And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
Parallel translations
- WEB He returned to his brothers, and said, “The child is no more; and I, where will I go?”
- BSB returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”
- 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 42:13And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
- Jer 31:15Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.
- Gen 42:32We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
- Gen 37:20Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
- Gen 42:35–36And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.