< Genesis 37 >
1 And Jacob dwells in the land of his father’s sojournings—in the land of Canaan.
Jacob lived in the land where his father was staying, in the land of Canaan.
2 These [are] the generations of Jacob: Joseph, a son of seventeen years, has been enjoying himself with his brothers among the flock (and he [is] a youth), with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and Joseph brings in an account of their evil to their father.
These were the events concerning Jacob. Joseph, who was a young man seventeen years old, was guarding the flock with his brothers. He was with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought an unfavorable report about them to their father.
3 And Israel has loved Joseph more than any of his sons, for he [is] a son of his old age, and has made for him a long coat;
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was the son of his old age. He made him a beautiful garment.
4 and his brothers see that their father has loved him more than any of his brothers, and they hate him, and have not been able to speak [to] him peaceably.
His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers. They hated him and would not speak kindly to him.
5 And Joseph dreams a dream, and declares to his brothers, and they add still more to hate him.
Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told his brothers about it. They hated him even more.
6 And he says to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:
He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I dreamed.
7 that, behold, we are binding bundles in the midst of the field, and behold, my bundle has arisen, and has also stood up, and behold, your bundles are all around, and they bow themselves to my bundle.”
Behold, we were tying bundles of grain in the field and behold, my bundle rose and stood upright, and behold, your bundles came around and bowed down to my bundle.”
8 And his brothers say to him, “Do you certainly reign over us? Do you certainly rule over us?” And they add still more to hate him, for his dreams, and for his words.
His brothers said to him, “Will you really reign over us? Will you actually rule over us?” They hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
9 And he dreams yet another dream, and recounts it to his brothers, and says, “Behold, I have dreamed a dream again, and behold, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars, are bowing themselves to me.”
He dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers. He said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream: The sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.”
10 And he recounts to his father, and to his brothers; and his father pushes against him, and says to him, “What [is] this dream which you have dreamed? Do we certainly come, I, and your mother, and your brothers—to bow ourselves to you, to the earth?”
He told it to his father just as to his brothers, and his father rebuked him. He said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come to bow down to the ground to you?”
11 And his brothers are zealous against him, and his father has watched the matter.
His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
12 And his brothers go to feed the flock of their father in Shechem,
His brothers went to tend their father's flock in Shechem.
13 and Israel says to Joseph, “Are your brothers not feeding in Shechem? Come, and I send you to them”; and he says to him, “Here I [am]”;
Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers tending the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” Joseph said to him, “I am ready.”
14 and he says to him, “Now go see the peace of your brothers, and the peace of the flock, and bring me back word”; and he sends him from the Valley of Hebron, and he comes to Shechem.
He said to him, “Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers and well with the flock, and bring me word.” So Jacob sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and Joseph went to Shechem.
15 And a man finds him, and behold, he is wandering in the field, and the man asks him, saying, “What do you seek?”
A certain man found Joseph. Behold, Joseph was wandering in a field. The man asked him, “What do you seek?”
16 And he says, “I am seeking my brothers, please declare to me where they are feeding.”
Joseph said, “I am seeking my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are tending the flock.”
17 And the man says, “They have journeyed from this, for I have heard some saying, Let us go to Dothan,” and Joseph goes after his brothers, and finds them in Dothan.
The man said, “They left this place, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'” Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18 And they see him from afar, even before he draws near to them, and they conspire against him to put him to death.
They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they plotted against him to kill him.
19 And they say to one another, “Behold, this man of the dreams comes;
His brothers said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is approaching.
20 and now, come, and we slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and have said, An evil beast has devoured him; and we see what his dreams are.”
Come now, therefore, let us kill him and cast him into one of the pits. We will say, 'A wild animal has devoured him.' We will see what will become of his dreams.”
21 And Reuben hears, and delivers him out of their hand, and says, “Let us not strike the life”;
Reuben heard it and rescued him from their hand. He said, “Let us not take his life.”
22 and Reuben says to them, “Shed no blood; cast him into this pit which [is] in the wilderness, and do not put forth a hand on him,” in order to deliver him out of their hand, to bring him back to his father.
Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to bring him back to his father.
23 And it comes to pass, when Joseph has come to his brothers, that they strip Joseph of his coat, the long coat which [is] on him,
It came about that when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his beautiful garment.
24 and take him and cast him into the pit, and the pit [is] empty, there is no water in it.
They took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty with no water in it.
25 And they sit down to eat bread, and they lift up their eyes, and look, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, and their camels carrying spices, and balm, and myrrh, going to take [them] down to Egypt.
They sat down to eat bread. They lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh. They were traveling to carry them down to Egypt.
26 And Judah says to his brothers, “What gain when we slay our brother, and have concealed his blood?
Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
27 Come, and we sell him to the Ishmaelites, and our hands are not on him, for he [is] our brother—our flesh”; and his brothers listen.
Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands upon him. For he is our brother, our flesh.” His brothers listened to him.
28 And Midianite merchantmen pass by and they draw out and bring up Joseph out of the pit, and sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver, and they bring Joseph into Egypt.
The Midianite merchants passed by. His brothers drew Joseph up and lifted him up out of the pit. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites carried Joseph into Egypt.
29 And Reuben returns to the pit, and behold, Joseph is not in the pit, and he tears his garments,
Reuben returned to the pit, and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit. He tore his clothes.
30 and he returns to his brothers and says, “The boy is not, and I—to where am I going?”
He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there! And I, where can I go?”
31 And they take the coat of Joseph, and slaughter a kid of the goats, and dip the coat in the blood,
They slaughtered a goat and then took Joseph's garment and dipped it into the blood.
32 and send the long coat, and they bring [it] to their father, and say, “We have found this; please discern whether it [is] your son’s coat or not.”
Then they brought it to their father and said, “We found this. Please see whether it is your son's clothing or not.”
33 And he discerns it and says, “My son’s coat! An evil beast has devoured him; torn—Joseph is torn!”
Jacob recognized it and said, “It is my son's clothing. A wild animal has devoured him. Joseph has certainly been torn to pieces.”
34 And Jacob tears his raiment, and puts sackcloth on his loins, and becomes a mourner for his son many days,
Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth upon his loins. He mourned for his son many days.
35 and all his sons and all his daughters rise to comfort him, and he refuses to comfort himself, and says, “For I go down to my son mourning, to Sheol,” and his father weeps for him. (Sheol )
All his sons and daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “Indeed I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” His father wept for him. (Sheol )
36 And the Midianites have sold him to Egypt, to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, head of the executioners.
The Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard.