Genesis 37
1 And Jacob dwelleth in the land of his father's sojournings — in the land of Canaan.
Jacob settled down and lived in Canaan as his father had done.
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 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 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;
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 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 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 dreameth a dream, and declareth to his brethren, and they add still more to hate him.
Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more.
6 And he saith unto them, 'Hear ye, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
“Listen to this dream I had,” he told them.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 and his brethren are zealous against him, and his father hath watched the matter.
Joseph's brothers became jealous of him, but his father puzzled over the meaning of the dream.
12 And his brethren go to feed the flock of their father in Shechem,
One day Joseph's brothers took their father's flocks to graze 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 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 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.
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 findeth him, and lo, he is wandering in the field, and the man asketh 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 saith, 'My brethren I am seeking, declare to me, I pray thee, where they are feeding?'
“I'm looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they're looking after the flock?”
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'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 see him from afar, even before he draweth near unto them, and they conspire 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 say one unto another, 'Lo, this man of the dreams cometh;
“Look, here comes the Lord of Dreams!” they said to each other.
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 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 heareth, and delivereth him out of their hand, and saith, 'Let us not smite the life;'
When Reuben heard all this, he tried to save Joseph from them.
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.
“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 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 arrived, his brothers ripped off his robe—the colorful long-sleeved robe he was wearing—
24 and take him and cast him into the pit, and the pit [is] empty, there is no water in it.
grabbed him and threw him into a pit. (The pit was empty—it didn't have any 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.
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 And Judah saith unto his brethren, 'What gain when we slay our brother, and have concealed 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 we sell him to the Ishmaelites, and our hands are not on him, for he [is] our brother — our flesh;' and his brethren hearken.
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 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 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 returneth unto the pit, and lo, Joseph is not in the pit, and he rendeth his garments,
When Reuben came back later and looked into the pit, Joseph was gone. He tore his clothes in grief.
30 and he returneth unto his brethren, and saith, 'The lad is not, and I — whither am I going?'
He returned to his brothers. “The boy's gone!” he moaned. “What am I going to do now?”
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 dipped Joseph's robe in the 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?'
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 And he discerneth it, and saith, 'My son's coat! an evil beast hath devoured him; torn — torn 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 rendeth his raiment, and putteth sackcloth on his loins, and becometh a mourner for 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 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 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 And the Medanites have sold him unto Egypt, to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, head of the 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.
