The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
Parallel translations
- WEB The archers have severely grieved him, shot at him, and persecute him:
- BSB The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
- 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 cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
- Ps 118:13Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me.
- Ps 64:3Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:
- Gen 37:28Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
- Gen 37:4And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
- Gen 37:18And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
- Acts 14:22Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
- Gen 42:21And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
- John 16:33These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
- Gen 39:7–20And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie 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.