# they came to him

"the people came to Joseph"

# We will not hide from my master

The people refer to Joseph as "my master." This is a formal way of speaking to someone with greater authority. It can be stated in second person. AT: "We will not hide from you, our master" or "We will not hide from you" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-123person]])

# There is nothing left in the sight of my master

Here "sight" stands for Joseph himself. AT: "We have nothing left to give you, our master" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])

# Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land?

The word "eyes" refers to Joseph's sight. The people use a question to emphasize how desperate they are to buy food. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Please do not just watch as we die and our land is ruined!" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion]])

# Why should we die ... both we and our land

The land becomes useless and ruined because there is no seed to plant; thus it is spoken of as if the land would die. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])

# translationWords

* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/lord]]
* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/other/flock]]
* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/other/servant]]
* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/names/pharaoh]]
* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/other/desolate]]