Genesis 37
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Genesis 37
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| Now Jacob was living in the land where his father had made a place for himself, in the land of Canaan. | And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. |
| These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph, a boy seventeen years old, was looking after the flock, together with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph gave their father a bad account of them. | These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought the evil report of them unto their father. |
| Now the love which Israel had for Joseph was greater than his love for all his other children, because he got him when he was an old man: and he had a long coat made for him. | 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. |
| And because his brothers saw that Joseph was dearer to his father than all the others, they were full of hate for him, and would not say a kind word to him. | And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren; and they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. |
| Now Joseph had a dream, and he gave his brothers an account of it, which made their hate greater than ever. | And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. |
| And he said to them, Let me give you the story of my dream. | And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: |
| We were in the field, getting the grain stems together, and my grain kept upright, and yours came round and went down on the earth before mine. | for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves came round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. |
| And his brothers said to him, Are you to be our king? will you have authority over us? And because of his dream and his words, their hate for him became greater than ever. | 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. |
| Then he had another dream, and gave his brothers an account of it, saying, I have had another dream: the sun and the moon and eleven stars gave honour to me. | And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed yet a dream: and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me. |
| And he gave word of it to his father and his brothers; but his father protesting said, What sort of a dream is this? am I and your mother and your brothers to go down on our faces to the earth before you? | 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? |
| And his brothers were full of envy; but his father kept his words in mind. | And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the saying in mind. |
| Now his brothers went to keep watch over their father's flock in Shechem. | And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. |
| And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers with the flock in Shechem? come, I will send you to them. And he said to him, Here am I. | And Israel said unto Joseph, Are not thy brethren feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. |
| And he said to him, Go now, and see if your brothers are well and how the flock is; then come back and give me word. So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. | And he said to him, Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren, and well with the flock; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. |
| And a man saw him wandering in the country, and said to him, What are you looking for? | And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? |
| And he said, I am looking for my brothers; please give me word of where they are keeping their flock. | And he said, I am seeking my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they are feeding [the flock]. |
| And the man said, They have gone away from here, for they said in my hearing, Let us go to Dothan. So Joseph went after them and came up with them at Dothan. | 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. |
| But they saw him when he was a long way off, and before he came near them they made a secret design against him to put him to death; | And they saw him afar off, and before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. |
| Saying to one another, See, here comes this dreamer. | And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. |
| Let us now put him to death and put his body into one of these holes, and we will say, An evil beast has put him to death: then we will see what becomes of his dreams. | Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, And evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. |
| But Reuben, hearing these words, got him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take his life. | And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, Let us not take his life. |
| Do not put him to a violent death, but let him be placed in one of the holes; this he said to keep him safe from their hands, with the purpose of taking him back to his father again. | And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him: that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father. |
| So when Joseph came to his brothers, they took off his long coat which he had on; | And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him; |
| And they took him and put him in the hole: now the hole had no water in it. | and they took him, and cast him into the pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. |
| Then seating themselves, they took their meal: and looking up, they saw a travelling band of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead on their way to Egypt, with spices and perfumes on their camels. | And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. |
| And Judah said to his brothers, What profit is there in putting our brother to death and covering up his blood? | And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? |
| Let us give him to these Ishmaelites for a price, and let us not put violent hands on him, for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brothers gave ear to him. | Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened unto him. |
| And some traders from Midian went by; so pulling Joseph up out of the hole, they gave him to the Ishmaelites for twenty bits of silver, and they took him to Egypt. | And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt. |
| Now when Reuben came back to the hole, Joseph was not there; and giving signs of grief, | And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. |
| He went back to his brothers, and said, The child is gone; what am I to do? | And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go? |
| Then they took Joseph's coat, and put on it some of the blood from a young goat which they had put to death, | And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat in the blood; |
| And they took the coat to their father, and said, We came across this; is it your son's coat or not? | and they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, This have we found: know now whether it is thy son's coat or not. |
| And he saw that it was, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast has put him to death; without doubt Joseph has come to a cruel end. | And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat: an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces. |
| Then Jacob, giving signs of grief, put on haircloth, and went on weeping for his son day after day. | And Jacob rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. |
| And all his sons and all his daughters came to give him comfort, but he would not be comforted, saying with weeping, I will go down to the underworld to my son. So great was his father's sorrow for him. | 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 to Sheol to my son mourning. And his father wept for him. |
| And in Egypt the men of Midian gave him for a price to Potiphar, a captain of high position in Pharaoh's house. | And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard. |
