“Yes, you are!” Joseph insisted. “You have come to see how vulnerable our land has become.”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land!”
- KJV And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
- BSB “No,” he told them. “You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
- NKJV But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”
- NASB Yet he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land!”
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 presses the spy accusation again to keep the pressure on. The repeated charge forces his brothers to reveal more about their family.
Overview
Joseph maintains a stern front to draw out fuller information and to test their resolve. His severity is not cruelty but a means to a redemptive end, eventually reconciling the family God has chosen. The scene shows how God can use even feigned hardness to work repentance and restoration.
Cross-references & the web
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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 42:12 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.