THE BOOK OF GENESIS

 

Genesis Chapter 37

1 ¶ And Jacob lived in the land in which 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 brothers; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought to his father a report of their bad behavior.

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 colors.

4 And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peacefully to him.

5 ¶ And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers: and they hated him all the more.

6 For he said to them, Listen, I pray you, to this dream that I have dreamed:

7 You see, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and stood upright; and, your sheaves stood around it, and bowed before my sheaf.

8 And his brothers said to him, Will you indeed reign over us? or are you indeed to have dominion over us? And they hated him all the more because of his dreams, and because of his words.

9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, saying, Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed before me.

10 And he told it to his father, and to his brothers: and his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down to the earth before you?

11 And his brothers resented him; but his father pondered his words.

12 ¶ And his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.

13 And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? come, I will send you to them. And he replied, I am ready.

14 So he said to him, Go now, and see if it is well with your brothers, and well with the flocks; and bring word back to me. So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he arrived in Shechem.

15 And a certain man saw him wandering in the field: and asked him, What are you looking for?

16 And he said, I am looking for my brothers: tell me, I pray you, where they are feeding their flocks.

17 And the man said, They have gone away; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan.

18 And when they saw him in the distance, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.

19 And they said one to another, Look, this dreamer comes.

20 Therefore, come let us kill him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast has devoured him: then we shall see what will become of his dreams.

21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands; saying, Let us not take his life.

22 Reuben continued, Shed no blood, throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him; that he might rescue him out of their hands, and return him to his father.

23 ¶ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they striped him of his robe, the coat of many colors that he wore;

24 And they took him, and threw him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

25 And they sat down to eat bread: and looked up, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with their camels carrying gum and balm and myrrh, transporting it down to Egypt.

26 And Judah said to his brothers, What do we gain if we kill our brother, and conceal his blood?

27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let our hand not harm him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brothers agreed.

28 Then Midianite traders passed by; and they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they took Joseph to Egypt.

29 When Reuben returned to the pit; and saw Joseph was not in the pit; he tore his clothes.

30 And he returned to his brothers, and said, The boy is gone; what am I going to do?

31 ¶ But they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a young goat, and dipped the coat in its blood;

32 Then they brought the coat of many colors to their father; saying, We have found this: determine if it is your son’s coat or not.

33 And he recognized it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.

34 And Jacob tore 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; No, he said, I will go down into the grave to my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

36 And the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.