²¹ But ^(A)Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands ^[a]by saying, “Let’s not ^[b]take his life.”

²² Then Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—so that later he might rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father.