Then Joseph declared, “Just as I said, you are spies!
Parallel translations
- WEB Joseph said to them, “It is like I told you, saying, ‘You are spies!’
- KJV And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
- NKJV But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’
- NASB Yet Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies;
- NLT But Joseph insisted, “As I said, you are spies!
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 seizes on their words to confirm his charge of spying. He is steering the conversation toward demanding Benjamin.
Overview
Rather than accept their explanation, Joseph turns it against them, sustaining the pretense that they are spies. His controlled severity keeps the brothers off balance and dependent on his mercy. Behind the staged accusation, Joseph is patiently working toward bringing the whole family, including his beloved brother, before him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Job 19:11His anger burns against me, and He counts me among His enemies.
- Job 13:24Why do You hide Your face and consider me as Your enemy?
- Gen 42:9–11Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
- Matt 15:21–28Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
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 42:14 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
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