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.”
Parallel Translations
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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.”
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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.
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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.'
Cross-references (26)
Passages linked to Genesis 42:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Hosea 5:15 I will go and return to my place, until they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face. In their affliction they will seek me earnestly.”
- Genesis 37:23-28 When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him; and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it. They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh.” His brothers listened to him. Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The merchants brought Joseph into Egypt.
- Job 36:8-9 If they are bound in fetters, and are taken in the cords of afflictions, then he shows them their work, and their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly.
- Mark 9:43-45 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire, ‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’ If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having your two feet to be cast into Gehenna, into the fire that will never be quenched—
- Genesis 41:9 Then the chief cup bearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I remember my faults today.
- Numbers 32:23 “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against Yahweh; and be sure your sin will find you out.
- Judges 1:7 Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their big toes cut off, scavenged under my table. As I have done, so God has done to me.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
- 2 Samuel 12:13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Yahweh.” Nathan said to David, “Yahweh also has put away your sin. You will not die.
- 1 Kings 17:18 She said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!”
- Job 34:31-32 “For has any said to God, ‘I am guilty, but I will not offend any more. Teach me that which I don’t see. If I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?
- Proverbs 1:27-28 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when your disaster comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come on you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me;
- Proverbs 21:13 Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he will also cry out, but shall not be heard.
- Proverbs 24:11-12 Rescue those who are being led away to death! Indeed, hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter! If you say, “Behold, we didn’t know this,” doesn’t he who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, doesn’t he know it? Shall he not render to every man according to his work?
- Proverbs 28:17 A man who is tormented by life blood will be a fugitive until death; no one will support him.
- Jeremiah 2:17 “Haven’t you brought this on yourself, in that you have forsaken Yahweh your God, when he led you by the way?
- Jeremiah 2:19 “Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backsliding will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing, that you have forsaken Yahweh your God, and that my fear is not in you,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.
- Jeremiah 34:17 Therefore Yahweh says: “You have not listened to me, to proclaim liberty, every man to his brother, and every man to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim to you a liberty,” says Yahweh, “to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine. I will make you be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth.
- Matthew 7:2 For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you.
- Matthew 27:3-4 Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that Jesus was condemned, felt remorse, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? You see to it.”
- Mark 9:48 ‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’
- Luke 16:28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’
- Acts 19:18 Many also of those who had believed came, confessing, and declaring their deeds.
- James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- Job 33:27-28 He sings before men, and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it didn’t profit me. He has redeemed my soul from going into the pit. My life will see the light.’
- Jeremiah 4:18 “Your way and your doings have brought these things to you. This is your wickedness; for it is bitter, for it reaches to your heart.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (19 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 21. And they said one to another. This is…
21. And they said one to another. This is a remarkable passage, showing that the sons of Jacob, when reduced to the greatest straits, recall to memory a fratricide committed thirteen years previously. Before affliction pressed upon them, they were in a state of torpor. Moses relates that, even lately, they had spoken without agitation of Joseph’s death, as if conscious to themselves of no evil. But now they are compelled (so to speak) to enter into their own consciences. We see then, how in adversity, God searches and tries men; and how, while dissipating all their flattering illusions, he not only pierces their minds with secret fear, but extorts a confession which they would gladly avoid. And this kind of examination is very necessary for us. Wonderful is the hypocrisy of men in covering their evils; and if impunity be allowed, their negligence will be increased twofold. Wherefore no remedy remains, except that they who give themselves up to slumber when the Lord deals gently with them, should be awakened by afflictions and punishments. Joseph therefore produced some good effect, when he extorted from his brethren the acknowledgment of their sin, in which they had securely pleased themselves. And the Lord had compassion on them, in taking away the covering with which they had been too long deceived. In the same manner, while he daily chastises us by the hand of man, he draws us, as guilty, to his tribunal. Nevertheless it would profit but little to be tried by adversity, unless he inwardly touched the heart; for we see how few reflect on their sins, although admonished by most severe punishments; certainly no one comes to this state of mind but with reluctance. Wherefore, there is no doubt that God, in order to lead the sons of Jacob to repentance, impelled them, as well by the secret instinct of his Spirit as by outward chastisement, to become sensible of that sin which had been too long concealed. Let the reader also observe, that the sons of Jacob did not only fix their minds on something which was close at hand, but considered that divine punishments were inflicted in various ways upon sinners. And doubtless, in order to apprehend the divine judgments, we must extend our views afar. Sometimes indeed God, by inflicting present punishment on sinners, holds them up for observation as on a theater; but often, as if aiming at another object, he takes vengeance on our sins unexpectedly, and from an unseen quarter. If the sons of Jacob had merely looked for some present cause of their sufferings, they could have done nothing but loudly complain that they had been injured; and at length despair would have followed. But while considering how far and wide the providence of God extends, looking beyond the occasion immediately before their eyes, they ascend to a remote cause. It is, however, doubtful, whether they say that they shall be held guilty on account of their brother, or for their brother’s sake, or that they will themselves confess that they have sinned: for the Hebrew noun, אשמים (ashaimim) is ambiguous because it sometimes refers to the crime committed, and sometimes to the punishment, as in Latin, piaculum signifies both the crime and the expiation. On the whole, it is of little consequence which meaning is preferred, for they acknowledge their sin either in its guilt or its punishment. But the latter sense appears to me the more simple and genuine, that they are deservedly punished because they had been so cruel to their brother.
