Genesis 37
1 Now Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, where his father sojourned.
Now Jacob was living in the land where his father had made a place for himself, in the land of Canaan.
2 And these are his generations. Joseph, when he was sixteen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers, when he was still a boy. And he was with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the wives of his father. And he accused his brothers to their father of a most sinful crime.
These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph, a boy seventeen years old, was looking after the flock, together with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph gave their father a bad account of them.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had conceived him in his old age. And he made him a tunic, woven of many colors.
Now the love which Israel had for Joseph was greater than his love for all his other children, because he got him when he was an old man: and he had a long coat made for him.
4 Then his brothers, seeing that he was loved by his father more than all his other sons, hated him, and they were not able to say anything peacefully to him.
And because his brothers saw that Joseph was dearer to his father than all the others, they were full of hate for him, and would not say a kind word to him.
5 Then it also happened that he recounted the vision of a dream to his brothers, for which reason a greater hatred began to be nurtured.
Now Joseph had a dream, and he gave his brothers an account of it, which made their hate greater than ever.
6 And he said to them, “Listen to my dream that I saw.
And he said to them, Let me give you the story of my dream.
7 I thought we were binding sheaves in the field. And my sheaf seemed to rise up and stand, and your sheaves, standing in a circle, reverenced my sheaf.”
We were in the field, getting the grain stems together, and my grain kept upright, and yours came round and went down on the earth before mine.
8 His brothers responded: “Would you be our king? Or will we be subject to your dominion?” Therefore, this matter of his dreams and words provided kindling to their envy and hatred.
And his brothers said to him, Are you to be our king? will you have authority over us? And because of his dream and his words, their hate for him became greater than ever.
9 Likewise, he saw another dream, which he explained to his brothers, saying, “I saw by a dream, as if the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars were reverencing me.”
Then he had another dream, and gave his brothers an account of it, saying, I have had another dream: the sun and the moon and eleven stars gave honour to me.
10 And when he had related this to his father and brothers, his father rebuked him, and he said: “What does it mean to you, this dream that you have seen? Should I, and your mother, and your brothers reverence you upon the earth?”
And he gave word of it to his father and his brothers; but his father protesting said, What sort of a dream is this? am I and your mother and your brothers to go down on our faces to the earth before you?
11 Therefore, his brothers were envious of him. Yet truly, his father considered the matter silently.
And his brothers were full of envy; but his father kept his words in mind.
12 And while his brothers were lodging at Shechem, pasturing their father’s flocks,
Now his brothers went to keep watch over their father's flock in Shechem.
13 Israel said to him: “Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” And when he answered,
And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers with the flock in Shechem? come, I will send you to them. And he said to him, Here am I.
14 “I am ready,” he said to him, “Go, and see if everything is prospering with your brothers and the cattle, and report to me what is happening.” So, having been sent from the valley of Hebron, he arrived at Shechem.
And he said to him, Go now, and see if your brothers are well and how the flock is; then come back and give me word. So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 And a man found him wandering in a field, and he asked him what he was seeking.
And a man saw him wandering in the country, and said to him, What are you looking for?
16 So he responded: “I seek my brothers. Tell me where they pasture the flocks.”
And he said, I am looking for my brothers; please give me word of where they are keeping their flock.
17 And the man said to him: “They have withdrawn from this place. But I heard them saying, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” Therefore, Joseph continued on after his brothers, and he found them at Dothan.
And the man said, They have gone away from here, for they said in my hearing, Let us go to Dothan. So Joseph went after them and came up with them at Dothan.
18 And, when they had seen him from afar, before he approached them, they decided to kill him.
But they saw him when he was a long way off, and before he came near them they made a secret design against him to put him to death;
19 And they said one to another: “Behold, the dreamer approaches.
Saying to one another, See, here comes this dreamer.
20 Come, let us kill him and cast him into the old cistern. And let us say: ‘an evil wild beast has devoured him.’ And then it will become apparent what his dreams will do for him.”
Let us now put him to death and put his body into one of these holes, and we will say, An evil beast has put him to death: then we will see what becomes of his dreams.
21 But Reuben, on hearing this, strove to free him from their hands, and he said:
But Reuben, hearing these words, got him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take his life.
22 “Do not take away his life, nor shed blood. But throw him into this cistern, which is in the wilderness, and so keep your hands harmless.” But he said this, wanting to rescue him from their hands, so as to return him to his father.
Do not put him to a violent death, but let him be placed in one of the holes; this he said to keep him safe from their hands, with the purpose of taking him back to his father again.
23 And so, as soon as he came to his brothers, they very quickly stripped him of his tunic, which was ankle-length and woven of many colors,
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they took off his long coat which he had on;
24 and they cast him into an old cistern, which held no water.
And they took him and put him in the hole: now the hole had no water in it.
25 And sitting down to eat bread, they saw some Ishmaelites, travelers coming from Gilead, with their camels, carrying spices, and resin, and oil of myrrh into Egypt.
Then seating themselves, they took their meal: and looking up, they saw a travelling band of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead on their way to Egypt, with spices and perfumes on their camels.
26 Therefore, Judah said to his brothers: “What will it profit us, if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
And Judah said to his brothers, What profit is there in putting our brother to death and covering up his blood?
27 It is better that he be sold to the Ishmaelites, and then our hands will not be defiled. For he is our brother and our flesh.” His brothers agreed to his words.
Let us give him to these Ishmaelites for a price, and let us not put violent hands on him, for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brothers gave ear to him.
28 And when the Midianite merchants were passing by, they drew him from the cistern, and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And these led him into Egypt.
And some traders from Midian went by; so pulling Joseph up out of the hole, they gave him to the Ishmaelites for twenty bits of silver, and they took him to Egypt.
29 And Reuben, returning to the cistern, did not find the boy.
Now when Reuben came back to the hole, Joseph was not there; and giving signs of grief,
30 And rending his garments, he went to his brothers and said, “The boy is not present, and so where shall I go?”
He went back to his brothers, and said, The child is gone; what am I to do?
31 Then they took his tunic, and they dipped it in the blood of a young goat, which they had killed,
Then they took Joseph's coat, and put on it some of the blood from a young goat which they had put to death,
32 sending those who carried it to their father, and they said: “We found this. See whether it is the tunic of your son or not.”
And they took the coat to their father, and said, We came across this; is it your son's coat or not?
33 And when the father acknowledged it, he said: “It is the tunic of my son. An evil wild beast has eaten him; a beast has devoured Joseph.”
And he saw that it was, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast has put him to death; without doubt Joseph has come to a cruel end.
34 And tearing his garments, he was clothed in haircloth, mourning his son for a long time.
Then Jacob, giving signs of grief, put on haircloth, and went on weeping for his son day after day.
35 Then, when all of his sons gathered together to ease their father’s sorrow, he was not willing to accept consolation, but he said: “I will descend in mourning to my son in the underworld.” And while he persevered in weeping, (Sheol h7585)
And all his sons and all his daughters came to give him comfort, but he would not be comforted, saying with weeping, I will go down to the underworld to my son. So great was his father's sorrow for him. (Sheol h7585)
36 the Midianites in Egypt sold Joseph to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, instructor of the soldiers.
And in Egypt the men of Midian gave him for a price to Potiphar, a captain of high position in Pharaoh's house.
