Now let me die: Jacob is not asking someone present to allow him to die. The father who is living only to see his lost son once more (see 45.28) can now say “I am ready to die” or “I can die now.” Other examples of the way this can be expressed in translation are “It is all right for me to die now” and “I can die happy now.”

Since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive: seen your face may need to be rendered “seen your face again” or “seen you again.” In some languages it is more natural to place the reason before the request; for example, “Now let me die. I have seen you and know that you are still alive.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .