Genesis 42:22
And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
The words belong to the three days the brothers spent confined in Egypt as suspected spies, days of bitter sorrow in which they reflected upon their past wrong course, especially their cruelty to Joseph. In the verse Reuben reminds them that he had warned them not to sin against the child Joseph, but they would not hear. He declares that his blood is now required of them, meaning their present distress and danger is the consequence of their guilt and responsibility for selling him, for their cruelty toward him, and for ignoring his anguish and mistreating him.
Facing death or slavery if condemned as spies, they feared God designed to punish them by suffering them to become slaves because they had sold Joseph as a slave. Their sorrow over their cruelty and their dread of just punishment showed repentance for how they had treated Joseph. That repentance gave assurance that they would in no case treat Benjamin as they had treated him.
Since their cruelty toward Joseph they had lived with remorse and great distress of mind, believing his blood was required of them and fearing guilt for his death. Learning that Joseph was alive relieved their remorse and their troubled minds, because they knew they were not guilty of his blood and death. They then humbly confessed the wrongs they had committed against him and entreated his forgiveness, and rejoiced greatly that he was alive.