Genesis 44:15

New Century Version

Joseph said to them, "What have you done? Didn't you know that a man like me can learn things by signs and dreams?"

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Yosef said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Don't you know that such a man as I can indeed divine?"

King James Version
And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?

Lexham English Bible
Then Joseph said to them, "What is this deed that you have done? Did you not know that a man who is like me surely practices divination?"

New English Translation
Joseph said to them, "What did you think you were doing? Don't you know that a man like me can find out things like this by divination?"

Amplified Bible
Joseph spoke harshly to them, "What is this thing that you have done? Do you not realize that such a man as I can indeed practice divination and foretell [everything you do without outside knowledge of it]?"

New American Standard Bible
Joseph said to them, "What is this thing that you have done? Do you not know that a man who is like me can indeed practice divination?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Ioseph sayd vnto them, What acte is this, which ye haue done? know ye not that such a man as I, can deuine and prophecie?

Legacy Standard Bible
And Joseph said to them, "What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed interpret omens?"

Contemporary English Version
who asked them, "What have you done? Didn't you know I could find out?"

Complete Jewish Bible
(S: Maftir) Yosef said to them, "How could you do such a thing? Don't you know that a man such as myself can learn the truth by divination?"

Darby Translation
And Joseph said to them, What deed is this which ye have done? Did ye not know that such a man as I can certainly divine?

Easy-to-Read Version
Joseph said to them, "Why have you done this? Didn't you know that I have a special way of learning secrets? No one is better at this than I am!"

English Standard Version
Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?"

George Lamsa Translation
And Joseph said to them, What deed is this that you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly divine?

Good News Translation
and Joseph said, "What have you done? Didn't you know that a man in my position could find you out by practicing divination?"

Christian Standard Bible®
“What is this you have done?” Joseph said to them. “Didn’t you know that a man like me could uncover the truth by divination?”

Literal Translation
And Joseph said to them, What is this deed which you have done? Did you not know that a man like me would practice divination?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Ioseph sayde vnto them: What maner of dede is this, that ye haue done? Knewe ye not, that soch a man as I am, can prophecy?

American Standard Version
And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? know ye not that such a man as I can indeed divine?

Bible in Basic English
And Joseph said, What is this thing which you have done? had you no thought that such a man as I would have power to see what is secret?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Ioseph sayde vnto them: what deede is this that ye haue done? Wote ye not that suche a man as I do consult with propheciers?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Joseph said unto them: 'What deed is this that ye have done? know ye not that such a man as I will indeed divine?'

King James Version (1611)
And Ioseph said vnto them, What deed is this that ye haue done? wote ye not, that such a man as I can certainely diuine?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Joseph said to them, What is this thing that ye have done? know ye not that a man such as I can surely divine?

English Revised Version
And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? know ye not that such a man as I can indeed divine?

Berean Standard Bible
"What is this deed you have done?" Joseph declared. "Did you not know that a man like me can surely divine the truth?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
To whiche he seide, Whi wolden ye do so? whether ye witen not, that noon is lijk me in the kunnyng of dyuinyng?

Young's Literal Translation
and Joseph saith to them, `What [is] this deed that ye have done? have ye not known that a man like me doth diligently observe?'

Update Bible Version
And Joseph said to them, What deed is this that you have done? don't you know that a man such as I can indeed use magic [to find out]?

Webster's Bible Translation
And Joseph said to them, What deed [is] this that ye have done? knew ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?

World English Bible
Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Don't you know that such a man as I can indeed divine?"

New King James Version
And Joseph said to them, "What deed is this you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?"

New Living Translation
"What have you done?" Joseph demanded. "Don't you know that a man like me can predict the future?"

New Life Bible
Joseph said to them, "What is this that you have done? Did you not know that a man like me has power to know what is not known by others?"

New Revised Standard
Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that one such as I can practice divination?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Joseph said to them, What is this deed which ye have done? Know ye not that such a man as I, can even divine?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said to them: Why would you do so? know you not that there is no one like me in the science of divining.

Revised Standard Version
Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed divine?"

THE MESSAGE
Joseph accused them: "How can you have done this? You have to know that a man in my position would have discovered this."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Joseph said to them, "What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed practice divination?"

Contextual Overview

¹ Then Joseph gave a command to the servant in charge of his house. He said, "Fill the men's sacks with as much grain as they can carry, and put each man's money into his sack with the grain. ² Put my silver cup in the sack of the youngest brother, along with his money for the grain." The servant did what Joseph told him. ³ At dawn the brothers were sent away with their donkeys. ⁴ They were not far from the city when Joseph said to the servant in charge of his house, "Go after the men. When you catch up with them, say, ‘Why have you paid back evil for good? ⁵ The cup you have stolen is the one my master uses for drinking and for explaining dreams. You have done a very wicked thing!'" ⁶ So the servant caught up with the brothers and said to them what Joseph had told him to say. ⁷ But the brothers said to the servant, "Why do you say these things? We would not do anything like that! ⁸ We brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money we found in our sacks. So surely we would not steal silver or gold from your master's house. ⁹ If you find that silver cup in the sack of one of us, then let him die, and we will be your slaves." ¹⁰ The servant said, "We will do as you say, but only the man who has taken the cup will become my slave. The rest of you may go free."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What: Genesis 44:4, Genesis 44:5, Genesis 3:13, Genesis 4:10

wot ye not: Genesis 21:26, Genesis 39:8, Exodus 32:1

divine: or, make trial, Genesis 44:5

Reciprocal: Genesis 12:18 - General Proverbs 16:10 - A divine sentence Acts 3:17 - wot Romans 11:2 - Wot

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "How could you have done such a thing?" She answered, "The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit."

