New American Standard Bible 1995

New Living Translation

1Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.

1So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner.

2These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.

2This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.

3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic.

3Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe.

4His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.

4But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.

5Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.

5One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever.

6He said to them, "Please listen to this dream which I have had;

6“Listen to this dream,” he said.

7for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf."

7“We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”

8Then his brothers said to him, "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.

8His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.

9Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, "Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

9Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!”

10He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?"

10This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?”

11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

11But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.

12Then his brothers went to pasture their father's flock in Shechem.

12Soon after this, Joseph’s brothers went to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem.

13Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." And he said to him, "I will go."

13When they had been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Get ready, and I will send you to them.” “I’m ready to go,” Joseph replied.

14Then 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 Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

14“Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along,” Jacob said. “Then come back and bring me a report.” So Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron.

15A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, "What are you looking for?"

15When he arrived there, a man from the area noticed him wandering around the countryside. “What are you looking for?” he asked.

16He said, "I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock."

16“I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Do you know where they are pasturing their sheep?”

17Then the man said, "They have moved from here; for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

17“Yes,” the man told him. “They have moved on from here, but I heard them say, ‘Let’s go on to Dothan.’” So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there. Joseph Sold into Slavery

18When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death.

18When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him.

19They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer!

19“Here comes the dreamer!” they said.

20"Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, 'A wild beast devoured him.' Then let us see what will become of his dreams!"

20“Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”

21But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, "Let us not take his life."

21But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said.

22Reuben further said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him"-- that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.

22“Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.

23So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him;

23So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing.

24and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.

24Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

25Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.

25Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.

26Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?

26Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime.

27"Come and let us 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.

27Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed.

28Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.

28So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.

29Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments.

29Some time later, Reuben returned to get Joseph out of the cistern. When he discovered that Joseph was missing, he tore his clothes in grief.

30He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?"

30Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I do now?”

31So they took Joseph's tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood;

31Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood.

32and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, "We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son's tunic or not."

32They sent the beautiful robe to their father with this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn’t this robe belong to your son?”

33Then he examined it and said, "It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!"

33Their father recognized it immediately. “Yes,” he said, “it is my son’s robe. A wild animal must have eaten him. Joseph has clearly been torn to pieces!”

34So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.

34Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time.

35Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, "Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son." So his father wept for him.

35His family all tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “I will go to my grave mourning for my son,” he would say, and then he would weep.

36Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh's officer, the captain of the bodyguard.

36Meanwhile, the Midianite traders arrived in Egypt, where they sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the palace guard.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.