Genesis 42:37-38

42:37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may ¹  put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care ²  and I will bring him back to you.” 42:38 But Jacob ³  replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. ⁴  If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair ⁵  in sorrow to the grave.” ⁶ 

[42:37]  ¹ tn The nuance of the imperfect verbal form is permissive here.

[42:37]  ² tn Heb “my hand.”

[42:38]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[42:38]  ⁴ sn The expression he alone is left meant that (so far as Jacob knew) Benjamin was the only surviving child of his mother Rachel.

[42:38]  ⁵ sn The expression bring down my gray hair is figurative, using a part for the whole – they would put Jacob in the grave. But the gray head signifies a long life of worry and trouble.

[42:38]  ⁶ tn Heb “to Sheol,” the dwelling place of the dead.