Genesis 4:10
Then the Lord said, "What have you done? Your brother's blood is crying out to me from the ground.

Genesis 21:26
But Abimelech said, "I don't know who did this. You never told me about this before today."

Genesis 39:8
But Joseph refused and said to her, "My master trusts me with everything in his house. He has put me in charge of everything he owns.

Genesis 44:4
They were not far from the city when Joseph said to the servant in charge of his house, "Go after the men. When you catch up with them, say, ‘Why have you paid back evil for good?

Genesis 44:5
The cup you have stolen is the one my master uses for drinking and for explaining dreams. You have done a very wicked thing!'"

Exodus 32:1
The people saw that a long time had passed and Moses had not come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron and said, "Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don't know what has happened to him. Make us gods who will lead us."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Joseph said unto them, what deed is this ye have done?.... An action so wicked, base, and ungrateful, attended with such aggravated circumstances, that it can scarcely be said how bad a one it is, and may be well wondered at, that men who had received such favours could ever be guilty of; this he said, putting on a stern countenance, and seemingly in great anger and wrath:

wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? either that he could divine himself, though not by the cup, of which here no mention is made, but in some other way used by the Egyptians; or that he had diviners with him, as Aben Ezra, with whom he could consult, to find out the person that took the cup; or surely they must needs think that such a man as he, who had such great knowledge of things, natural and political, and whose name was Zaphnathpaaneah, a revealer of secrets, would be able to search into and find out an affair of this kind;

:-; and they might well conclude, that a man so sagacious and penetrating would easily conjecture who were the persons that took away his cup, even the strangers that had dined with him so lately, and therefore could never expect to go off with it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- The Ten Brothers Were Tested

Joseph has had the satisfaction of seeing his brother Benjamin safe and well. He has heard his brothers acknowledging their guilt concerning himself. He resolves to put their attachment to Benjamin, and the genuineness of their change of disposition, to a test that will at the same time expose Benjamin to no hazard.

Genesis 44:1-5

And my cup. - Besides returning each man’s money as before, a silver cup of Joseph’s is put in Benjamin’s bag, after which, when daylight comes, they are dismissed. They are scarcely out of the town when Joseph’s steward is ordered to overtake them, and charge them with stealing the cup. “And whereby indeed he divineth.” Divining by cups, we learn from this, was a common custom in Egypt (Herodotus ii. 83). It is here mentioned to enhance the value of the cup. Whether Joseph really practised any sort of divination cannot be determined from this passage.

Genesis 44:6-12

The cup is found in Benjamin’s bag. “Spake unto them these words.” The words of Joseph, supplying of course the mention of the cup which is expressed in the text only by the pronoun this. “We brought back to thee.” Silver that we might have retained, and to which you made no claim when we tendered it, we brought back. How or why should we therefore, steal silver? “Now also according to your words let it be.” He adopts their terms with a mitigation. He with whom the cup is found shall become a slave for life, and the rest be acquitted. The steward searches from the oldest to the youngest. The cup is found where it was put.

Genesis 44:13-17

“They rent their garments;” the natural token of a sorrow that knows no remedy. “And Judah went.” He had pledged himself for the safety of Benjamin to his father. And he was yet there; awaiting no doubt the result which he anticipated. “They fell before him on the earth.” It is no longer a bending of the head or bowing of the body, but the posture of deepest humiliation. How deeply that early dream penetrated into the stern reality! “Wot ye not that such a man as I doth certainly divine?” Joseph keeps up the show of resentment for a little longer, and brings out from Judah the most pathetic plea of its kind that ever was uttered. “The God,” the great and only God, “hath found out the iniquity of thy servants;” in our dark and treacherous dealing with our brother. “Behold, we are servants to my lord.” He resigns himself and all to perpetual bondage, as the doom of a just God upon their still-remembered crime. “He shall be my servant; and ye, go up in peace to your father.” Now is the test applied with the nicest adjustment. Now is the moment of agony and suspense to Joseph. Will my brothers prove true? says he within himself. Will Judah prove adequate to the occasion? say we. His pleading with his father augured well.

Verse 18-34

“And Judah came near unto him.” He is going to surrender himself as a slave for life, that Benjamin may go home with his brothers, who are permitted to depart. “Let thy servant now speak a word in the ears of my lord.” There is nothing here but respectful calmness of demeanor. “And let not thine anger burn against thy servant.” He intuitively feels that the grand vizier is a man of like feelings with himself. He will surmount the distinction of rank, and stand with him on the ground of a common humanity. “For so art thou as Pharaoh.” Thou hast power to grant or withhold my request. This forms, the exordium of the speech. Then follows the plea. This consists in a simple statement of the facts, which Judah expects to have its native effect upon a rightly-constituted heart. We will not touch this statement, except to explain two or three expressions. A young lad - a comparative youth. “Let me set mine eyes upon him” - regard him with favor and kindness. “He shall leave his father and he shall die.” If he were to leave his father, his father would die. Such is the natural interpretation of these words, as the paternal affection is generally stronger than the filial. “And now let thy servant now abide instead of the lad a servant to my lord.” Such is the humble and earnest petition of Judah. He calmly and firmly sacrifices home, family, and birthright, rather than see an aged father die of a broken heart.