And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”
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?
- BSB returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”
- 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 42:13They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is today with our father, and one is no more.”
- Jer 31:15Yahweh says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”
- Gen 42:32We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is today with our father in the land of Canaan.’
- Gen 37:20Come now therefore, and let’s kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, ‘An evil animal has devoured him.’ We will see what will become of his dreams.”
- Gen 42:35–36As they emptied their sacks, behold, each man’s bundle of money was in his sack. When they and their father saw their 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.