The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
Parallel translations
- WEB The archers have severely grieved him, shot at him, and persecute him:
- KJV The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
- NKJV The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him.
- NASB “The archers provoked him, And shot at him and were hostile toward him;
- NLT Archers attacked him savagely; they shot at him and harassed 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
Joseph was bitterly attacked and persecuted by hostile 'archers.'
Overview
Looking back over Joseph's life, Jacob recalls the grief, hatred, and assaults he endured from his brothers and others. The verse honestly acknowledges the suffering of a righteous man. Joseph's persecution foreshadows Christ, the truly righteous One despised and afflicted by His own (Isaiah 53:3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gen 37:24and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.
- Ps 118:13I was pushed so hard I was falling, but the LORD helped me.
- Ps 64:3who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows,
- Gen 37:28So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
- Gen 37:4When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
- Gen 37:18Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him.
- Acts 14:22strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
- Gen 42:21Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”
- John 16:33I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
- Gen 39:7–20and after some time his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”
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 49:23 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.