In that we saw the anguish of his soul. They acknowledge that it is by the just judgment of God, that they obtained nothing by their suppliant entreaties, because they themselves had acted so cruelly towards their brother. Christ had not yet uttered the sentence,
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“With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you again,” (Matthew 7:2,)
but it was a dictate of nature, that they who had been cruel to others, were unworthy of commiseration. The more heed ought we to take, that we prove not deaf to so many threatening of Scripture. Dreadful is that denunciation,
“Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, and shall not be heard.” (Proverbs 21:13.)
Therefore while we have time, let us learn to exercise humanity, to sympathize with the miserable, and to stretch out our hand for the sake of giving assistance. But if at any time it happens that we are treated roughly by men, and our prayers are proudly rejected; then, at least, let the question occur to us, whether we ourselves have in anything acted unkindly towards others; for although it were better to be wise beforehand; it is, nevertheless, some advantage, whenever others proudly despise us, to reflect whether they with whom we have had to deal, have not experienced similar hardships from us. “Our brother,” they say, “entreated us when he was in the last extremity: we rejected his prayers: therefore it is by divine retribution that we can obtain nothing.” By these words they bear witness that the hearts of men are so under Divine government, that they can be inclined to equity, or hardened in inflexible rigor. Moreover, their cruelty was hateful to God, because, since his goodness is diffused through heaven and earth, and his beneficence is extended not only to men, but even to brute animals, nothing is more contrary to his nature, than that we should cruelly reject those who implore our protection.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Affliction maketh men to acknowledge their faults, which otherwise…
Affliction maketh men to acknowledge their faults, which otherwise they would dissemble.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 42:21 And they said one to another, We…
Gen 42:21 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.
Ver. 21. We are verily guilty, &c.] See here the force of conscience and fruit of affliction to bring old sins to a new reckoning. Conscience, though for a while still, and seemingly asleep, yet is faithful in recording, and fearful in accusing. It writes bitter things, and will article against the sinner in the evil day. Therefore, as Bishop Latimer took special heed to the placing of his words, in his examination before Bonner, when he heard the pen walking in the chimney behind the cloth, and describing whatsoever he said; {a} so should we; since conscience is not only God’s spy, but notary: and albeit it doth not always execute the acts of accusing, yet hath always the habit of it. And that we shall know when trouble overtakes us; then shall we feel those darts of the Almighty, dagging at the heart, and those arrows of his, drinking up the spirit. Daniel chose rather to be cast into the den of lions than to carry about a lion in his bosom - an enraged conscience.
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{a} Act. and Mon.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This is the just punishment of that great wickedness,…
This is the just punishment of that great wickedness, which though we could cover from men, yet we now see and feel was known to God, who is now reckoning with us for it. Thus Divine vengeance overtakes them, and conscience tortures them for a sin committed above twenty years before, and their affliction brings them to repentance.
When he besought us: compare Gen 49:23. Yet this passage is not mentioned in that history, Gen 37:1-36. Learn hence, that the silence of the Scripture is no good argument that such or such a thing was not said or done, except in some special cases.
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Therefore is this distress come upon us; he is inexorable to us, as we were to him.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Here is, I. The penitent reflection Joseph's brethren made…
Here is, I. The penitent reflection Joseph's brethren made upon the wrong they had formerly done to him, Gen 42:21. They talked the matter over in the Hebrew tongue, not suspecting that Joseph, whom they took for a native of Egypt, understood them, much less that he was the person they spoke of.
1. They remembered with regret the barbarous cruelty wherewith they persecuted him: We are verily guilty concerning our brother. We do not read that they said this during their three days' imprisonment; but now, when the matter had come to some issue and they saw themselves still embarrassed, now they began to relent. Perhaps Joseph's mention of the fear of God (Gen 42:18) put them upon consideration and extorted this reflection. Now see here, (1.) The office of conscience; it is a remembrancer, to bring to mind things long since said and done, to show us wherein we have erred, though it was long ago, as the reflection here mentioned was above twenty years after the sin was committed. As time will not wear out the guilt of sin, so it will not blot out the records of conscience; when the guilt of this sin of Joseph's brethren was fresh they made light of it, and sat down to eat bread; but now, long afterwards, their consciences reminded them of it. (2.) The benefit of affliction; they often prove the happy and effectual means of awakening conscience, and bringing sin to our remembrance, Job 13:26. (3.) The evil of guilt concerning our brethren; of all their sins, it was this that conscience now reproached them for. Whenever we think we have wrong done us, we ought to remember the wrong we have done to others, Ecc 7:21, Ecc 7:22.
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2. Reuben alone remembered, with comfort, that he had been an advocate for his brother, and had done what he could to prevent the mischief they did him (Gen 42:22): Spoke I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child? Note, (1.) It is an aggravation of any sin that it was committed against admonitions. (2.) When we come to share with others in their calamities, it will be a comfort to us if we have the testimony of our consciences for us that we did not share with them in their iniquities, but, in our places, witnessed against them. This shall be our rejoicing in the day of evil, and shall take out the sting.
II. Joseph's tenderness towards them upon this occasion. He retired from them to weep, Gen 42:24. Though his reason directed that he should still carry himself as a stranger to them, because they were not as yet humbled enough, yet natural affection could not but work, for he was a man of a tender spirit. This represents the tender mercies of our God towards repenting sinners. See Jer 31:20, Since I spoke against him I do earnestly remember him still. See Jdg 10:16.
