But if you will not send him, we will not go; for the man told us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”
Parallel translations
- WEB but if you’ll not send him, we’ll not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’”
- KJV But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
- NKJV But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ”
- NASB But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ”
- NLT But if you don’t let Benjamin go, we won’t go either. Remember, the man said, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”
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
Judah warns that without Benjamin the journey is pointless, for the lord forbade it. He leaves Jacob no middle path.
Overview
Repeating the lord's demand, Judah forces the issue: no Benjamin, no audience, no grain. His insistence reflects both wisdom and the inescapable pressure of the famine. The repeated condition keeps Benjamin central, ensuring the reunion God has ordained.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Exod 20:12Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
- Gen 42:38But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If any harm comes to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”
- Gen 44:26But we answered, ‘We cannot go down there unless our younger brother goes with us. So if our younger brother is not with us, we cannot see the man.’
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 43:5 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.