Am I my brother's keeper?

Am I my brother's keeper?

I'm not responsible for the actions, behavior, or whereabouts of my close relative or friend (not necessarily a brother). Often used to express frustration that such responsibility is assumed. How should I know where Mary is? Am I my brother's keeper?
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • brother
  • I am not my brother's keeper
  • I'm not my brother's keeper
  • keeper
  • not (one's) brother's keeper
  • not your brother's keeper
  • be (not) (one's) brother's keeper
  • be brother's keeper
  • not (one's) keeper
  • not someone's keeper
References in periodicals archive
Asked why it took a long time for Peting to give himself up, the vice mayor replied: 'Am I my brother's keeper?'
In verse 4:9, God asks Cain where Abel is, and Cain answers by asking, 'Am I my brother's keeper?' In so doing, Cain raises what I see as the basic question of Genesis.
In the Old Testament Cain, replies to God's question about his brother Abel: "Am I my brother's keeper?"
"Am I my brother's keeper?" says Cain angrily, starting to feel a bit guilty, one imagines, about clubbing Abel to death.
Someone asked me several years ago, "Am I my brother's keeper? Am I responsible for everything that happens to my neighbors?" I answered, "Yes!" not legally, but morally and spiritually, "Yes!" I believe that we are responsible to make our little corner of God's kingdom as good as it can be.
Consider, for example, how many of the key issues of the Christian faith arise out of the Bible's first three great questions: "Did God say ...?" (Gen 3:1); "Where are you?" (Gen 3:9); and "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen 4:9).