III. The imprisonment of Simeon, Gen 42:24. He chose him for the hostage probably because he remembered him to have been his most bitter enemy, or because he observed him now to be least humbled and concerned; he bound him before their eyes to affect them all; or perhaps it is intimated that, though he bound him with some severity before them, yet afterwards, when they were gone, he took off his bonds.
IV. The dismission of the rest of them. They came for corn, and corn they had; and not only so, but every man had his money restored in his sack's mouth. Thus Christ, our Joseph, gives out supplies without money and without price. Therefore the poor are invited to buy, Rev 3:17, Rev 3:18. This put them into great consternation (Gen 42:28): Their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done to us?
1. It was really a merciful event; for I hope they had no wrong done to them when they had their money given them back, but a kindness; yet they were thus terrified by it. Note, (1.) Guilty consciences are apt to take good providences in a bad sense, and to put wrong constructions even upon those things that make for them. They flee when none pursues. (2.) Wealth sometimes brings as much care along with it as want does, and more too. If they had been robbed of their money, they could not have been worse frightened than they were now when they found their money in their sacks. Thus he whose ground brought forth plentifully said, What shall I do? Luk 12:17.
2. Yet in their circumstances it was very amazing. They knew that the Egyptians abhorred a Hebrew (Gen 43:32), and therefore, since they could not expect to receive any kindness from them, they concluded that this was done with a design to pick a quarrel with them, and the rather because the man, the lord of the land, had charged them as spies. Their own consciences also were awake, and their sins set in order before them; and this put them into confusion. Note, (1.) When men's spirits are sinking every thing helps to sink them. (2.) When the events of Providence concerning us are surprising it is good to enquire what it is that God has done and is doing with us, and to consider the operation of his hands.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn,....…
Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn,.... Which was as much as they came for:
and to restore every man's money into his sack; the money paid by each for his quantity of corn delivered to him, not into the person's hands, but to be put into his sack privately, and unknown to him:
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and to give them provision for the way; sufficient both for themselves and for their cattle, that they might carry the whole of what corn they bought to their families:
and thus did he unto them; that is, not Joseph, but his steward or deputy, or however the servant that he gave the above order to.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain We are very guilty concerning our brother - We…
We are very guilty concerning our brother - We do not read that they said this during their three days imprisonment; but now when the matter was come to some issue, and they saw themselves still embarrassed, they began to relent. Perhaps Joseph's mention of the fear of God, put them upon consideration, and extorted this reflexion.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 21. We are verily guilty] How finely are…
Verse 21. We are verily guilty] How finely are the office and influence of conscience exemplified in these words! It was about twenty-two years since they had sold their brother, and probably their conscience had been lulled asleep to the present hour. God combines and brings about those favourable circumstances which produce attention and reflection, and give weight to the expostulations of conscience. How necessary to hear its voice in time, for here it may be the instrument of salvation; but if not heard in this world, it must be heard in the next; and there, in association with the unquenchable fire, it will be the never-dying worm. Reader, has not thy sin as yet found thee out? Pray to God to take away the veil from thy heart, and give thee that deep sense of guilt which shall oblige thee to flee for refuge to the hope which is set before thee in the Gospel of Christ.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 42:21. We are verily guilty — This is…
Gen 42:21. We are verily guilty — This is the just punishment of that wickedness which we committed against our brother. Though we could conceal it from men, we now see and feel it was known to God, who is reckoning with us for it. Thus the divine vengeance overtakes them, and conscience tortures them for a sin committed twenty years before, and their affliction, we may hope, brought them to repentance. We saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us — This particular is not mentioned in the history of this affair, recorded chap. 37., from which circumstance we learn, that the silence of Scripture concerning certain matters, is not a sufficient proof that they did not take place. We do not read that Joseph’s brethren were brought to feel this remorse of conscience, or made this confession to each other, during their three days of imprisonment; but now, when the matter was come to some issue, and they saw themselves still embarrassed, they began to relent. Perhaps Joseph’s mention of the fear of God, put them upon consideration, and extorted this reflection from them.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain We deserve. Conscience upbraids. "Punishment opens the mouth, which…
We deserve. Conscience upbraids. "Punishment opens the mouth, which sin had shut," St. Gregory. (Menochius) --- They had sold Joseph about 22 years before! (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 21. We are verily guilty — How the guilty…
21. We are verily guilty — How the guilty conscience smites them now, and makes them see and feel in this trial a divine retribution!
The anguish of his soul — In their awakened souls the scene of their brother’s look of agony and cries for mercy rises up afresh and vividly, deepening their present distress.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 21. We are verily guilty] The words of Joseph’s…
21. We are verily guilty] The words of Joseph’s brethren represent the vitality of conscience after a long interval of years. They have the traditional belief that calamity will overtake the guilty. Cf. the words of Elihu, Job_36:6-14.
his soul] See note on Gen_12:13. Cf. Gen_27:4; Gen_27:25.
