Genesis 50:17

Genesis 50:17

So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

a. NLT: To say to you: ‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you—for their sin in treating you so cruelly.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.” When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. ASV: So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for that they did unto thee evil. And now, we pray thee, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. YLT: Thus ye do say to Joseph, I pray thee, bear, I pray thee, with the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for they have done thee evil; and now, bear, we pray thee, with the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father;' and Joseph weepeth in their speaking unto him. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

d. Classic Amplified: So shall you say to Joseph: Forgive (take up and away all resentment and all claim to requital concerning), I pray you now, the trespass of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you. Now, we pray you, forgive the trespass of the servants of your father’s God. And Joseph wept when they spoke thus to him. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e. Septuagint: Thus say ye to Joseph, Forgive them their injustice and their sin, forasmuch as they have done thee evil; and now pardon the injustice of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept while they spoke to him.

f. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/ Writings: Thus shall you say to Joseph: “O please kindly forgive the spiteful deed of your brothers and their sin for they have done you evil”; so now, please forgive the spiteful deed of the servants of your father’s God.”  [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ldt.]

1. “So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil…”

a. So [shall] [Strong: 3541 koh ko from the prefix k and 1931; properly, like this, i.e. by implication, (of manner) thus (or so); also (of place) here (or hither); or (of time) now:--also, here, + hitherto, like, on the other side, so (and much), such, on that manner, (on) this (manner, side, way, way and that way), + mean while, yonder.]

b. [ye] say [Strong: 559 'amar aw-mar' a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):--answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, X desire, determine, X expressly, X indeed, X intend, name, X plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), X still, X suppose, talk, tell, term, X that is, X think, use (speech), utter, X verily, X yet.]

c. [unto] Joseph [Strong: 3130 Yowceph yo-safe' future of 3254; let him add (or perhaps simply active participle adding); Joseph, the name of seven Israelites:--Joseph.]

d. Forgive [Strong: 5375 nasa' naw-saw' or nacah (Psalm 4 : 6 (7)) {naw-saw'}; a primitive root; to lift, in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, absol. and rel. (as follows):--accept, advance, arise, (able to, (armor), suffer to) bear(-er, up), bring (forth), burn, carry (away), cast, contain, desire, ease, exact, exalt (self), extol, fetch, forgive, furnish, further, give, go on, help, high, hold up, honorable (+ man), lade, lay, lift (self) up, lofty, marry, magnify, X needs, obtain, pardon, raise (up), receive, regard, respect, set (up), spare, stir up, + swear, take (away, up), X utterly, wear, yield.]

e. I pray thee [now] [Strong: 577 'anna' awn-naw' or mannah {awn-naw'}; apparent contracted from 160 and 4994; oh now!:--I (me) beseech (pray) thee, O.]

f. I pray thee [now] [Strong: 4994 na' naw a primitive particle of incitement and entreaty, which may usually be rendered: "I pray," "now," or "then"; added mostly to verbs (in the Imperative or Future), or to interjections, occasionally to an adverb or conjunction:--I beseech (pray) thee (you), go to, now, oh.]

g. [the] trespass [Strong: 6588 pesha` peh'-shah from 6586; a revolt (national, moral or religious):--rebellion, sin, transgression, trespass.]

h. [of thy] brethren [Strong: 251 'ach awkh a primitive word; a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity or resemblance (like 1)):--another, brother(-ly); kindred, like, other.]

i. [and their] sin [Strong: 2403 chatta'ah khat-taw-aw' or chattacth {khat-tawth'}; from 2398; an offence (sometimes habitual sinfulness), and its penalty, occasion, sacrifice, or expiation; also (concretely) an offender:--punishment (of sin), purifying(-fication for sin), sin(-ner, offering).]

j. for [Strong: 3588 kiy kee a primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional prefix) indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or consequent; (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed:--and, + (forasmuch, inasmuch, where-)as, assured(-ly), + but, certainly, doubtless, + else, even, + except, for, how, (because, in, so, than) that, + nevertheless, now, rightly, seeing, since, surely, then, therefore, + (al- )though, + till, truly, + until, when, whether, while, whom, yea, yet.]

k. [they] did [Strong:  1580 gamal gaw-mal' a primitive root; to treat a person (well or ill), i.e. benefit or requite; by implication (of toil), to ripen, i.e. (specifically) to wean:--bestow on, deal bountifully, do (good), recompense, requite, reward, ripen, + serve, mean, yield.]

l. [unto thee] evil [Strong: 7451 ra` rah from 7489; bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral):-- adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, + displease(-ure), distress, evil((- favouredness), man, thing), + exceedingly, X great, grief(-vous), harm, heavy, hurt(-ful), ill (favoured), + mark, mischief(-vous), misery, naught(-ty), noisome, + not please, sad(-ly), sore, sorrow, trouble, vex, wicked(-ly, -ness, one), worse(-st), wretchedness, wrong. (Incl. feminine raaah; as adjective or noun.).]

2. “...and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father... ”

a. [and] now [Strong: 6258 `attah at-taw' from 6256; at this time, whether adverb, conjunction or expletive:--henceforth, now, straightway, this time, whereas.]

b. [we] pray thee [Strong: 4994 na' naw a primitive particle of incitement and entreaty, which may usually be rendered: "I pray," "now," or "then"; added mostly to verbs (in the Imperative or Future), or to interjections, occasionally to an adverb or conjunction:--I beseech (pray) thee (you), go to, now, oh.]

c. forgive [Strong: 5375 nasa' naw-saw' or nacah (Psalm 4 : 6 (7)) {naw-saw'}; a primitive root; to lift, in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, absol. and rel. (as follows):--accept, advance, arise, (able to, (armor), suffer to) bear(-er, up), bring (forth), burn, carry (away), cast, contain, desire, ease, exact, exalt (self), extol, fetch, forgive, furnish, further, give, go on, help, high, hold up, honorable (+ man), lade, lay, lift (self) up, lofty, marry, magnify, X needs, obtain, pardon, raise (up), receive, regard, respect, set (up), spare, stir up, + swear, take (away, up), X utterly, wear, yield.]

d. [the] trespass [Strong: 6588 pesha` peh'-shah from 6586; a revolt (national, moral or religious):--rebellion, sin, transgression, trespass.]

e. [of the] servants [Strong: 5650 `ebed eh'-bed from 5647; a servant:--X bondage, bondman, (bond-)servant, (man-)servant.]

f. [of the] God [Strong: 430 'elohiym el-o-heem' plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:--angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.]

g. [of thy] father [Strong: 1 'ab awb a primitive word; father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application):--chief, (fore-)father(-less), X patrimony, principal.]

3.  “...And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.”

a. [And] Joseph [Strong: 3130 Yowceph yo-safe' future of 3254; let him add (or perhaps simply active participle adding); Joseph, the name of seven Israelites:--Joseph.]

b. wept [Strong: 1058 bakah baw-kaw' a primitive root; to weep; generally to bemoan:--X at all, bewail, complain, make lamentation, X more, mourn, X sore, X with tears, weep.]

c. [when they] spake [Strong: 1696 dabar daw-bar' a primitive root; perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue:--answer, appoint, bid, command, commune, declare, destroy, give, name, promise, pronounce, rehearse, say, speak, be spokesman, subdue, talk, teach, tell, think, use (entreaties), utter, X well, X work.]

d. unto [him] [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

1). Matthew Poole's Commentary: Joseph wept; partly in compassion to their fear and trouble; and partly because they still retained a diffidence in his kindness, after all his great and real demonstrations of it.