Genesis 42:4

But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, ¹  for he said, ²  “What if some accident ³  happens ⁴  to him?”

biblegateway Gen 42:4

But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.

biblegateway Gen 42:4

But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, "I am afraid that harm may befall him."

biblegateway Gen 42:4

Jacob wouldn’t let Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin, go with them, however, for fear some harm might come to him.

biblegateway Gen 42:4

Jacob didn't send Joseph's brother Benjamin with them; he was afraid that something bad might happen to him.

SABDAweb Gen 42:4

But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with them, for fear, as he said, that some evil might come to him.

bibleoremus Gen 42:4

But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he feared that harm might come to him.

biblegateway Gen 42:4

But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, "Lest some calamity befall him."

biblegateway Gen 42:4

But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, ¹  for he said, ²  “What if some accident ³  happens ⁴  to him?”

¹ tn Heb “But Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, Jacob did not send with his brothers.” The disjunctive clause highlights the contrast between Benjamin and the other ten.

² tn The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) could also be translated “thought” (i.e., “he said to himself”) here, giving Jacob’s reasoning rather than spoken words.

³ tn The Hebrew noun אָסוֹן (’ason) is a rare word meaning “accident, harm.” Apart from its use in these passages it occurs in Exodus 21:22-23 of an accident to a pregnant woman. The term is a rather general one, but Jacob was no doubt thinking of his loss of Joseph.

⁴ tn Heb “encounters.”