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this distress] The same word is used by them to denote their present state of trouble and Joseph’s former agony of mind, when they threw him into the cistern to die. It is the law of retaliation, “distress” for “distress,” cf. Exo_21:24. Joseph’s treatment works well; cf. Isa_26:16; Hos_5:15.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (21) We are verily guilty.—They had evidently expected that…
(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.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And they said one to another (Joseph"s treatment of…
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 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, jr to describe Joseph"s anguish and their distress.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain We are verily guilty concerning our brother
Gen_42:21-22
We are verily guilty concerning our brother
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Conscience awakens in Josephs brethren
I.
Josephs brethren had not been placed in any peculiar circumstances of trial since the loss of Joseph; consequently their sin had slept. There had been nothing to call it to light; they had well-nigh forgotten it; its heinousness had become dim in the distance. But now they were in trouble, and they could not help seeing the hand of God in that trouble. Their spiritual instinct told them that their trouble did not spring out of the ground; it had been planted there--it had a root. Their sin had found them out at last, and their own adversity brought about that contrition for their offence which its own hatefulness ought to have been sufficient to produce.
II. We see from this story that men may commit sins, and may forget them; and yet the sins may be recorded, and may one day rise up again with a frightful vitality. Men will soon bury their own sins, if they be left to themselves; but it is like burying seed, which appears to die and be forgotten, and yet it rises up again, and perhaps becomes a great tree.
III. The voice of conscience is a good voice, a wholesome voice--yea, the very voice of God to our souls, and one to be welcomed by us if we only listen to it at the right time. The consciousness of guilt is a blessed thing, if only it come at the right time, and when there is opportunity for bringing forth fruits meet for repentance. Well for us if our estimate of our condition is the same, at least in its main features, as that estimate which God has made, and which the last day will produce! (Bp. Harvey Goodwin.)
The memory of conscience
I. IT IS SURE TO AWAKEN, THOUGH IT MAY SLUMBER LONG.
II. IT IS SOMETIMES AWAKENED BY OUTWARD TROUBLE.
III. IT IS FAITHFUL AND JUST.
1. In that it brings the past accurately to mind.
2. In that it connects the penalty with the sin.
IV. IT CONVERTS MORAL DIRECTION AND REMONSTRANCE INTO REPROACH AND UPBRAIDING. Reuben became to his brethren what conscience becomes to the sinner.
V. IT REMINDS US OF MORAL PROCESSES NOW AT WORK IN THE WORLD. Gods searching providence is ever bringing past sins to light. Christs Cross reveals the darkness of the worlds guilt. (T. H. Leale.)
The Nemesis of wrong
I. THE POSSESSION OF A GUILTY SECRET.
1. This secret bound them henceforward to a life of hypocrisy.
2. This secret filled them with constant anxiety.
3. This secret neutralized all healthful moral influence.
II. THE BLACK CLOUD OF SUSPICION DARKENED THEIR DAILY LIFE.
1. They were the objects of suspicion. Jacob refused to allow
Benjamin in their company.
2. They were the subjects of suspicion. Living in dread of God and man.
III. THE EVER-DREADED, BUT INEVITABLE, EXPOSURE OF THEIR GUILT. (J. C.Burnett.)
Josephs brethren in trouble -
I. THAT MEN UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF FEAR CAN CONTEMPLATE ONLY THE WORST TRAITS IN THEIR CHARACTER.
II. THAT TIME DOES NOT OBLITERATE THE SINFULNESS OF AN EVIL DEED.
III. THAT THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE IS UNCHANGEABLE.
IV. THE RECOGNITION OF THE LAW OF RETRIBUTION. (Homilist.)
The guilt of neglecting the souls of our brethren
I. THE SOURCES FROM WHENCE THESE CONVICTIONS ARE TO BE DERIVED.
1. The relation of the sufferers. Our brethren.
2. The wretchedness of their state.
3. Our orders to succour them.
4. The possibility of affording them succour.
5. The facilities we have in this cause of compassion.
(1) Providence;
(2) The grace of God.
6. That even the effort we have made in this work furnish evidence of our guilt.
II. WHAT INFLUENCE SHOULD THESE CONVICTIONS PRODUCE?
1. The depravity of human nature will be acknowledged.
2. Deep and godly sorrow will be felt.
3. It will lead us to apply to the mercy of God.
4. It will awaken zeal. (J. Summerfield, M. A.)
Transgression unperceived
I. The most dangerous propensity of sin is its deceivableness; the concealment of its true nature and danger when committed, the extent and evil of it are seldom perceived; a veil is thrown over its hideous and destructive qualities; and it is imagined to be, if not altogether defensible in the sight of God, at least desirable at the moment, and tolerable. However the conscience may give warning that all is not perfectly right, the consequences are commonly neither foreseen nor apprehended. Whether this be in the very nature of sin, as brought by the spirit of evil into the world; or whether that wicked spirit, with his numberless agents, is continually exercised in producing this deceit; or whether it proceed from both these sources, which is probable, the evil and misery are the same: men are tempted to sin, because they do not perceive its utter sinfulness; and it seems as if they could do it with impunity, do it and have nothing to fear.
II. And here, as we see the dreadful nature of sin, how it blinds the sinner, and makes him content with his guilt, so do we see the goodness of our heavenly Father, how graciously, by the ordination of His providence, He leads the transgressor to a deep sense of his perilous condition; how compassionately He interposes to deliver him from the fatal snare.
III. The instruction to be drawn from this subject is highly beneficial and important: it warns us to consider our own case, to look into our own condition. And let us be mindful that we do draw, from such considerations and examples, the right conclusion.
