New Living Translation
Genesis 37:20
20“Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”
Genesis 37:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
- New International Version (NIV)“Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”
Context of Genesis 37:20
18When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. 19“Here comes the dreamer!” they said. “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!” 21But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. 22“Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.
Read all of Genesis 37Genesis 37:20 word by word
וְעַתָּ֣ה׀ לְכ֣וּ וְנַֽהַרְגֵ֗הוּ וְנַשְׁלִכֵ֙הוּ֙ בְּאַחַ֣ד הַבֹּר֔וֹת וְאָמַ֕רְנוּ חַיָּ֥ה רָעָ֖ה אֲכָלָ֑תְהוּ וְנִרְאֶ֕ה מַה־יִּהְי֖וּ חֲלֹמֹתָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Comeיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- now therefore, and let us slayהָרַגhârag · to killH2026
- him, and castשָׁלַךְshâlak · to throwH7993
- him into someאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- pitבּוֹרbôr · pitH953
- and we will sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Some evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: harmfulH7451
- beastחַיָּהchay · living thingH2416
- hath devouredאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- him: and we shall seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- what will become of his dreamsחֲלוֹםchălôm chălôm · dreamH2472
Cross-references for Genesis 37:20
- Psalms 64:5They encourage each other to do evil and plan how to set their traps in secret. “Who will ever notice?” they ask.
- Proverbs 1:11They may say, “Come and join us. Let’s hide and kill someone! Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
- Proverbs 6:17haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent,
- Proverbs 27:4Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood, but jealousy is even more dangerous.
- John 3:12But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
- 1 Kings 13:24and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
- 2 Kings 2:24Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them.
- Proverbs 10:18Hiding hatred makes you a liar; slandering others makes you a fool.
- Proverbs 28:13People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.
- 1 Samuel 24:20And now I realize that you are surely going to be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will flourish under your rule.
- 1 Samuel 26:2So Saul took 3,000 of Israel’s elite troops and went to hunt him down in the wilderness of Ziph.
- Matthew 2:2“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
- Matthew 27:40“Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!”
- Mark 15:29The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. “Ha! Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days.
- John 12:10Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too,
- Acts 4:16“What should we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it.
Commentaries on Genesis 37:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Come now and let us slay him - What unprincipled savages these must have been to talk thus coolly about imbruing their hands in an innocent brother's blood! How necessary is a Divine revelation, to show man what God hates and what he loves! Ferocious cruelty is the principal characteristic of the nations and tribes who receive not the law at his mouth.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-36Verses 1-36 - Joseph Was Sold into Egypt 17. דתין dotayı̂n Dothain, “two wells?” (Gesenius) 25. נכאת neko't “tragacanth” or goat‘s-thorn gum, yielded by the “astragalus gummifer”, a native of Mount Lebanon. צרי tsērı̂y “opobalsamum,” the resin of the balsam tree, growing in Gilead, and having healing qualities. לט loṭ ͂ lēdon “ledum, ladanum,” in the Septuagint ́ staktē The former is a gum produced from the cistus rose. The latter is a gum resembling…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-22Verses 12-22 How readily does Joseph wait his father's orders! Those children who are best beloved by their parents, should be the most ready to obey them. See how deliberate Joseph's brethren were against him. They thought to slay him from malice aforethought, and in cold blood. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, 1Jo 3:15. The sons of Jacob hated their brother because their father loved him. New occasions, as his dreams and the like, drew them…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-20When Joseph's brothers saw him coming, they plotted to kill … that dreamer and stop his dreams. Earlier, they had unjustly killed the men of Shechem to avenge their sister (chapter 34). Now, in the region of Shechem, they plotted to unjustly kill their own brother out of jealousy.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-365. Joseph dreamed a dream--Dreams in ancient times were much attended to, and hence the dream of Joseph, though but a mere boy, engaged the serious consideration of his family. But this dream was evidently symbolical. The meaning was easily discerned, and, from its being repeated under different emblems, the fulfilment was considered certain (compare Ge 41:32), whence it was that "his brethren envied him, but his father observed the saying" [Ge 37:11].Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 37:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 37
- 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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