Genesis 37
1 So Jacob dwelt in the land of the sojournings of his father, —in the land of Canaan.
Jacob settled down and lived in Canaan as his father had done.
2 These, are the generations of Jacob—Joseph, when seventeen years old, was shepherding with his brethren among the flocks, and, he, being a youth, was with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah wives of his father, —so then Joseph brought in the talk about them—something bad, unto their father.
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.
3 Now, Israel, loved Joseph more than any of his sons, because he was to him, the son of his old age, and he had made him, a long tunic.
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.
4 So his brethren saw that their father loved him, more than any of his brethren, and they hated him, and could not bid him prosper,
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.
5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and told it to his brethren, and they went on yet more to hate him.
Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more.
6 And he said unto them, Hear ye I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
“Listen to this dream I had,” he told them.
7 Lo! then, we, were binding sheaves in the midst of the field, when lo my sheaf rose up, yea and took its stand, —and lo! round about came your sheaves, and bowed themselves down to my sheaf.
“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.”
8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou, reign, over us, shalt thou, have dominion over us? So they went on yet more to hate him, because of his dreams and because of his words.
“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.
9 Then dreamed he, yet another, dream, and related it to his brethren, and said: —Lo! I have dreamed a dream, yet again, Lo! then, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars, were bowing themselves down to me.
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.”
10 So he related it unto his father, and unto his brethren, —and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream which thou hast dreamed? Shall we, indeed come in, I, and thy mother and thy brethren, to bow ourselves down to thee to the earth?
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?”
11 Then were his brethren jealous of him, but his father, marked the word.
Joseph's brothers became jealous of him, but his father puzzled over the meaning of the dream.
12 Now his brethren went their way, —to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
One day Joseph's brothers took their father's flocks to graze near Shechem.
13 So Israel said unto Joseph Are not, thy brethren, feeding the flock in Shechem? Come on! and let me send thee unto them. And he said to him Behold me!
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.
14 So he said to him—Go, I pray thee, look after the welfare of thy brethren, and the welfare of the flock, and bring me back word. And he sent him from the vale of Hebron, and he came in towards Shechem.
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,
15 And a man found him, and lo! he was wandering about in the field, so the man asked him saying—What seekest thou?
and arrived in Shechem. A man there found him wandering about in the field, so he asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 And he said, My brethren, am, I, seeking, —do tell me, I pray thee, where they are feeding their flock.
“I'm looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they're looking after the flock?”
17 And the man said, They have broken up from hence, for I heard them saying Let us go our way towards Dothan. So Joseph went after his brethren, and found them, in Dothan.
“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.
18 And they saw him afar off, —and, ere yet he drew near unto them, they conspired against him, to put him to death.
But they saw him coming way off in the distance, and before he got to them, they made plans to kill him.
19 And they said each man unto his brother, Lo! that master of dreams yonder, coming in!
“Look, here comes the Lord of Dreams!” they said to each other.
20 Now, therefore, come! let us slay him and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say A cruel beast, hath devoured him, —And let us see what will become of his dreams.
“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!”
21 And Reuben heard it, and rescued him out of their hand, and said Let us not smite him, so as to take his life!
When Reuben heard all this, he tried to save Joseph from them.
22 And Reuben said unto them Do not shed blood! Cast him into this pit, which is in the wilderness, but put not forth, a hand, against him! that he might rescue him out of their hand, to restore him unto his father.
“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.
23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come in unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph of his tunic, the long tunic which was upon him,
So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off his robe—the colorful long-sleeved robe he was wearing—
24 and took him, and cast him into the pit, but the pit, was empty, there was in it no water.
grabbed him and threw him into a pit. (The pit was empty—it didn't have any water in it.)
25 And when they had sat down to eat bread, they lifted up their eyes and looked, and lo! a caravan of Ishmaelites, coming in from Gilead, —and, their camels, were bearing tragacanth gum, and balsam and cistus-gum, they were going their way, to take them down to Egypt.
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.
26 So Judah said unto his brethren, —What profit that we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
“What's the point of killing our brother?” Judah asked his brothers. “Then we'd have to cover up his death!
27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites; but let not, our own hand, be upon him, for our own brother, our own flesh, is he And his brethren hearkened.
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.
28 And there passed by certain Midianites travelling merchants, so they drew forth and uplifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites, for twenty pieces of silver, —and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
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.
29 And Reuben returned unto the pit, and lo Joseph was not in the pit, so he rent his clothes;
When Reuben came back later and looked into the pit, Joseph was gone. He tore his clothes in grief.
30 and returned unto his brethren, and said, —The, lad, is not! And, I, oh where can I, go?
He returned to his brothers. “The boy's gone!” he moaned. “What am I going to do now?”
31 And they took Joseph’s tunic, —and slaughtered a buck of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood;
They slaughtered a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in the blood.
32 and sent the long tunic and brought it in unto their father, and said This, have we found! Examine, we pray thee, whether it is the tunic of thy son, or not!
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.”
33 So he examined it, and said—The tunic of my son! A cruel beast hath devoured him, —torn in pieces—torn in pieces, is Joseph!
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!”
34 And Jacob rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his loins, —and mourned over his son many days.
Jacob tore his clothes in grief and dressed in sackcloth. He mourned the death of his son for a long time.
35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to console him but he refused to be consoled, and said—Surely I will go down unto my son mourning to hades! And his father wept for him. (Sheol h7585)
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)
36 Now, the Midianites, sold him into Egypt, —to Potiphar courtier of Pharaoh, chief of the royal executioners.
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.
