And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.
And Judah said, 'What can we say to you, my lord? What can we tell you? How can we prove we're innocent? God has exposed the guilt of your servants. Look, we are now your slaves—both we and the one who had the cup.'
Judah is admitting defeat and guilt before Joseph (whom he doesn't recognize), accepting that they and Benjamin will all become slaves because God has exposed their wrongdoing.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs when Joseph's silver cup was planted in Benjamin's bag, and the brothers were brought back to face Joseph. Judah is speaking as the leader of the brothers, not knowing he's addressing Joseph, whom they had sold into slavery years earlier. The 'iniquity' Judah refers to likely includes both the current accusation and their past sin of selling Joseph.
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