37 Jacob lived in Canaan, the land where his father had lived. [ a ]
2 This is the report about Jacob and his family.
Joseph was Jacob's son. When he was 17 years old, he took care of his father's sheep and goats. He did this together with his brothers. These were the sons of his father's wives, Bilhah and Zilpah. Sometimes Joseph told his father bad things about his brothers.
3 Jacob loved Joseph more than he loved any of his other sons. This was because Joseph was born when Jacob was old. So Jacob made a special coat for Joseph. 4 Joseph's brothers knew that Jacob loved him more than he loved them. So they hated Joseph. They could not say anything nice to him.
5 One night, Joseph had a dream and he told his brothers about it. When they heard about the dream, Joseph's brothers hated him even more than they did before. 6 Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Listen to what happened in my dream: 7 We were out in the field tying the crops together into bundles. Then my bundle stood up. Your bundles stood in a circle round my bundle. And all your bundles bent down to respect my bundle.’
8 Joseph's brothers said to him, ‘Do you really think that you will be like a king and rule over us like that?’ They hated Joseph even more because of what he told them about his dream.
9 Then Joseph had another dream and he told his brothers about it. He said, ‘Listen to me. I have had another dream. This is what happened: The sun, the moon and 11 stars bent down in front of me.’ 10 Joseph told his father and his brothers about the dream. Jacob, his father, was angry with him. He said to Joseph, ‘You should not tell us about a dream like that! Do you really think that I, your mother and your brothers will come and bend down in front of you?’ 11 Joseph's brothers were very jealous of him. But Jacob thought carefully about what Joseph had said.
12 One day, Joseph's brothers had taken their father's sheep to eat grass in the fields. This was near Shechem city. 13 Jacob said to Joseph, ‘You know that your brothers have taken my sheep to eat grass near Shechem. I want you to go to them.’ Joseph replied, ‘I am ready to go.’ 14 So Jacob said to Joseph, ‘Go and see if your brothers are well. See if the sheep have enough grass to eat. Then come back and tell me news about them.’ Then Jacob sent Joseph from the Valley of Hebron to go to them. 15 When Joseph arrived near Shechem and he was walking in the fields there, a man met him. He asked Joseph, ‘What are you looking for?’ 16 Joseph replied, ‘I am looking for my brothers. They have taken the sheep to eat grass. Please tell me where they are.’ 17 The man said, ‘They have moved away from here. I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.” ’
So Joseph went to look for his brothers. He found them at Dothan. 18 But his brothers recognized Joseph, while he was still far away. Before he had arrived where they were, they decided on a way to kill him. 19 They said to each other, ‘Here comes the man who likes to dream! 20 We will kill him. We can throw him into one of the dry wells. We can tell people that a wild animal ate him. Then his dreams will never become true!’
21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to save Joseph from the other brothers. He said, ‘We should not kill him. 22 Do not even get his blood on your hands. Just throw him into this dry well here in the wilderness. But do not attack him.’ Reuben said this to save Joseph, so that his brothers would not kill him. Then later, Reuben could take Joseph back to his father.
23 So Joseph arrived at where his brothers were. He was wearing his special coat, but they took it off him. 24 Then they took hold of Joseph and they threw him into the empty well. It had no water in it.
25 Then the brothers sat down to eat their meal. They looked up and they saw a group of Ishmaelites coming towards them. They were coming from Gilead region. They were riding on camels that carried spices, and different kinds of oils for medicine. They were taking them to sell in Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, ‘We could kill our brother and then hide his body. But then we will not get anything for ourselves. 27 So let us sell him to these Ishmaelites. We do not need to hurt him. Then we will not have to kill him. We should remember that he is our brother. He is our own relative.’ Judah's brothers agreed with what he said. 28 When the Midianite traders came near to Joseph's brothers, they pulled him out of the dry well. They sold him to the Ishmaelites for 20 silver coins. The Ishmaelites took Joseph with them to Egypt.
29 Later, Reuben returned to the dry well. He saw that Joseph was not there. He tore his clothes because he was very upset. 30 Reuben went back to his brothers. He said to them, ‘The boy is not in the well! What can I do now?’ [ b ]
31 Then the brothers killed a goat. They took its blood and they put the blood all over Joseph's special coat. 32 They took the coat back to their father and they told him, ‘We found this coat. Look at it. Tell us if it is your son's coat.’ 33 Jacob saw that it was Joseph's coat. He said, ‘It is my son's coat! A wild animal must have eaten him! The animal has torn Joseph's body into pieces.’
34 Jacob was so upset that he tore his own clothes. He put on clothes made from sackcloth to show how sad he was. He wept for many days because his son had died.
35 All Jacob's sons and daughters came to comfort him. But Jacob was very sad, so they could not make him happy. Jacob said, ‘I will be sad until the day that I die, because my son is dead.’ Jacob wept because Joseph was dead.
