Genesis 44:34

Verse

Berean Standard Bible

For how can I go back to my father without the boy? I could not bear to see the misery that would overwhelm him.”

American Standard Version (1901)

For how shall I go up to my father, if the lad be not with me? lest I see the evil that shall come on my father.

Bible in Basic English

For how may I go back to my father without the boy, and see the evil which will come on my father?

Douay-Rheims 1899

For I cannot return to my father without the boy, lest I be a witness of the calamity that will oppress my father.

Free Bible Version

For how could I ever go back to my father if the boy wasn't with me? I couldn't stand seeing the anguish that would cause my father.”

Geneva Bible 1599

For how can I go vp to my father, if the childe be not with me, vnlesse I woulde see the euil that shall come on my father?

King James (Authorized) Version

For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.

One Unity Resource Bible

For how will I go up to my father, if the boy is not with me?— lest I see the evil that will come on my father.”

Translation for Translators

◄I cannot return to my father if the boy is not with me!/How can I return to my father if the boy is not with me?► [RHQ] I do not want to see how miserable/sad my father would become!”

Unlocked Literal Bible

For how can I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? I am afraid to see the evil that would come on my father.”

Noah Webster Bible

For how shall I return to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest perhaps I see the evil that shall come on my father.

World English Bible

For how will I go up to my father, if the boy isn’t with me?—lest I see the evil that will come on my father.”

Young's Literal Translation

for how do I go up unto my father, and the youth not with me? lest I look on the evil which doth find my father.'

Context

Judah Pleads for Benjamin

³³Now please let your servant stay here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy. Let him return with his brothers.³⁴For how can I go back to my father without the boy? I could not bear to see the misery that would overwhelm him.”

Summary

In this verse, Judah offers himself as a substitute for his brother Benjamin, demonstrating a sacrificial love and willingness to bear the consequences of another's actions. His plea reflects a deep sense of responsibility and loyalty to his father Jacob, showing a transformation from his previous actions of betrayal. Judah's selfless act foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who would offer Himself as a substitute for humanity's sins, embodying the essence of love and redemption. This verse showcases the power of repentance, forgiveness, and the potential for personal growth and redemption in the face of past mistakes.

Commentary

John Gill

John Gill Bible Commentary

For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me?.... Signifying that he must abide in Egypt, and chose to do it, and could not go up to the land of Canaan any more or see his father's face without Benjamin along with him, to whom he was a surety for him: lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father; see him die, or live a life of sorrow worse than death: this he could not bear, and chose rather to be a slave in Egypt, than to be the spectator of such an affecting scene. By this speech of Judah, Joseph plainly saw the great affection which his brethren, especially Judah, had for his father and his brother Benjamin, as well as the sense they had of their evil in selling him, which lay uppermost on their minds, and for which they thought themselves brought into all this trouble; wherefore he could no longer conceal himself from them, but makes himself known unto them, which is the principal subject of the following chapter. Next: Genesis Chapter 45