Bible Strands
Genesis 43:9
I will guarantee his safety. You may hold me personally responsible. If I do not bring him back and set him before you, then may I bear the guilt before you all my life.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Judah speaks to his father Israel during the negotiation to return to Egypt for grain, offering himself as security for Benjamin’s safe return.
The words — The Hebrew אֶעֶרְבֶּנּוּ ('e'ervennu) literally means "I will stand surety," and תְּבַקְשֵׁנּוּ (tevakeshe) means "you will require him," establishing the pledge as a binding guarantee rather than a mere promise.
The thread — This pledge echoes Reuben’s earlier guarantee in Genesis 42:37, anticipates Judah’s repeated vow in Genesis 44:32, and parallels Paul’s surety for Philemon’s debts in Philemon 1:18.
Why it lands — The text states that the speaker will bear lifelong guilt if the boy is not returned, demanding a reader recognize the concrete weight of personal accountability when assuming responsibility for another.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:
Cross-references
- Genesis 42:37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I fail to bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him.”
- Genesis 44:32 Indeed, your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father, saying, ‘If I do not return him to you, I will bear the guilt before you, my father, all my life.’
- Philemon 1:18 But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.
- Hebrews 7:22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
- Genesis 9:5 And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man:
- Genesis 31:39 I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night.
- 1 Kings 1:21 Otherwise, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be counted as criminals.”
- Job 17:3 Give me, I pray, the pledge You demand. Who else will be my guarantor?
- Psalms 119:122 Ensure Your servant’s well-being; do not let the arrogant oppress me.
- Ezekiel 3:18 If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood.