Genesis 43:9

Gen 43:9 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:

Ver. 9. I will be surety for him.] Herein he was a type of Christ, that came of him, who is both our surety to God, for the discharge of our debt and duty, and God’s surety to us, for the performance of his promises. {Heb 7:22}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 43:9. Let me bear the blame for ever — Hebrew, Be an offender to thee: let me bear the guilt, and shame, and punishment due to so great an offender — Judah’s conscience had lately smitten him for what he had done a great while ago against Joseph; and as an evidence of the truth of his repentance, he is ready to undertake, as far as a man could do it, for Benjamin’s security. He will not only not wrong him, but will do all he can to protect him. This is such restitution as the case will admit: when he knew not how he could retrieve Joseph, he would make some amends for the irreparable injury he had done him, by doubling his care concerning Benjamin.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hebrew, I will sin to thee.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 9. Let me bear the blame for ever] וחטאתי לך כל הימים vechatathi lecha col haiyamim, then shall I sin against thee all my days, and consequently be liable to punishment for violating my faith.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(9) Then let me bear the blame for ever.—This is much more manly and therefore more persuasive than Reuben’s talk about pledging the lives of his children. For it was real, nor would it be a slight matter to stand in his father’s presence all the rest of his life as one guilty of a grievous crime.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. I will be surety] i.e. I will guarantee to bring him back. In Gen_42:37 Reuben had been ready to pledge the lives of his two sons for Benjamin’s safety. Here Judah is ready to pledge his own life; see Gen_44:32. The versions fairly reproduce the original: LXX ἐκδέχομαι αὐτόν; Lat. suscipio puerum.

let me bear the blame for ever] R.V. marg. gives the literal rendering I shall have sinned against thee for ever, LXX ἡμαρτηκὼς ἔσομαι, Lat. peccati reus ero. Compare the same idiom in Gen_31:39, “I bare the loss,” and 1Ki_1:21, “I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders” (Heb. sinners). The penalty will be proportioned to the failure.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For except we had lingered,.... Delayed going down to Egypt, through the demur Jacob made of tending Benjamin with them:

surely now we had returned this second time; they would have made their journey to Egypt, and returned again with their corn, and their brother Benjamin too, as Judah supposed, before this time; so that by these delays they were losing time, and involving themselves and families in distress for want of corn.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

For ever. Always lay the blame on me, and punish me as you think fit. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Judah's conscience had lately smitten him for what he had done a great while ago against Joseph; and as an evidence of the truth of his repentance, he is ready to undertake, as far as a man could do it, for Benjamin's security. He will not only not wrong him but will do all he can to protect him. This is such restitution as the case will admit: when he knew not how he could retrieve Joseph, he would make some amends for the irreparable injury he had done him, by doubling his care concerning Benjamin.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

והצגתיו לפניך AND SET HIM BEFORE THEE — for I will not bring him back to you dead but alive.

וחטאתי לך כל הימים THEN SHALL I HAVE SINNED AGAINST THEE ALL THE DAYS — also in the world to come (Genesis Rabbah 91:10).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

וחטאתי לך, Yehudah did not really man that if he did not bring Binyamin back this would automatically be a sin in the objective meaning of the word. He meant that he would consider himself as a sinner against his father forever in the unlikely event that this would happen. He would guarantee his brother’s return under such conditions. These considerations prompted our sages in Makkot 11 to characterise Yehudah as placing himself in the position of a conditional outcast, מנודה, they derive the halachah that someone who places himself in such a state requires the court to annul his conditional vow, status. Needless to say that ostracising oneself from the Jewish community even conditionally is forbidden, and we have a tradition that the bones inside Yehudah’s coffin were rattling for the entire 40 years the Jewish people carried the coffins of the 12 founding leaders of the tribes with them through the desert. This stopped only at the request of Moses who asked mercy for Yehudah in his final blessing in Deuteronomy 33,7, וזאת 'ליהודה וגו

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.