Genesis 42:21
New International Version
They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”

New Living Translation
Speaking among themselves, they said, “Clearly we are being punished because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his anguish when he pleaded for his life, but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why we’re in this trouble.”

English Standard Version
Then 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.”

Berean Standard Bible
Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”

King James Bible
And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.

New King James Version
Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.”

New American Standard Bible
Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; for that reason this distress has happened to us.”

NASB 1995
Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.”

NASB 1977
Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then they said to one another, “Surely we are guilty concerning our brother because we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.”

Amplified Bible
And they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty regarding our brother [Joseph], because we saw the distress and anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us [to let him go], yet we would not listen [to his cry]; so this distress and anguish has come on us.”

Christian Standard Bible
Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.”

American Standard Version
And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And they said, each man to his brothers, “Truly we are condemned concerning our brother, for we did see the anxiety of his soul when he was making supplication to us and we did not listen to him, because of this, this distress has come upon us.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And each said to his brother, Yes, indeed, for we are in fault concerning our brother, when we disregarded the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we hearkened not to him; and therefore has this affliction come upon us.

Contemporary English Version
and said to one another, "We're being punished because of Joseph. We saw the trouble he was in, but we refused to help him when he begged us. That's why these terrible things are happening."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they talked one to another: We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned against our brother, seeing the anguished of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear: therefore is this affliction come upon us.

English Revised Version
And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They said to each other, "We're surely being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw how troubled he was when he pleaded with us for mercy, but we wouldn't listen. That's why we're in trouble now."

Good News Translation
and said to one another, "Yes, now we are suffering the consequences of what we did to our brother; we saw the great trouble he was in when he begged for help, but we would not listen. That is why we are in this trouble now."

International Standard Version
"We're all guilty because of what we did to our brother!" they told each other. "We kept on watching his suffering while he pleaded with us! We're in this mess because we wouldn't listen!"

JPS Tanakh 1917
And they said one to another: 'We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.'

Literal Standard Version
And they say to one another, “Truly we [are] guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul, in his making supplication to us, and we did not listen: therefore this distress has come on us.”

Majority Standard Bible
Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”

New American Bible
To one another, however, they said: “Truly we are being punished because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen. That is why this anguish has now come upon us.”

NET Bible
They said to one other, "Surely we're being punished because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress has come on us!"

New Revised Standard Version
They said to one another, “Alas, we are paying the penalty for what we did to our brother; we saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this anguish has come upon us.”

New Heart English Bible
Then they said to one another, "We are certainly guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we wouldn�t listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us."

Webster's Bible Translation
And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.

World English Bible
They said to one another, “We are certainly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and we wouldn’t listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us.”

Young's Literal Translation
And they say one unto another, 'Verily we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul, in his making supplication unto us, and we did not hearken: therefore hath this distress come upon us.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Joseph's Brothers Sent to Egypt
20Then bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be verified, that you may not die.” And to this they consented. 21Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” 22And Reuben responded, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you would not listen. Now we must account for his blood!”…

Cross References
Genesis 37:26
Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

Genesis 37:27
Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh." And they agreed.

Genesis 45:3
Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But they were unable to answer him, because they were terrified in his presence.

Genesis 50:15
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph bears a grudge? Then he will surely repay us for all the evil that we did to him."

Hosea 5:15
Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me."


Treasury of Scripture

And they said one to another, We are truly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he sought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come on us.

they said.

Genesis 41:9
Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:

Numbers 32:23
But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.

2 Samuel 12:13
And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

we saw.

Genesis 37:23-28
And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; …

Judges 1:7
And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

Proverbs 21:13
Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

this distress.

Proverbs 1:27,28
When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you…

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Anguish Begged Besought Distress Guilty Hear Pleaded Soul Truth Verily Wouldn't
Genesis 42
1. Jacob sends his ten sons to buy grain in Egypt.
16. They are imprisoned by Joseph as spies.
18. They are set at liberty, on condition to bring Benjamin.
21. They have remorse for Joseph.
24. Simeon is kept for a pledge.
25. They return with grain, and their money.
29. Their relation to Jacob.
36. Jacob refuses to send Benjamin.














(21) We are verily guilty.--They had evidently expected that whatever suspicions might be aroused by their first appearance, all such ideas would disappear upon their explanation of themselves and their purpose. Instead of this they are thrown into prison, abandoned to their reflections for three days, and dismissed only upon the condition of their leaving one brother as a hostage for their coming again accompanied by Benjamin: and as they knew no reason for this, it would fill their minds with fear. But though they were now suffering unjustly, it brought back to their mind their former sin; and the fact that it was so fresh in their memories is a sign of the reality of their repentance.

Verse 21. - And they said one to another (Joseph's treatment of them beginning by this time to produce its appropriate and designed result by recalling them to a sense of their former guilt), We are verily guilty - "this is the only acknowledgment of sin in the Book of Genesis" (Inglis) - concerning our brother. They had been guilty of many sins, but the special iniquity of which their reception by the Egyptian governor had reminded them was that which some twenty years before they had perpetrated against their own brother. Indeed the accusation preferred against them that they were spies, the apparent unwillingness of the viceroy to listen to their request for food, and their subsequent incarceration, though innocent of any offence, were all calculated to recall to their recollection successive steps in their inhuman treatment of Joseph. In that (or because) we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us (literally, in his beseeching of us, an incident which the narrator omits to mention; but which the guilty consciences of the brethren remember), and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. The retributive character of their sufferings, which they cannot fail to perceive, they endeavor to express by employing the same word, עָרַח, to describe Joseph's anguish and their distress.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then they said
וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ (way·yō·mə·rū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

one
אִ֣ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

another,
אָחִ֗יו (’ā·ḥîw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 251: A brother, )

“Surely
אֲבָל֮ (’ă·ḇāl)
Adverb
Strong's 61: Verily, of a truth

we
אֲנַחְנוּ֮ (’ă·naḥ·nū)
Pronoun - first person common plural
Strong's 587: We

are being punished
אֲשֵׁמִ֣ים ׀ (’ă·šê·mîm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 818: Guilty, presenting a, sin-offering

because of
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

our brother.
אָחִינוּ֒ (’ā·ḥî·nū)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common plural
Strong's 251: A brother, )

We saw
רָאִ֜ינוּ (rā·’î·nū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common plural
Strong's 7200: To see

his
נַפְשׁ֛וֹ (nap̄·šōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

anguish
צָרַ֥ת (ṣā·raṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 6869: Tightness, a female rival

when he pleaded
בְּהִתְחַֽנְנ֥וֹ (bə·hiṯ·ḥan·nōw)
Preposition-b | Verb - Hitpael - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 2603: To bend, stoop in kindness to an inferior, to favor, bestow, to implore

with us,
אֵלֵ֖ינוּ (’ê·lê·nū)
Preposition | first person common plural
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

but we would not
וְלֹ֣א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

listen.
שָׁמָ֑עְנוּ (šā·mā·‘ə·nū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common plural
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

That is why
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

this
הַזֹּֽאת׃ (haz·zōṯ)
Article | Pronoun - feminine singular
Strong's 2063: Hereby in it, likewise, the one other, same, she, so much, such deed, that,

distress
הַצָּרָ֖ה (haṣ·ṣā·rāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 6869: Tightness, a female rival

has come
בָּ֣אָה (bā·’āh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

upon us.�
אֵלֵ֔ינוּ (’ê·lê·nū)
Preposition | first person common plural
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to


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OT Law: Genesis 42:21 They said one to another We (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 42:20
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