returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”
Parallel translations
- WEB He returned to his brothers, and said, “The child is no more; and I, where will I go?”
- KJV And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
- NKJV And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”
- NASB He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?”
- NLT Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I do now?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Reuben laments to his brothers that the boy is gone and asks where he himself can turn. He despairs over his lost responsibility.
Overview
Reuben cries out that 'the child is no more,' anguished over Joseph's disappearance and his own predicament. As firstborn, he would answer to Jacob for the loss. His distress reveals a conscience troubled by the family's sin, even as the deed cannot now be undone.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Gen 42:13But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
- Jer 31:15This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
- Gen 42:32We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’
- Gen 37:20“Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!”
- Gen 42:35–36As they began emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his bag of silver! And when they and their father saw the bags of silver, they were dismayed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 37:30 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.