Genesis 44:31

Genesis 44:31 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
• New International Version (NIV)sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow.
• English Standard Version (ESV)as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol.
• New King James Version (NKJV)it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave.

Context of Genesis 44:31

29Now if you take his brother away from me, and any harm comes to him, you will send this grieving, white-haired man to his grave.’ 30“And now, my lord, I cannot go back to my father without the boy. Our father’s life is bound up in the boy’s life. If he sees that the boy is not with us, our father will die. We, your servants, will indeed be responsible for sending that grieving, white-haired man to his grave. 32My lord, I guaranteed to my father that I would take care of the boy. I told him, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, I will bear the blame forever.’ 33“So please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.

Genesis 44:31 word by word

וְהָיָ֗ה כִּרְאוֹת֛וֹ כִּי־אֵ֥ין הַנַּ֖עַר וָמֵ֑ת וְהוֹרִ֨ידוּ עֲבָדֶ֜יךָ אֶת־שֵׂיבַ֨ת עַבְדְּךָ֥ אָבִ֛ינוּ בְּיָג֖וֹן שְׁאֹֽלָה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• It shall come to pass, when he seethרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• that the ladנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
• that he will dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• and thy servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• shall bring downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• the gray hairsשֵׂיבָהώêybâh · hoary headH7872
• our fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• with sorrowיָגוֹןyâgôn · sorrowH3015
• to the graveשְׁאוֹלshe'ôl she'ôl · hell: SheolH7585

Cross-references for Genesis 44:31

• 1 Samuel 4:17“Israel has been defeated by the Philistines,” the messenger replied. “The people have been slaughtered, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were also killed. And the Ark of God has been captured.”
• 2 Corinthians 7:10For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:13And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
• Genesis 44:29Now if you take his brother away from me, and any harm comes to him, you will send this grieving, white-haired man to his grave.’
• Genesis 37:26Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime.
• 1 Samuel 22:22David exclaimed, “I knew it! When I saw Doeg the Edomite there that day, I knew he was sure to tell Saul. Now I have caused the death of all your father’s family.

Commentaries on Genesis 44:31

• 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
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-34Verses 18-34 Had Joseph been, as Judah supposed him, an utter stranger to the family, he could not but be wrought upon by his powerful reasonings. But neither Jacob nor Benjamin need an intercessor with Joseph; for he himself loved them. Judah's faithful cleaving to Benjamin, now, in his distress, was recompensed long afterwards by the tribe of Benjamin keeping with the tribe of Judah, when the other tribes deserted it. The apostle, when discoursing of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-34Judah kept his promise to make sure Benjamin was safe (43:8–10). His lengthy plea to take Benjamin's place in prison is one of the most sincere examples of intercession in the Bible (44:33). It showed Judah's care for their father and his willingness to sacrifice everything for his brother. With this integrity, Judah proved himself a true leader, worthy of the firstborn's blessing (see John 15:13). Through him, Israel's kings would emerge (see Genesis…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 44:31

• Children
• Hell
• Judah
• Readings, Select

In the dictionaries

• Couch
• Cruel
• Earing
• Famine
• Hell
• Joseph
• Judah
• Surety
• Antediluvian Patriarchs
• Color; Colors

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