IV. There are two great considerations in connection with this subject, which I desire to press upon your attention.
1. The importance of our hearts being always open to Gods merciful dealings in awakening us, and reclaiming us from evil.
2. That we profit from them without delay. (J. Slade, M. A.)
The Christian responsible for his influence over others
The language of self-reproach, which sharp compunction wrung from Jacobs sons, may well be adopted by many among ourselves. Take the most favourable case you can. Grant that you have done no positive harm to others. Have you not, too often, forgotten to do them good? Some, with no more natural abilities, and no better opportunities than their neighbours, render all with whom they come in contact, wiser, holier, and happier. Others, possessing the same powers of mind, and surrounded by she same circumstances, stand like a moral Upas, rendering the very atmosphere about them unwholesome and deadly. But, alas! how many who ought to improve a privilege so great, are, by inactivity and gross neglect, preparing for themselves seasons of sorrow in the future, when they will cry out, in agony of soul, knowing it is then too late to offer advice or aid to one who has become hopelessly hardened in sin, but whom, at an earlier period in his career, they possessed influence enough to save: We are verily guilty concerning our brother. The wicked might kindly have been warned; the ignorant might easily have been taught; the headstrong might have been moved by expostulation and love; the poor might have been effectually relieved. Selfishness is the true secret of such unwarrantable neglect. We are disposed to think too much of our ease. Christians should not be contented with being in the right road themselves, but they should feel a lively interest in the welfare of others. Christians are responsible for their example. They are the salt of the earth. They are the leaven, which must leaven the whole lump. Their example in their families, in private intercourse with friends, and in their regular occupation, should be safe and consistent. Christian principle should be discovered in everything. Is it any wonder that the ungodly mock? Can we be surprised that unbelievers multiply? Is it astonishing that such a reckless disregard of ordinary duties, and such a strange forgetfulness of the importance of setting a good example, should draw a long train of calamities in the wake of inconsistent Christians, and cause them, in the hour of sickness and death, to cry out, at the remembrance of a brother, or husband, or child, or friend, shipwrecked and ruined by their neglect: We are verily guilty concerning our brother? (J. N. Norton, D. D.)
Of the cause of inward trouble
In this chapter we have the description of our fathers, the patriarchs; their first journey into Egypt for corn, to relieve their famine in Canaan. Herein is considerable--
1. Their entertainment there: it was harsh, with much trouble, more danger.
2. The consequence of this their hard and distressful usage and entreatment; and that is trouble of mind, horror and perplexity of spirit: And they said one to another, &c. The words, then, are the Holy Ghosts report of the case of the sons of Jacob, their being spiritually troubled, by way of conviction, or judgment in their own (which also is the Lords) court of conscience.
Wherein we observe--
1. The actors themselves: being the registers, accusers, witnesses, judge, and tormentors.
2. Process in judging themselves: wherein--
(1) Self-accusation of the cause of their trouble, their sin, with the utmost aggravations; namely--
(a) In general: We are guilty.
(b) In particular: Of envy, wrong against a brother; whom in bitterness we saw without pity, and were deaf to his entreaties; obstinate to the admonition of Reuben, and abiding therein.
(2) In self-condemnation: Therefore is this distress come; and his blood required.
3. Execution: wherein--
(1) The smart, by inward terror and consternation; their heart, misgiving them, is deeply affected, and that makes them very abrupt: Yea, verily, that is, Alas! what shall we do?
(2) The circumstance of the time when; couched in, and
(a) In general: Many years after the offence was done.
(b) In special: Now that they were outwardly in an afflicted condition.
Doctrines:
I. Every man hath a conscience within himself.
II. The guilt of sin turns a mans conscience, that is, himself, against himself.
III. Conscience is apt to be very sensible, when it is awakened, not only of sin, but particular sins, and the particular circumstances and degrees thereof to the utmost; and charge all upon a mans self, not upon Gods decrees or providence, nor upon the devil or evil company, &c.
IV. Envy, unnatural affection, cruelty, deafness to the entreaties of the distressed, obstinacy against warning and admonition, continuance in sin without repentance, &c., are very heinous and dangerous.
V. The accusations and condemnations of conscience are terrible, or cause terror beyond all expression.
VI. There is a time when God will call over sins that are past, and charge them upon the conscience.
VII. Inward trouble of mind sometimes (yea, usually) comes upon the people of God, when they are outwardly in some distress. (E. Pledger, M. A.)
The moral impotence of time
Twenty years after the event l Their recollections of that event was as clear as if it transpired but yesterday. Learn the moral impotence of time. We say this evil deed was done fifty years ago. Fifty years may have some relation to the memory of the intellect, but it has no relation to the tormenting memory of the conscience. There is a moral memory. Conscience has a wondrously realizing power--taking things we have written in secret ink and holding them before the fire until every line becomes vivid, almost burning. Perhaps some of you know not yet the practical meaning of this. We did something twenty years ago.
