< Genesis 37 >
1 And Jacob dwelleth in the land of his father's sojournings — in the land of Canaan.
Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan.
2 These [are] births of Jacob: Joseph, a son of seventeen years, hath been enjoying himself with his brethren 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 bringeth in an account of their evil unto their father.
This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
3 And Israel hath loved Joseph more than any of his sons, for he [is] a son of his old age, and hath made for him a long coat;
Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors.
4 and his brethren see that their father hath loved him more than any of his brethren, and they hate him, and have not been able to speak [to] him peaceably.
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
5 And Joseph dreameth a dream, and declareth to his brethren, and they add still more to hate him.
Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
6 And he saith unto them, 'Hear ye, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had:
7 that, lo, we are binding bundles in the midst of the field, and lo, my bundle hath arisen, and hath also stood up, and lo, your bundles are round about, and bow themselves to my bundle.'
We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.”
8 And his brethren say to him, 'Dost thou certainly reign over us? dost thou certainly rule over us?' and they add still more to hate him, for his dreams, and for his words.
“Do you intend to reign over us?” his brothers asked. “Will you actually rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and his statements.
9 And he dreameth yet another dream, and recounteth it to his brethren, and saith, 'Lo, I have dreamed a dream again, and lo, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars, are bowing themselves to me.'
Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 And he recounteth unto his father, and unto his brethren; and his father pusheth against him, and saith to him, 'What [is] this dream which thou hast dreamt? do we certainly come — I, and thy mother, and thy brethren — to bow ourselves to thee, to the earth?'
He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have had? Will your mother and brothers and I actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”
11 and his brethren are zealous against him, and his father hath watched the matter.
And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.
12 And his brethren go to feed the flock of their father in Shechem,
Some time later, Joseph’s brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks near Shechem.
13 and Israel saith unto Joseph, 'Are not thy brethren feeding in Shechem? come, and I send thee unto them;' and he saith to him, 'Here [am] I;'
Israel said to him, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flocks at Shechem? Get ready; I am sending you to them.” “I am ready,” Joseph replied.
14 and he saith to him, 'Go, I pray thee, see the peace of thy brethren, and the peace of the flock, and bring me back word;' and he sendeth him from the valley of Hebron, and he cometh to Shechem.
Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem,
15 And a man findeth him, and lo, he is wandering in the field, and the man asketh him, saying, 'What seekest thou?'
a man found him wandering in the field and asked, “What are you looking for?”
16 and he saith, 'My brethren I am seeking, declare to me, I pray thee, where they are feeding?'
“I am looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?”
17 And the man saith, 'They have journeyed from this, for I have heard some saying, Let us go to Dothan,' and Joseph goeth after his brethren, and findeth them in Dothan.
“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18 And they see him from afar, even before he draweth near unto them, and they conspire against him to put him to death.
Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him.
19 And they say one unto another, 'Lo, this man of the dreams cometh;
“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another.
20 and now, come, and we slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and have said, An evil beast hath devoured him; and we see what his dreams are.'
“Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!”
21 And Reuben heareth, and delivereth him out of their hand, and saith, 'Let us not smite the life;'
When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said.
22 and Reuben saith unto them, 'Shed no blood; cast him into this pit which [is] in the wilderness, and put not forth a hand upon him,' — in order to deliver him out of their hand, to bring him back unto his father.
“Do not shed his blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father.
23 And it cometh to pass, when Joseph hath come unto his brethren, that they strip Joseph of his coat, the long coat which [is] upon him,
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors he was wearing—
24 and take him and cast him into the pit, and the pit [is] empty, there is no water in it.
and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now 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 lo, a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, and their camels bearing spices, and balm, and myrrh, going to take [them] down to Egypt.
And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt.
26 And Judah saith unto his brethren, 'What gain when we slay our brother, and have concealed his blood?
Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain 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 brethren hearken.
Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed.
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 silverlings, and they bring Joseph into Egypt.
So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
29 And Reuben returneth unto the pit, and lo, Joseph is not in the pit, and he rendeth his garments,
When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes,
30 and he returneth unto his brethren, and saith, 'The lad is not, and I — whither am I going?'
returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”
31 And they take the coat of Joseph, and slaughter a kid of the goats, and dip the coat in the blood,
Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood.
32 and send the long coat, and they bring [it] in unto their father, and say, 'This have we found; discern, we pray thee, whether it [is] thy son's coat or not?'
They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not.”
33 And he discerneth it, and saith, 'My son's coat! an evil beast hath devoured him; torn — torn is Joseph!'
His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”
34 And Jacob rendeth his raiment, and putteth sackcloth on his loins, and becometh a mourner for his son many days,
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
35 and all his sons and all his daughters rise to comfort him, and he refuseth to comfort himself, and saith, 'For — I go down mourning unto my son, to Sheol,' and his father weepeth for him. (Sheol )
All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. (Sheol )
36 And the Medanites have sold him unto Egypt, to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, head of the executioners.
Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.