“And you said to us, ‘Bring him here so I can see him with my own eyes.’
Parallel translations
- WEB You said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’
- KJV And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.
- BSB Then you told your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so that I can see him for myself.’
- NKJV Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’
- NASB Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so that I may set my eyes on him.’
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
Judah recalls Joseph's demand to bring Benjamin down so he could see him. He frames the present crisis as flowing from Joseph's own command.
Overview
Judah reminds Joseph that he himself insisted on seeing Benjamin. By recounting this, Judah underscores that the brothers acted only under compulsion. The narration moves toward the heart of his plea: the impossibility of returning without the boy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Gen 42:15By this you shall be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go out from here, unless your youngest brother comes here.
- Gen 42:20Bring your youngest brother to me; so will your words be verified, and you won’t die.” They did so.
- Jer 40:4Now, behold, I release you today from the chains which are on your hand. If it seems good to you to come with me into Babylon, come, and I will take care of you; but if it seems bad to you to come with me into Babylon, don’t. Behold, all the land is before you. Where it seems good and right to you to go, there go.”
- Jer 24:6For I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land. I will build them, and not pull them down. I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
- Amos 9:4Though they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. I will set my eyes on them for evil, and not for good.
- Gen 43:29He lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin, his brother, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” He said, “God be gracious to you, my son.”
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 44:21 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.