We say to ourselves, Well, seeing that it was twenty years ago it is not worth making anything to do about it, it is past, and it is a great pity to go twenty years back raking up things. So it is in some respects, a great pity to bother ourselves about things other men did twenty years ago. But what about our own recollection, our own conscience, our own power of accusation? A man says, I forged that name twenty-five years ago, and oh! every piece of paper I get hold of seems to have the name upon it. I never dip the pen, but there is something in the pen that reminds me of what I did by candle light, in almost darkness, when I had locked the door and assured myself nobody was there. Yet it comes upon me so graphically--my punishment is greater than I can bear! Time cannot heal ouriniquities. Forgetfulness is not the cure for sin. Obliviousness is not the redeemer of the world. How then can I get rid of the torment and the evils of an accusing memory? The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, let him return unto the Lord and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. That is the kind of answer men want, when they feel all their yesterdays conspiring to urge an indictment against them, as sinners before the living God. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The human soul contains within itself all the necessary elements of retributive penalty
Here is nothing but memory, conscience, and reason; yet what an exhibition and illustration of the self-retributive power of sin!
1. Memory. We saw the anguish, &c.
2. Conscience. We are verily guilty, &c.
3. Reason. Therefore is this distress come upon us.
Let a soul go into the future state with a memory to recall, a conscience to accuse, and a reason to justify penalty as deserved; and what more is necessary to hell? Hence Milton--
The mind in its own place, and in itself,
Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven!
Sin brought home to the conscience
It would be good for us if we could entertain the same views of sin in the time of temptation, that we are likely to have after it is committed, or at the time when trouble brings it home to our consciences. When Joseph cried piteously to his brethren out of the pit, they thought only of the pleasure of gratifying their envy. They then wilfully overlooked the guilt they were contracting, and the sorrows they were preparing for their father, and for them, selves; but when they were in trouble, they remembered their guilt in all its aggravating circumstances, and they would have given all they had in the world to recover that degree of innocence to which they might have pretended before Joseph came into their hands. They were chargeable with many other sins. Simeon and Levi, in particular, were chargeable with a crime not less heinous than the murder of Joseph. Yet the affliction which they endured in prison brought to remembrance in a special manner this sin against their brother. This was an atrocious iniquity, of which the most of them were equally guilty. We are naturally averse to suffering of every kind, and yet nothing is more necessary than suffering when we have sinned. It is necessary for us to know and feel the bitterness of sin, that we may confess and forsake it. And the sufferings which our flesh endures, are often necessary and useful to bring our sins to our remembrance. No doubt Josephs brethren had often formerly thought with regret of the hatefulness of their conduct. If they were not hardened to a very uncommon degree, their hearts must have smitten them soon after the fact was committed. The sight of their fathers anguish must have melted their stubborn spirits. But they needed their afflictions in Egypt likewise to awaken a new and more affecting sense of their wickedness. Joseph, and God by Joseph, did them a kindness in giving them an experimental knowledge of the bitter sufferings of an oppressed man, when he pours out tears, but finds no comforter. (G. Lawson, D. D.)
Therefore is this distress come upon us
Jacobs sons did not think that the man who had treated them with such severity knew anything concerning their conduct to their poor brother, but they knew that there is a God in the heavens, who knoweth and judgeth all the actions of the children of men. In this knowledge they were trained up by their father. But although they had been the children of a man who knew not God, this reflection might have occurred to them in the day of trouble, Adoni-bezek, king of Jerusalem, had his education amongst the most hardened sinners that ever lived in the world, and was himself one of the most hard-hearted tyrants that ever disgraced a throne; yet, when sore trouble came upon him, he acknowledged that it was the infliction of just punishment from God (Jdg_1:1-36.). It is said of the virtuous Dion, the Syracusan, that when he was compelled to flee from his country, and knocked at some doors that did not open unto him as they would have done in former times, he meekly observed to his servant, that perhaps himself, in the time of his prosperity, had not always opened his door to the stranger. When we meet from men with treatment which we did not deserve, it may be of use, for calming our spirits, to consider whether we have not been guilty of as bad, or even worse conduct, to some of our neighhours. What if God has commissioned these men who behave ill to us, as His messengers, to execute His anger for offences against some of their fellow-men? Look forward, ye who have hitherto lived in ease and prosperity. The day of trouble will come. Plant not your dying pillow before hand with thorns and briars. If no reverse of circumstances should come upon you before you till you die, yet you are sure that you must die; and a death-bed will be the very worst place for such reflections as awakened conscience may produce. Bitter was the anguish of Josephs brethren, but it would have been ten times more bitter if they had seen inevitable death before their eyes. They had little prospect of repairing the injury done to Joseph; but they might yet live to repair in some degree the wrong they had done to their father, and to seek with tears and supplications the forgiveness of their sins from God. Look back on your former conduct. Consider whether you have not done some injuries that may yet be repaired, or neglected some important duties that may yet be done, before you go to that place where there is no counsel, nor device, nor work. O death! how terrible are thy approaches to the man who is conscious that he hath shut his ears against the cry of the poor, or against the loud calls of the Son of God, urging him to improve the space given him for repentance! (G. Lawson, D. D.)
The time when conscience makes itself heard
Have you ever heard of the great clock of St. Pauls in London? At midday, in the roar of business, when carriages, and carts, and waggons, and omnibuses, go rolling through the streets, how many never hear that great clock strike, unless they live very near it. But when the work of the day is over, and the roar of business has passed away--when men are gone to sleep, and silence reigns in London--then at twelve, at one, at two, at three, at four the sound of that clock may be heard for miles around. Twelve--One!--Two!--Three!--Four! How that clock is heard by many a sleepless man! That clock is just like the conscience of the impenitent man. While he has health and strength, and goes on in the whirl of business, he will not hear conscience. He drowns and silences its voice by plunging into the world The time will come when he must retire from the world, and lie down on the sick bed, and look death in the face. And then the clock of conscience, that solemn clock, will sound in his heart, and, if he has not repented, will bring wretchedness and misery to his soul. (Bp. Ryle.)
