Genesis 42:38
36 And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- But 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.”
- KJV
- And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
- WEB
- He said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left. If harm happens to him along the way in which you go, then you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”
- ASV
- And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left: if harm befall him by the way in which ye go, then will ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.
- DARBY
- But he said, My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left; and if mischief should befall him by the way in which ye go, then would ye bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to Sheol.
- BLB
- And he said, “My son shall not go down with you⁺, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. And if harm should befall him in the way in which you⁺ go, then you⁺ would bring down my gray hair in sorrow to Sheol.”
- ÅB
- Men han sa: Min sønn skal ikke dra ned med dere; for hans bror er død, og han er alene tilbake, og dersom det møter ham noen ulykke på den vei som dere drar, så kommer dere til å sende mine grå hår med sorg ned i dødsriket.
- OTB
- Men Jakob sa: "Min sønn skal ikke dra ned med dere; hans bror er død, og han alene er igjen. Hvis det skulle hende ham noe ondt på reisen dere tar, vil dere bringe mitt grå hår ned til Sheol i sorg."
- B1930
- Men han sa: Min sønn skal ikke dra ned med eder; for hans bror er død, og han er alene tilbake, og dersom det møter ham nogen ulykke på den vei som I drar, så kommer I til å sende mine grå hår med sorg ned i dødsriket.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Genesis 37:35
And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
Read in contextGenesis 42:4
But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
Read in contextGenesis 37:33
And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
Read in contextGenesis 42:13
And 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.
Read in contextGenesis 35:16–18
And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
Read in contextEcclesiastes 2:26
For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Read in context1 Kings 2:6
Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.
Read in contextEcclesiastes 1:14
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Read in context