36 While this was happening, the Midianites took Joseph into Egypt. They sold him to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officers. Potiphar had authority over all of Pharaoh's guards.
37 Jacob stayed and lived in the land of Canaan. This is the same land where his father had lived. 2 This is the story of Jacob’s family.
Joseph was a young man, 17 years old. His job was to take care of the sheep and the goats. Joseph did this work with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. (Bilhah and Zilpah were his father’s wives.) Joseph told his father about the bad things that his brothers did. 3 Joseph was born at a time when his father Israel was very old, so Israel loved him more than he loved his other sons. Jacob gave him a special coat, which was long and very beautiful. [ a ] 4 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than he loved them, they hated their brother because of this. They refused to say nice things to him.
5 One time Joseph had a special dream. Later, he told his brothers about this dream, and after that his brothers hated him even more.
6 Joseph said, “I had a dream. 7 We were all working in the field, tying stacks of wheat together. Then my stack got up. It stood there while all of your stacks of wheat made a circle around mine and bowed down to it.”
8 His brothers said, “Do you think this means that you will be a king and rule over us?” His brothers hated Joseph more now because of the dreams he had about them.
9 Then Joseph had another dream, and he told his brothers about it. He said, “I had another dream. I saw the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down to me.”
10 Joseph also told his father about this dream, but his father criticized him. His father said, “What kind of dream is this? Do you believe that your mother, your brothers, and I will bow down to you?” 11 Joseph’s brothers continued to be jealous of him, but his father thought about all these things and wondered what they could mean.
12 One day Joseph’s brothers went to Shechem to care for their father’s sheep. 13 Jacob said to Joseph, “Go to Shechem. Your brothers are there with my sheep.”
Joseph answered, “I will go.”
14 His father said, “Go and see if your brothers are safe. Come back and tell me if my sheep are all fine.” So Joseph’s father sent him from the Valley of Hebron to Shechem.
15 At Shechem, Joseph got lost. A man found him wandering in the fields. The man said, “What are you looking for?”
16 Joseph answered, “I am looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are with their sheep?”
17 The man said, “They have already gone away. I heard them say that they were going to Dothan.” So Joseph followed his brothers and found them in Dothan.
18 Joseph’s brothers saw him coming from far away. They decided to make a plan to kill him. 19 They said to each other, “Here comes Joseph the dreamer. 20 We should kill him now while we can. We could throw his body into one of the empty wells and tell our father that a wild animal killed him. Then we will show him that his dreams are useless.”
21 But Reuben wanted to save Joseph. He said, “Let’s not kill him. 22 We can put him into a well without hurting him.” Reuben planned to save Joseph and send him back to his father. 23 When Joseph came to his brothers, they attacked him and tore off his long and beautiful coat. 24 Then they threw him into an empty well that was dry.
25 While Joseph was in the well, the brothers sat down to eat. They looked up and saw a group of traders [ b ] traveling from Gilead to Egypt. Their camels were carrying many different spices and riches. 26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we get if we kill our brother and hide his death? 27 We will profit more if we sell him to these traders. Then we will not be guilty of killing our own brother.” The other brothers agreed. 28 When the Midianite traders came by, the brothers took Joseph out of the well and sold him to the traders for 20 pieces of silver. The traders took him to Egypt.
29 Reuben had been gone, but when he came back to the well, he saw that Joseph was not there. He tore his clothes to show that he was upset. 30 Reuben went to the brothers and said, “The boy is not in the well! What will I do?” 31 The brothers killed a goat and put the goat’s blood on Joseph’s beautiful coat. 32 Then the brothers showed the coat to their father. And the brothers said, “We found this coat. Is this Joseph’s coat?”
33 His father saw the coat and knew that it was Joseph’s. He said, “Yes, that is his! Maybe some wild animal has killed him. My son Joseph has been eaten by a wild animal!” 34 Jacob was so sorry about his son that he tore his clothes. Then Jacob put on special clothes to show that he was sad. He continued to be sad about his son for a long time. 35 All of Jacob’s sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but Jacob was never comforted. He said, “I will be sad about my son until the day I die.” So Jacob continued to mourn his son Joseph.
36 The Midianite traders later sold Joseph in Egypt. They sold him to Potiphar, an officer of the king of Egypt and the captain of his palace guards.
37 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
12 And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
31 And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.
33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.
37 Now Jacob lived in ( A ) the land where his father had lived as a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the records of the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, when he was ( B ) seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers, while he was still a youth, along with ( C ) the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a ( D ) bad report about them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, because he was ( E ) the son of his old age; and he made him a [ a ] ( F ) multicolored tunic. 4 And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they ( G ) hated him and could not speak to him [ b ] on friendly terms.