Indestructibility of conscience
Mans conscience was once the vicegerent of Deity: what conscience said within was just the echo of what God said without; and even now, conscience in its ruin has enough of its pristine eloquence and surviving affinity to God never to be altogether and always silent. The passions try to make conscience a sort of citizen-king, putting it up and down as they please: but it will not quietly submit; it resists the authority of the passions; it insists upon supremacy; it cannot forget its noble lineage and its erst holy function derived from God. As long as man can gratify his passions, and give an opiate to conscience, so long will it be partially quiet. But a day comes when the passions must be laid, and when every beat of the heart, like the curfew bell, will tell you that the time for extinguishing their fires is come, and then and there conscience will re-assert its lost supremacy, grasp its broken sceptre, and, refusing to be put down, it will emit its true and eternal utterances; and reason of righteousness, and temperance, and judgment; and prove that man may peradventure live without religion, but die without it he rarely can. A death-bed is that hour when conscience re-asserts its supremacy, however stupefied it may have been with the opium of half a century, and reminds its possessor of all behind and before. In such a case there are two resources: either the Romish priest, with a stronger opiate, under which man will die deluded and deceived: or the blood of Jesus, with pardon for the sin, and therefore peace for the conscience, which is the joyful sound of forgiveness. (J. Gumming, D. D.)
Voice of an evil conscience
The voice of an evil conscience is not one evil in particular, but a multitude of evils. It is a barking hell-hound, a monster vomiting fire, a raging fury, a tormenting devil. It is a nature and quality of a guilty conscience to flee and be terrified, even when all is well, and when prosperity abounds, and to change such prosperity into danger and death. (Luther.)
A burdened memory
A dying man, floating about on the wreck of the Central American, thought he heard his mothers voice saying, Johnny, did you take your sisters grapes? Thirty years before his sister was dying of consumption, and he had secretly eaten some choice grapes sent her by a friend. For twenty years the words had passed from his recollection. What have we really forgotten.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Gen_42:23. Interpreter.] Heb. The interpreter—of the court. This official…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Gen_42:23. Interpreter.] Heb. The interpreter—of the court. This official was not necessarily employed in interpreting a foreign tongue. He was the medium through which the prime minister was wont to speak to others.—
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Gen_42:25. Fill their sacks with corn.] Heb. Vessels, i.e., any portable article in which grain may be carried.—Into his sack.] Heb. Sack,—the very word which remains in our language unto this day.—
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Gen_42:21-24
THE MEMORY OF CONSCIENCE
I. It is sure to awaken, though it may slumber long. Reuben’s words show that they believed that Joseph was dead. (Gen_42:22.) All was now over and past concerning him, and the deeds of that dark day, when they sold him into slavery, had almost faded from their recollection. But now, after so many years of almost complete forgetfulness, the memory of conscience is suddenly awakened. It is doubtful whether any thought, deed, or impression can depart clean for ever from the mind. The buried things of memory rise again, and appear in all their living and awful reality. No guilty deed can be completely forgotten. The time must come when conscience will revive it.
II. It is sometimes awakened by outward trouble. These guilty men thought that as Joseph was now sheltered from their enmity in the grave, they had naught to fear from his revenge. But their deed was not dead, and now it is crying for vengeance. In their present trouble they read their just punishment. Thus by affliction God forces us to bring our sins to mind. We are driven to enquire wherefore He has a controversy with us.
III. It is faithful and just.
1. In that it brings the past accurately to mind. The memory of conscience is faithful and exact in reproducing the past, so that every circumstance of an evil deed comes to recollection most vividly. These men now remember their cruelty with all the aggravations of it, how they beheld unmoved by pity the anguish of a brother, how they refused to hear him when in vain he cried for mercy, and would not even listen to the prayer of one of their number, who relenting, interceded on his behalf. All the terrible scenes of that dark day lived again as if they had been but yesterday. They well knew that murder was intended; and though their deed was not actually a deed of blood, yet it was really such to them now. “One is not,” said they, “Behold also his blood is required.” The records of the past may be written as with invisible ink, but the writing stands out revealed when held before the fires of affliction.
2. In that it connects the penalty with the sin. Conscience not only brings the past accurately to mind, but also stamps its moral character and proclaims its results. These men accused themselves. Their hearts told them the truth. They see in their present punishment the penalty for their past sin. They would not hear Joseph in his distress, and now they could not be heard. They had cast him into a pit, and now they themselves are cast into a prison. Reuben gives them to expect blood for blood.
IV. It converts moral direction and remonstrance into reproach and upbraiding. Reuben became to his brethren what conscience becomes to the sinner. Conscience first shows what is right, and afterwards, when sinned against, reproaches and upbraids. When the penalties of a righteous judgment overtake the sinner, conscience turns accuser and casts them in his teeth, and forebodes the worst consequences.
