And Reuben responded, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you would not listen. Now we must account for his blood!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Reuben answered them, saying, “Didn’t I tell you, saying, ‘Don’t sin against the child,’ and you wouldn’t listen? Therefore also, behold, his blood is required.”
- KJV And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
- NKJV And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.”
- NASB Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Now justice for his blood is required.”
- NLT “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy?” Reuben asked. “But you wouldn’t listen. And now we have to answer for his blood!”
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 reminds them he warned against harming Joseph, and now sees a reckoning for his blood. Guilt deepens as they sense divine justice at work.
Overview
Reuben's "I told you so" recalls his attempt to save Joseph (Gen 37:21-22), yet he too failed to deliver him. The brothers now feel that Joseph's "blood is required," a biblical principle that bloodguilt is not forgotten by God. Their dawning fear of accountability is the soil in which genuine repentance can grow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 1 Kgs 2:32The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to the sword Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army.
- Ps 9:12For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
- 2 Chr 24:22Thus King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had extended to him. Instead, Joash killed Jehoiada’s son. As he lay dying, Zechariah said, “May the LORD see this and call you to account.”
- Gen 37:21–22When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said.
- Gen 9:5–6And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man:
- Luke 11:50–51As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world,
- Rev 16:9And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues; yet they did not repent and give Him glory.
- Rom 2:15So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them
- Gen 37:29–30When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes,
- Acts 28:4When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”
- Ezek 3:18If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood.
- Gen 4:10“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
- Rev 13:10“If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints.
- Luke 23:41We are punished justly, for we are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
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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 42:22 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
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