Genesis 37
1 Jacob settled down and lived in Canaan as his father had done.
And Jacob dwelt in the land where his father sojourned — 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, being seventeen years old, fed the flock with his brethren; and he was doing service with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought to his father an evil report 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.
And Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was son of his old age; and he made him a vest of many colours.
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 his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, and they hated him, and could not greet him with friendliness.
5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more.
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and told [it] to his brethren, and they hated him yet the more.
6 “Listen to this dream I had,” he told them.
And he said to them, Hear, I pray you, this dream, which I have dreamt:
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.”
Behold, we were binding sheaves in the fields, and lo, my sheaf rose up, and remained standing; and behold, your sheaves came round about and bowed down to my sheaf.
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 brethren said to him, Wilt thou indeed be a king over us? wilt thou indeed rule over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words.
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.”
And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamt another dream, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down 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 told [it] to his father and to his brethren. And his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream which thou hast dreamt? Shall we indeed come, I and thy mother and thy brethren, to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
11 Joseph's brothers became jealous of him, but his father puzzled over the meaning of the dream.
And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the saying.
12 One day Joseph's brothers took their father's flocks to graze near Shechem.
And his brethren went to feed their father's flock at 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, Do not thy brethren feed [the flock] at Shechem? Come, that I may send thee 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, I pray thee, see after the welfare of thy brethren, and after the welfare of the flock; and bring me word again. And he sent him out of the vale of Hebron; and he came towards 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 found him, and behold, he was wandering in the country; and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
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 seeking my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed [their flocks].
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 removed from this; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found 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.
And when they saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to put him to death.
19 “Look, here comes the Lord of Dreams!” they said to each other.
And they said one to another, Behold, there comes that 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!”
And now come and let us kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, An evil beast has devoured him; and we will see what becomes of his dreams.
21 When Reuben heard all this, he tried to save Joseph from them.
And Reuben heard [it], and delivered him out of their hand, and said, 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.
And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood: cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness; but lay no hand upon him — in order that he might deliver him out of their hand, to bring him to his father again.
23 So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off his robe—the colorful long-sleeved robe he was wearing—
And it came to pass when Joseph came to his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his vest, the vest of many colours, 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 cast him into the pit; now the pit was empty — there was 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.
And they sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites came from Gilead; and their camels bore tragacanth, and balsam, and ladanum — going to carry [it] down to Egypt.
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 brethren, What profit is it that we kill our brother and secrete 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.
Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites; but let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened [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 Midianitish men, merchants, passed by; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver-pieces; and they brought Joseph to Egypt.
29 When Reuben came back later and looked into the pit, Joseph was gone. He tore his clothes in grief.
And Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph [was] not in the pit; and he rent his garments,
30 He returned to his brothers. “The boy's gone!” he moaned. “What am I going to do now?”
and returned to his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, where shall I go?
31 They slaughtered a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in the blood.
And they took Joseph's vest, and slaughtered a buck of the goats, and dipped the vest in the blood;
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 sent the vest of many colours and had it carried to their father, and said, This have we found: discern now whether it is thy son's vest 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 discerned it, and said, [It is] my son's vest! an evil beast has devoured him: Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces!
34 Jacob tore his clothes in grief and dressed in sackcloth. He mourned the death of his son for a long time.
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
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 rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, and said, For I will go down to my son into Sheol mourning. Thus his father wept 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 the Midianites sold him into Egypt, to Potiphar, a chamberlain of Pharaoh, the captain of the life-guard.