5 Then Joseph [ c ] ( H ) had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have [ d ] had; 7 for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf stood up and also remained standing; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and ( I ) bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 Then his brothers said to him, “ ( J ) Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
9 Then he [ e ] had yet another dream, and informed his brothers of it, and said, “Behold, I have [ f ] had yet another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 He also told it to his father as well as to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have [ g ] had? Am I and your mother and ( K ) your brothers actually going to come to bow down to the ground before you?” 11 And ( L ) his brothers were jealous of him, but his father ( M ) kept the matter in mind .
12 Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are your brothers not pasturing the flock in ( N ) Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “ [ h ] I will go.” 14 Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the Valley of ( O ) Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “ [ i ] What are you looking for?” 16 He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock .” 17 Then the man said, “They have moved from here; for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to ( P ) Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18 [ j ] When they saw him from a distance, and before he came closer to them, they ( Q ) plotted against him to put him to death. 19 They said to one another, “ [ k ] Here comes this dreamer! 20 Now then, come and let’s kill him, and throw him into one of the pits; and ( R ) we will say, ‘A vicious animal devoured him.’ Then we will see what will become of his dreams!” 21 But ( S ) Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands [ l ] by saying, “Let’s not [ m ] take his life.” 22 Then Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—so that later he might rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father. 23 So it came about, when Joseph [ n ] reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the [ o ] multicolored tunic that was on him; 24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat [ p ] a meal. But as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of ( T ) Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying ( U ) labdanum resin, ( V ) balsam, and [ q ] myrrh, [ r ] on their way to bring them down to Egypt. 26 And Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and ( W ) cover up his blood? 27 ( X ) Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him . 28 Then some ( Y ) Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him out and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and ( Z ) sold [ s ] him to the Ishmaelites for [ t ] twenty shekels of silver. So ( AA ) they brought Joseph into Egypt.
29 Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he ( AB ) tore his garments. 30 He returned to his brothers and said, “ ( AC ) The boy is not there ; as for me, where am I to go?” 31 So ( AD ) they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood; 32 and they sent the [ u ] multicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please [ v ] examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” 33 Then he [ w ] examined it and said, “ It is my son’s tunic. ( AE ) A vicious animal has devoured him; ( AF ) Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 34 So Jacob ( AG ) tore his clothes, and put on a sackcloth undergarment over his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35 Then all his sons and all his daughters got up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will ( AH ) go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile, the [ x ] Midianites ( AI ) sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.
37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, ( A ) the land of Canaan. ( B )
2 This is the account ( C ) of Jacob’s family line.
Joseph, ( D ) a young man of seventeen, ( E ) was tending the flocks ( F ) with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah ( G ) and the sons of Zilpah, ( H ) his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report ( I ) about them.
3 Now Israel ( J ) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, ( K ) because he had been born to him in his old age; ( L ) and he made an ornate [ a ] robe ( M ) for him. ( N ) 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him ( O ) and could not speak a kind word to him.
5 Joseph had a dream, ( P ) and when he told it to his brothers, ( Q ) they hated him all the more. ( R ) 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves ( S ) of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” ( T )
8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” ( U ) And they hated him all the more ( V ) because of his dream and what he had said.
9 Then he had another dream, ( W ) and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars ( X ) were bowing down to me.” ( Y )
10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, ( Z ) his father rebuked ( AA ) him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” ( AB ) 11 His brothers were jealous of him, ( AC ) but his father kept the matter in mind. ( AD )
12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, ( AE ) 13 and Israel ( AF ) said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. ( AG ) Come, I am going to send you to them.”
“Very well,” he replied.
14 So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers ( AH ) and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. ( AI )
When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”
17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan. ( AJ ) ’”
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. ( AK )
19 “Here comes that dreamer! ( AL ) ” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns ( AM ) and say that a ferocious animal ( AN ) devoured him. ( AO ) Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” ( AP )
21 When Reuben ( AQ ) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. ( AR ) 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern ( AS ) here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. ( AT )
23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe ( AU ) he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. ( AV ) The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites ( AW ) coming from Gilead. ( AX ) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm ( AY ) and myrrh, ( AZ ) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. ( BA )
26 Judah ( BB ) said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? ( BC ) 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, ( BD ) our own flesh and blood. ( BE ) ” His brothers agreed.
28 So when the Midianite ( BF ) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern ( BG ) and sold ( BH ) him for twenty shekels [ b ] of silver ( BI ) to the Ishmaelites, ( BJ ) who took him to Egypt. ( BK )
29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. ( BL ) 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?” ( BM )
31 Then they got Joseph’s robe, ( BN ) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. ( BO ) 32 They took the ornate robe ( BP ) back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”
33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal ( BQ ) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” ( BR )
34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, ( BS ) put on sackcloth ( BT ) and mourned for his son many days. ( BU ) 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, ( BV ) but he refused to be comforted. ( BW ) “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son ( BX ) in the grave. ( BY ) ” So his father wept for him.
36 Meanwhile, the Midianites [ c ] ( BZ ) sold Joseph ( CA ) in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. ( CB )
