And 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.
They said to each other, 'We are truly guilty of what we did to our brother. We saw how deeply distressed he was when he begged us for mercy, but we wouldn't listen to him. That's why this trouble has come upon us now.'
The brothers are finally admitting their guilt over how cruelly they treated Joseph years earlier, recognizing that their current suffering is connected to their past wrongdoing.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs when Joseph's brothers have come to Egypt to buy grain during a severe famine, not knowing that the powerful Egyptian official they're dealing with is actually Joseph, whom they had sold into slavery about 20 years earlier. Joseph has been testing them and treating them harshly, which has triggered their guilty consciences about what they did to him when he was young.
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