Judging of Joseph from the general temper of human nature, they thought he would now avenge himself on those who hated and injured him without cause. Not being able to resist, or to flee away, they attempted to soften him by humbling themselves. They pleaded with him as the servants of Jacob's God…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-18The brothers begged Joseph to forgive them, referring to themselves as his slaves (compare 37:7; 44:16, 33). They worried that Joseph had only made peace with them earlier because he wanted to see his father again. Now that Jacob and Pharaoh were not there to restrain him, they feared he might seek revenge. But Joseph wept because they still feared he would punish them.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-2115-21. When Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, &c.--Joseph was deeply affected by this communication. He gave them the strongest assurances of his forgiveness and thereby gave both a beautiful trait of his own pious character, as well as appeared an eminent type of the Saviour.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 50:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 50
- 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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