V. It reminds us of moral processes now at work in the world. God’s searching providence is ever bringing past sins to light. Though his brethren knew it not, Joseph was there all the time and heard their self-accusations. He allowed this moral chastisement, and these forebodings and retributions to take effect. And so the Lord Jesus—our Joseph—passes through the world unknown, unrecognized, and sees what sinners have done against Him. He anticipates judgment already, with His fan in His hand thoroughly purging His floor. The light of His Cross reveals the darkness of the world’s guilt. The thoughts of many hearts are revealed.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen_42:21. Joseph’s treatment of his brethren had gained its end. They were humbled before him with shame and sorrow for their sin.
Here again we are reminded of our New Testament Joseph, who sometimes seems to hide Himself to us behind the law and behind our sins, but only to make the mutual recognition the more blessed. All this stirring up of their circle of brotherhood, makes the conscience of Joseph’s betrayal and sale more sharp. And so Jesus will have us remember with grief and self-reproach how we have betrayed Him and abused His love. But all this should be only in order to the more earnest embrace of that love.—(Jacobus.)
They could see in each other’s looks that the same thoughts were in the minds of all. How universal is conscience!
It would be well for us if we could entertain the same views of sin in the time of temptation that we are likely to have after it is committed, or at the time when trouble brings it home to our consciences.—(Bush.)
The Recording Angel, consider it well, is no fable, but the truest of truths: the paper tablets thou canst burn; of the “iron leaf” there is no burning.—(T. Carlyle.)
Gen_42:22. It was fit that they should be made to feel the stings of conscience; and it was proper that he should be the remembrancer of their crime, because he had warned them against it. And how utterly inexcusable do his words represent the deed. “Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child.” What apology could they offer? Did they consider his telling his dreams an insult? He was but a child. Had they a right to destroy a youth of seventeen years of age because he had not all the wisdom and caution of a man of thirty?—(Bush.)
Gen_42:23-24. Joseph stood by and heard and understood it all without their suspecting it; but such words were too much for the heart of man, at least such a man as he was, to hear, and the pretended Egyptian becomes, in spite of himself, a real Israelite.—(Bush.)
There might be a fitness in taking Simeon rather than any other. He had proved himself a ferocious character by his conduct towards the Shechemites; and therefore it is not unlikely that he was one of the foremost in the cruelty practised towards Joseph. Perhaps he was the man who tore off his coat of many colours, and threw him into the pit. If so, it would tend to humble him, and heighten all their fears, as beholding the righteous judgment of God.—(Fuller.)
They had heard Joseph’s deprecation of their evil with tears, and had not pitied him; yet Joseph doth but hear their mention of this evil which they had done against him, and pities them with tears; he weeps for joy to see their repentance, and to compare his safety and happiness with the cruelty which they intended, and did, and thought they had done. Yet he can abide to see his brother his prisoner, whom no bonds could bind so strong, as his affection bound him to his captive.—(Bp. Hall.)
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Simeon Kept Back in Egypt
Simeon Kept Back in Egypt
v. 21. 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. More than twenty years after their crime their consciences cause them to confess that they were indeed weighed down with guilt on account of their brother, whose deep anguish and heartrending cries had at that time made no impression on them.
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v. 22. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? Therefore, behold, also his blood is required. Reuben was by no means innocent in the matter of Joseph, and his present reminder was not in the sense of a reproach by which he meant to clear himself. But he declared their present plight to come from the avenging justice of God, who thus demanded the freedom and the blood of their brother at their hands. All these expressions showed that the brothers were deeply repentant for their sin, for they willingly bowed themselves under the punishment of the Lord.
v. 23. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter, who was between him and his brothers and communicated all his commands to them in their own tongue, since Joseph purposely feigned ignorance of their language.
v. 24. And he turned himself about from them, and wept at this evidence of their complete change of heart;and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. He spared Reuben, either because he did not want to harm the right of the firstborn, or because Reuben was less guilty than some of the rest. His object had been attained, he had the information which he sought.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 in that we saw the distress of his soul
in that we saw the distress of his soul
The word "soul" stands for Joseph. AT: "because we saw how distressed Joseph was" or "because we saw that Joseph was suffering" (See: Synecdoche)
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Therefore this distress has come upon us
The abstract noun "distress" can be stated as the verb "suffering." AT: "That is why we are suffering like this now" (See: Abstract Nouns)
Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the boy,' but you would not listen?
Reuben uses a question to scold his brothers. AT: "I told you not to hurt the boy, but you would not listen!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the boy,' but
This has a quotation within a quotation. It can be stated as an indirect quotation. AT: "Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy, but" or "I told you not to harm the boy, but" (See: Quotes Within Quotes and Direct and Indirect Quotations)
Now, see
Here "Now" does not mean "at this moment," but both "Now" and "see" are used to draw attention to the important point that follows.
his blood is required of us
Here "blood" stands for Joseph's death. His brothers thought Joseph was dead. The phrase "is required of us" means they must be punished for what they did. AT: "we are getting what we deserve for his death" or "we are suffering for having killed him" (See: Metonymy and Idiom)
translationWords
guilt
soul
Reuben
sin
blood
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 42:21-23 Clearly we are being punished: The brothers sensed…
42:21-23 Clearly we are being punished: The brothers sensed that having to bring Benjamin back to Egypt against their father’s wishes was God’s punishment for their having sold Joseph to the traders. The sense of divine retribution began to awaken feelings of remorse that Joseph’s cries for mercy and their father’s tears (37:34-35) had failed to arouse.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.