And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man’s face, except our youngest brother be with us.
And we told him, 'We can't go back down there. If our youngest brother comes with us, then we'll go. We're not allowed to appear before that man unless our youngest brother is with us.'
The brothers are explaining that they cannot return to Egypt without Benjamin because the Egyptian ruler (Joseph) has demanded to see their youngest brother.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs during the severe famine when Jacob's sons had to travel to Egypt to buy grain. The Egyptian ruler (secretly their brother Joseph, though they don't know it) had demanded they bring their youngest brother Benjamin on their next trip as proof they weren't spies. Jacob was reluctant to let Benjamin go because he had already lost Joseph and couldn't bear to lose Rachel's other son.
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