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?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.”