So he asked the officials of Pharaoh who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so downcast today?”
Parallel translations
- WEB He asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”
- KJV And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day?
- NKJV So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”
- NASB So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?”
- NLT “Why do you look so worried today?” he asked them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joseph asks the officials why they look so sad.
Overview
Joseph's caring question shows genuine concern for the men under his charge. His readiness to engage their trouble reflects a servant's heart. This simple act of kindness becomes the occasion for revealing God's power to interpret dreams.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Neh 2:2so the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, though you are not ill? This could only be sadness of the heart.” I was overwhelmed with fear
- 1 Sam 1:8“Hannah, why are you crying?” her husband Elkanah asked. “Why won’t you eat? Why is your heart so grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
- Judg 18:24He replied, “You took the gods I had made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’”
- 2 Sam 13:4so he asked Amnon, “Why are you, the son of the king, so depressed morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?” Amnon replied, “I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”
- Luke 24:17He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stood still, with sadness on their faces.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 40:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.