And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.

And Ruben answered him: Kill my two sons if I bring him not again to thee: deliver him unto my hand, and I will restore him to thee.

And Reuben spoke to his father, saying, Slay my two sons if I bring him not back to thee: give him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.

And Reuben speaketh unto his father, saying, 'My two sons thou dost put to death, if I bring him not in unto thee; give him into my hand, and I, I bring him back unto thee;'

And Reuben said, Put my two sons to death if I do not come back to you with him; let him be in my care and I will give him safely back to you.

And Reuben answered him, "Put my two sons to death, if I do not lead him back to you. Deliver him into my hand, and I will restore him to you."

And Reuban spapke unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.

Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee - What a strange proposal made by a son to his father, concerning his grandchildren! But they show the honesty and affection of Reuben's heart; he felt deeply for his father's distress, and was determined to risk and hazard every thing in order to relieve and comfort him. There is scarcely a transaction in which Reuben is concerned that does not serve to set his character in an amiable point of view, except the single instance mentioned Genesis 35:22 (note), and which for the sake of decency and piety we should wish to understand as the Targumists have explained it. See the notes.

And Reuben spoke unto his father,.... Being the eldest son, it most property lay upon him to make answer to his father in the name of his brethren, and to offer a word of comfort to him:
saying, slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee; meaning not Simeon, who was in Egypt, but Benjamin, whom it was proposed to take thither, and whom Jacob was very loath to part with; and to persuade him to it Reuben offers to him, and gives him leave to slay his two sons, or rather two of his sons (g), since he had four, Genesis 46:9; if he did not bring Benjamin again to him: this was a strange proposal, for what were two sons of his to his own son, so exceedingly beloved by him? besides, to lose his own son, and to have two of his grandchildren slain, would have been an increase of his sorrow and grief, instead of being an alleviation of it; but Reuben's meaning was, not that his children should be slain, but this he says, to show that he would be as careful and solicitous for the return of Benjamin as if the life of two sons of his lay at stake, and was so confident of it that he could risk the life of them upon it, who were as dear to him as one Benjamin was to his father:
deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again; he undertook to be responsible for him.
(g) "duos filiorum meorum", Piscator; so Ainsworth.

Reuben spake, . . . Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee--This was a thoughtless and unwarrantable condition--one that he never seriously expected his father would accept. It was designed only to give assurance of the greatest care being taken of Benjamin. But unforeseen circumstances might arise to render it impossible for all of them to preserve that young lad (James 4:13), and Jacob was much pained by the prospect. Little did he know that God was dealing with him severely, but in kindness (Hebrews 12:7-8), and that all those things he thought against Him were working together for his good.

Reuben then offered his two sons to Jacob as pledges for Benjamin, if Jacob would entrust him to his care: Jacob might slay them, if he did not bring Benjamin back-the greatest and dearest offer that a son could make to a father. But Jacob refused to let him go. "If mischief befell him by the way, he would bring down my grey hairs with sorrow into Sheol" (cf. Genesis 37:35).