When Joseph came … saw them: Joseph came to the two officials to serve them and to wait on them, as he was ordered to do by the captain of the guard in Gen 40.4. In translation it may be necessary to make clear the purpose of Joseph’s coming to the officials; for example, “The next morning when Joseph came in to wait on them.”

They were troubled is literally “behold they were troubled,” in which hinneh “behold” expresses surprise on the part of Joseph. It suggests that Joseph had never seen them this way before. Troubled translates a word meaning “dejected,” “sad,” “worried,” or as Revised English Bible says, “dispirited.” Two translation examples are “their faces were very sad” and “they-two had a big worry.” In some languages this state of mind is best expressed figuratively; for example, “having a weak heart,” “having their strength melted away,” “keeping their eyes on the ground,” “their insides were heavy.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .