KJV ORIGINAL
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.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE
How can I go back to my father without the boy? I couldn't bear to see the terrible grief that would come upon my father.
⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE
Judah is pleading that he cannot return to his father Jacob without Benjamin because it would cause his father devastating sorrow.
📚 Historical Context
This is Judah speaking to Joseph (whom he doesn't recognize) in Egypt, begging not to keep Benjamin as a slave. Jacob had already lost Joseph (or so he thought) and was heartbroken - losing Benjamin too would likely kill him. Judah is offering to take Benjamin's place as a slave to spare his father this grief.
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