Genesis
Chapter 37
1 Jacob lived in the land where his father had been a foreigner, in Canaan.
2 This lists Jacob’s family. Seventeen-year-old Joseph was tending sheep with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. He told his father about the bad things they were doing.
3 Israel loved Joseph more than his other children because Joseph was born when Israel was already old, and he gave Joseph a colorful coat.
4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than them, they hated him and could not speak kindly to him.
5 Joseph had a dream and shared it with his brothers, which made them hate him even more.
6 He said to them, “Please listen to this dream I had.”
7 Look, we were tying up bundles of grain in the field when suddenly my bundle stood up straight. Then your bundles gathered around and bowed to mine.
8 His brothers asked him, “Will you really rule over us? Will you actually be our boss?” They disliked him even more because of his dreams and what he said.
9 He had another dream and shared it with his brothers, saying, “Look, I dreamed again; the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me.”
10 He told his father and brothers, and his father scolded him, saying, “What kind of dream did you have? Will your mother, brothers and I actually come to bow down to you on the ground?”
11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father paid attention to what was said.
12 His brothers went to graze their father’s sheep in Shechem.
13 Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers pasturing the sheep in Shechem? Come, I’ll send you to them.” And he replied, “I’m here.”
14 He told him, “Please go and check if your brothers and the flocks are okay; then come back and tell me.” So he sent him from the Hebron valley, and he went to Shechem.
15 A man found him lost in the field and asked, “What are you looking for?”
16 He said, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are taking care of their sheep.”
17 The man said, “They left this place; I heard them plan to go to Dothan.” So Joseph followed his brothers and found them in Dothan.
18 When they saw him from far away, before he got close to them, they planned together to kill him.
19 They said to each other, “Look, here comes the dreamer.”
20 Let’s go now, kill him, throw him into a pit, and say a wild animal ate him. Then we’ll see what happens to his dreams.
21 Reuben heard them and saved him from their hands, saying, Let’s not kill him.
22 Reuben told them, “Don’t kill him. Just throw him into this pit in the desert, but don’t hurt him.” He planned to save him from them and return him to his father.
23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they took off his colorful coat that he was wearing.
24 They grabbed him and threw him into a hole. The hole was empty without any water in it.
25 They sat down to eat bread, and when they looked up, they saw a group of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with their camels carrying spices, balm, and myrrh to take to Egypt.
26 Judah asked his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and hide his blood?”
27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not hurt him; he is our brother, our own flesh. And his brothers agreed.
28 Some Midianite traders passed by; they pulled Joseph out of the hole and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver coins, and they took Joseph to Egypt.
29 Reuben went back to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, so he tore his clothes.
30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone; where can I go now?”
31 They took Joseph’s coat, killed a young goat, and dipped the coat in the blood.
32 They sent the colorful coat and took it to their father, saying, “We found this. See if it’s your son’s coat or not.”
33 He recognized it and said, “This is my son’s coat; a wild animal must have eaten him. Joseph has surely been torn apart.”
34 Jacob tore his clothes, wore rough fabric around his waist, and grieved for his son for many days.
35 All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he wouldn’t be comforted and said, “I will mourn for my son until I die.” So he cried for his son.
36 The Midianites sold him to Potiphar in Egypt, who was an official of the king and the captain of the guard.