44:16 Judah replied, “What can we say 4 to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves? 5 God has exposed the sin of your servants! 6 We are now my lord’s slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”
1 sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.
2 tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “is not yet complete.”
4 tn The imperfect verbal form here indicates the subject’s potential.
5 tn The Hitpael form of the verb צָדֵק (tsadeq) here means “to prove ourselves just, to declare ourselves righteous, to prove our innocence.”
6 sn God has exposed the sin of your servants. The first three questions are rhetorical; Judah is stating that there is nothing they can say to clear themselves. He therefore must conclude that they have been found guilty.