يُوسُف : ٨٠

  • فَلَمَّا So when
  • ٱسۡتَيۡـَٔسُواْ they despaired
  • مِنۡهُ of him
  • خَلَصُواْ they secluded themselves
  • نَجِيّٗاۖ (in) private consultation
  • قَالَ Said
  • كَبِيرُهُمۡ the eldest among them
  • أَلَمۡ Do not
  • تَعۡلَمُوٓاْ you know
  • أَنَّ that
  • أَبَاكُمۡ your father
  • قَدۡ has taken
  • أَخَذَ has taken
  • عَلَيۡكُم upon you
  • مَّوۡثِقٗا a promise
  • مِّنَ by
  • ٱللَّهِ Allah
  • وَمِن and before
  • قَبۡلُ and before
  • مَا that
  • فَرَّطتُمۡ you failed
  • فِي concerning
  • يُوسُفَۖ Yusuf
  • فَلَنۡ So never
  • أَبۡرَحَ will I leave
  • ٱلۡأَرۡضَ the land
  • حَتَّىٰ until
  • يَأۡذَنَ permits
  • لِيٓ me
  • أَبِيٓ my father
  • أَوۡ or
  • يَحۡكُمَ Allah decides
  • ٱللَّهُ Allah decides
  • لِيۖ for me
  • وَهُوَ and He
  • خَيۡرُ (is) the Best
  • ٱلۡحَٰكِمِينَ (of) the judges
So when they had despaired of him, they secluded themselves in private consultation. The eldest of them said, "Do you not know that your father has taken upon you an oath by Allāh and [that] before you failed in [your duty to] Joseph? So I will never leave [this] land until my father permits me or Allāh decides for me,1 and He is the best of judges.
Footnotes
1 - i.e., in my favor by bringing about the release of Benjamin.
So when they despaired of [moving] him, they withdrew to confer privately [together] (najiyyan is a verbal noun that can be used to refer to one person or more, in other words [understand it as meaning] yunaajee ba'duhum ba'dan, 'one conferring with the other'). The most senior of them, in years - Reuben - or, [the most senior of them] in opinion - Judah, said: 'Are you not aware that your father has taken a solemn pledge, a covenant, from you by God, concerning your brother, and formerly (wa-min qablu maa: the maa is extra) you failed regarding Joseph? (but it [the maa] is also said to be relating to the verbal action, [in other words it is] a subject, the predicate of which is min qabl, 'formerly'). So I will never leave, part with, this land, the land of Egypt, until my father permits me, to return to him, or God judges for me, through the deliverance of my brother; and He is the best, the fairest, of judges.