King James Version

Genesis 37:15

And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

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Hebrew

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וַיִּמְצָאֵ֣הוּvayimtsaehvand comeמָצָאconjunction, verb, qal, sequential imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “and come”, the next action in the storyH4672properly, to come forth to, i.e. appear or exist; transitively, to attain, i.e. find or acquire; figuratively, to occur, meet or be present[phrase] be able, befall, being, catch, [idiom] certainly, (cause to) come (on, to, to hand), deliver, be enough (cause to) find(-ing, occasion, out), get (hold upon), [idiom] have (here), be here, hit, be left, light (up-) on, meet (with)…אִ֔ישׁisha certainאִישׁnoun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “a certain”, the ordinary formH376a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)also, another, any (man), a certain, [phrase] champion, consent, each, every (one), fellow, (foot-, husband-) man, (good-, great, mighty) man, he, high (degree), him (that is), husband, man(-kind), [phrase] none, one, people, person, [phra…וְהִנֵּ֥הvehinehand loהִנֵּהconjunction, particle, demonstrative — “and lo”H2009lo!behold, lo, see.תֹעֶ֖הtoehdeceiveתָּעָהverb, qal, participle, absolute — “deceive”, a verb used as a describing wordH8582to vacillate, i.e. reel or stray (literally or figuratively); also causative of both(cause to) go astray, deceive, dissemble, (cause to, make to) err, pant, seduce, (make to) stagger, (cause to) wander, be out of the way.בַּשָּׂדֶ֑הbasadehin fieldשָׂדֶהpreposition, with the article, noun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “in field”, the ordinary formH7704a field (as flat)country, field, ground, land, soil, [idiom] wild.וַיִּשְׁאָלֵ֧הוּvayishalehvand demandשָׁאַלconjunction, verb, qal, sequential imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “and demand”, the next action in the storyH7592to inquire; by implication, to request; by extension, to demandask (counsel, on), beg, borrow, lay to charge, consult, demand, desire, [idiom] earnestly, enquire, [phrase] greet, obtain leave, lend, pray, request, require, [phrase] salute, [idiom] straitly, [idiom] surely, wish.הָאִ֛ישׁhaishthe a certainאִישׁdefinite article, noun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “the a certain”, the ordinary formH376a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)also, another, any (man), a certain, [phrase] champion, consent, each, every (one), fellow, (foot-, husband-) man, (good-, great, mighty) man, he, high (degree), him (that is), husband, man(-kind), [phrase] none, one, people, person, [phra…לֵאמֹ֖רlemorto sayאָמַרpreposition, verb, qal, infinitive construct — “to say”, the to-form of the verbH559to say (used with great latitude)answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, [phrase] (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, [idiom] desire, determine, [idiom] expressly, [idiom] indeed, [idiom] intend, name, [id…מַהmahhowמָהparticle, interrogative — “how”H4100properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what (including whatever, and even relatively, that which); often used with prefixes in various adverbial or conjunctive senseshow (long, oft, (-soever)), (no-) thing, what (end, good, purpose, thing), whereby(-fore, -in, -to, -with), (for) why.תְּבַקֵּֽשׁtevaqeshbeseechבָּקַשׁverb, piel, imperfect, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “beseech”, an unfinished actionH1245to search out (by any method, specifically in worship or prayer); by implication, to strive afterask, beg, beseech, desire, enquire, get, make inquisition, procure, (make) request, require, seek (for).

Jewish translation (JPS 1917)

And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying: 'What seekest thou?'

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

Young’s Literal Translation

And a man findeth him, and lo, he is wandering in the field, and the man asketh him, saying, 'What seekest thou?'

World English Bible

A certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?”

Darby Translation

And a man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the country; and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

Douay-Rheims

And a man found him there wandering in the field, and asked what he sought.

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying: 'What seekest thou?'

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

And a man found him wandering in the field; and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

Καὶ εὗρεν αὐτὸν ἄνθρωπος πλανώμενον ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ· ἠρώτησε δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, λέγων, τί ζητεῖς;