Genesis 37
1 Jacob settled down and lived in Canaan as his father had done.
雅各伯定居在他父親作客的客納罕地方。
2 This is the story of Jacob and his family. Joseph was seventeen, and helped look after the flock with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph told his father about some of the bad things his brothers were doing.
以下是雅各伯的小史。若瑟十七歲時，與哥哥們一同放羊。他尚年幼，常與自己的父親的妻子彼耳哈和齊耳帕的兒子們在一起。他不斷將他們作的惡事報告給父親。
3 Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him when he was already old. He made a colorful robe with long sleeves for Joseph.
以色列愛若瑟超過其他的兒子，因為是他年老生的，並給他做了一件彩色長衫。
4 When his brothers noticed that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and had nothing good to say about him.
他的哥哥們見父親愛他勝過其餘的兒子，就忌恨他，不能與他和氣交談。
5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more.
若瑟作了一夢，講給哥哥們聽，因此他們越發惱恨他。
6 “Listen to this dream I had,” he told them.
他對他們說：「請聽我作的夢：
7 “We were tying up bundles of grain out in the fields when all of a sudden my bundle stood up, and your bundles came over and bowed down to it.”
我夢見我們同在田間捆麥子，忽然我的麥捆站起來，你們的麥捆圍住我的麥捆下拜。」
8 “Do you really think you're going to be our king?” they asked. “Do you honestly believe you're going to rule over us?” They hated him even more because of his dream and how he described it.
他哥哥們對他說：「難道你要作我們的君王﹖或者統治我們﹖」他們為了這夢和這番話，越發惱恨他。
9 Then he had another dream told his brothers about it. “Listen, I had another dream,” he explained. “The sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down before me.”
他又作了一夢，也告訴他哥哥們說：「我又作了一夢：夢見太陽和月亮並一顆星辰向我下拜。」
10 He also told his father as well as his brothers, and his father told him off, saying, “What's this dream that you've had? Are we—I and your mother and brothers—really going to come and bow down to the ground before you?”
當他給父親和哥哥們講說這夢時，他父親就責斥他說：「你作的是什麼夢﹖難道我和你母親以及你的兄弟，都要來向你叩首至地﹖」
11 Joseph's brothers became jealous of him, but his father puzzled over the meaning of the dream.
他兄弟們都忌恨他；他父親卻將這事存在心裏。
12 One day Joseph's brothers took their father's flocks to graze near Shechem.
若瑟的哥哥們去了舍根，放他們父親的羊。
13 Israel told Joseph, “Your brothers are looking after the sheep near Shechem. Get ready because I want you to go and see them.” “I'll do it,” Joseph replied.
以色列對若瑟說：「你哥哥們不是在舍根放羊麼﹖來，我打發你去看看他們。」他回答說：「我在這裏。」
14 So he told him, “Off you go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and come back and let me know.” So he sent him off. Joseph set out from the Hebron Valley,
以色列對他說：「你去看看你哥哥們是否平安，羊群怎樣；然後回來告訴我。」以色列便打發他由赫貝龍山谷前去；他到了舍根。
15 and arrived in Shechem. A man there found him wandering about in the field, so he asked him, “What are you looking for?”
有一個人見他在田間遊蕩，那人就問他說：「你尋找什麼﹖」
16 “I'm looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they're looking after the flock?”
他答說：「我尋找我的哥哥；請告訴我：他們在那裏放羊﹖」
17 “They've already left,” the man replied. “I heard them say, ‘Let's go to Dothan.’” So Joseph followed his brothers and caught up with them at Dothan.
那人答說：「他們已離開了這裏；我聽見他們說：我們到多堂去。」於是若瑟便去追尋他的哥哥，在多堂找到了。
18 But they saw him coming way off in the distance, and before he got to them, they made plans to kill him.
他們老遠就看見了他；在他尚未近以前，就已決定要謀殺他。
19 “Look, here comes the Lord of Dreams!” they said to each other.
他們彼此說：「看，那作夢的人來了!
