< Genesis 37 >

1 Jacob settled down and lived in Canaan as his father had done.
Now Jacob was living in the land where his father had made a place for himself, in the land of Canaan.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more.
Now Joseph had a dream, and he gave his brothers an account of it, which made their hate greater than ever.
6 “Listen to this dream I had,” he told them.
And he said to them, Let me give you the story of my dream.
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.”
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 “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.
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 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.”
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 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?”
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 Joseph's brothers became jealous of him, but his father puzzled over the meaning of the dream.
And his brothers were full of envy; but his father kept his words in mind.
12 One day Joseph's brothers took their father's flocks to graze near Shechem.
Now his brothers went to keep watch over their father's flock in Shechem.
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.
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 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,
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 arrived in Shechem. A man there found him wandering about in the field, so he asked him, “What are you looking for?”
And a man saw him wandering in the country, and said to him, What are you looking for?
16 “I'm looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they're looking after the flock?”
And he said, I am looking for my brothers; please give me word of where they are keeping their flock.
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.
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 But they saw him coming way off in the distance, and before he got to them, they made plans 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 “Look, here comes the Lord of Dreams!” they said to each other.
Saying to one another, See, here comes this dreamer.
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!”
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 When Reuben heard all this, he tried to save Joseph from them.
But Reuben, hearing these words, got him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take his life.
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.
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 So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off his robe—the colorful long-sleeved robe he was wearing—
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they took off his long coat which he had on;
24 grabbed him and threw him into a pit. (The pit was empty—it didn't have any water in it.)
And they took him and put him in the hole: now the hole had no water in it.
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.
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 “What's the point of killing our brother?” Judah asked his brothers. “Then we'd have to cover up his death!
And Judah said to his brothers, What profit is there in putting our brother to death and covering up his blood?
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.
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 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.
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 When Reuben came back later and looked into the pit, Joseph was gone. He tore his clothes in grief.
Now when Reuben came back to the hole, Joseph was not there; and giving signs of grief,
30 He returned to his brothers. “The boy's gone!” he moaned. “What am I going to do now?”
He went back to his brothers, and said, The child is gone; what am I to do?
31 They slaughtered a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in the blood.
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 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.”
And they took the coat to their father, and said, We came across this; is it your son's coat or not?
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!”
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 Jacob tore his clothes in grief and dressed in sackcloth. He mourned the death of 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 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)
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 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.
And in Egypt the men of Midian gave him for a price to Potiphar, a captain of high position in Pharaoh's house.

< Genesis 37 >