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Genesis 37:21-23
New English Translation
Genesis 37:21-23
New English Translation
21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph[a] from their hands,[b] saying,[c] “Let’s not take his life!”[d] 22 Reuben continued,[e] “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.”[f] (Reuben said this[g] so he could rescue Joseph[h] from them[i] and take him back to his father.)
23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him[j] of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 37:21 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 37:21 sn From their hands. The instigators of this plot may have been the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah (see v. 2).
- Genesis 37:21 tn Heb “and he said.”
- Genesis 37:21 tn Heb “we must not strike him down [with respect to] life.”
- Genesis 37:22 tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”
- Genesis 37:22 sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.
- Genesis 37:22 tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 37:22 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 37:22 tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 37:23 tn Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
New English Translation (NET)
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