20 “Come on, let's kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We'll say that some wild animal has eaten him. Then we'll see what happens to his dreams!”
我們殺掉他，將他拋在一口井裏，說是猛獸吃了。看他的夢還有什麼用﹖」
21 When Reuben heard all this, he tried to save Joseph from them.
勒烏本聽了，就設法由他們手中救他，遂說：「我們不要害他! 」
22 “Let's not attack and kill him,” he suggested. “Don't murder him, just throw him into this pit here in the desert. You don't need to be guilty of violence.” Reuben said this so that he could come back later and rescue Joseph from them and take him home to his father.
勒烏本又對他們說：「你們不要流血；只將他丟在這曠野的井裏，不可下手害他。」他的意思是想由他們手中救出他來，還給父親。
23 So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off his robe—the colorful long-sleeved robe he was wearing—
若瑟一來到他哥哥們那裏，他們就脫去了他穿的那件彩色長衣，抓住他，把他丟在井裏；
24 grabbed him and threw him into a pit. (The pit was empty—it didn't have any water in it.)
那井是空的，裏面沒有水。
25 They were just sitting down to have a meal when they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic spices, balm, and myrrh to take to Egypt.
他們坐下吃飯時，舉目看見一隊由基肋阿得來的依市瑪耳人；他們的駱駝滿載樹膠、香液和香料，要下到埃及去。
26 “What's the point of killing our brother?” Judah asked his brothers. “Then we'd have to cover up his death!
猶大遂對兄弟們說：「殺害我們的弟弟，隱瞞他的血，究竟有什麼益處﹖
27 Instead, why don't we sell him to these Ishmaelites? We don't have to kill him. After all he's our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.
不如將他賣給依市瑪耳人，免得對他下毒手，因為他究竟是我們的兄弟，是我們的骨肉。」兄弟們聽從了他的意見。
28 So when the Ishmaelites (who were traders from Midian) came by, they pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites took him to Egypt.
米淂楊的商人經過那裏時，他們便從井中拉出若瑟來，以二十塊銀錢賣給了依市瑪耳人；他們便將若瑟帶到埃及去了。
29 When Reuben came back later and looked into the pit, Joseph was gone. He tore his clothes in grief.
勒烏本回到井邊，不見若瑟在井內，遂撕裂了自己的衣服，
30 He returned to his brothers. “The boy's gone!” he moaned. “What am I going to do now?”
回到兄弟們那裏喊說：「孩子不見了! 我可往那裏去呢﹖」
31 They slaughtered a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in the blood.
他們於是拿了若瑟的長衣，殺了一隻公山羊，將長衣浸在血裏；
32 Then they sent the colorful robe to their father with the message, “We found this. Please examine it and see if it's your son's robe or not.”
然後派人將那件彩色的長衣送給他們的父親說：「這是我們尋得的，請你仔細看看，是不是你兒子的長衣﹖」
33 His father recognized it right away and said, “This is my son's robe! Some wild animal must have eaten him. Poor Joseph has been ripped to pieces, no doubt about it!”
雅各伯仔細一看，就喊說：「是我兒子的長衣；猛獸將他吃了。若瑟被撕裂了，被撕裂了! 」
34 Jacob tore his clothes in grief and dressed in sackcloth. He mourned the death of his son for a long time.
雅各伯遂撕裂了自己的衣服，腰間圍上麻衣，為自己的兒子悲哀了多日。
35 All his sons and daughters tried to console him, but he rejected their attempts. “No,” he said, “I will go down into my grave mourning for my son.” So Joseph's father went on weeping for him. (Sheol h7585)
雖然他的兒女都來安慰他，他卻不肯接受他們的安慰，說：「我只有悲哀地下到陰間，往我兒那裏去! 」他的父親竟這樣哀悼他。 (Sheol h7585)
36 In the meantime the Ishmaelites had arrived in Egypt and had sold Joseph to Potiphar. Potiphar was one of Pharaoh's officers, the captain of the guard.
米德楊人後在在埃及將若瑟賣給了法郎的內臣，衛隊長普提法爾。
