| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. | 1But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, in the land of Canaan. |
| 2This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. | 2This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, was taking care of the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father. |
| 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. | 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was a son born to him late in life, and he made a special tunic for him. |
| 4But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. | 4When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated Joseph and were not able to speak to him kindly. |
| 5Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. | 5Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more. |
| 6So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: | 6He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: |
| 7There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” | 7There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down to it!" |
| 8And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. | 8Then his brothers asked him, "Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?" They hated him even more because of his dream and because of what he said. |
| 9Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” | 9Then he had another dream, and told it to his brothers. "Look," he said. "I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me." |
| 10So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” | 10When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, "What is this dream that you had? Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?" |
| 11And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind. | 11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said. |
| 12Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. | 12When his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem, |
| 13And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.” | 13Israel said to Joseph, "Your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them." "I'm ready," Joseph replied. |
| 14Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem. | 14So Jacob said to him, "Go now and check on the welfare of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word." So Jacob sent him from the valley of Hebron. |
| 15Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?” | 15When Joseph reached Shechem, a man found him wandering in the field, so the man asked him, "What are you looking for?" |
| 16So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.” | 16He replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are grazing their flocks." |
| 17And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan. | 17The man said, "They left this area, for I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. |
| 18Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. | 18Now Joseph's brothers saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. |
| 19Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! | 19They said to one another, "Here comes this master of dreams! |
| 20Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” | 20Come now, let's kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild animal ate him. Then we'll see how his dreams turn out!" |
| 21But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” | 21When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph from their hands, saying, "Let's not take his life!" |
| 22And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. | 22Reuben continued, "Don't shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him." (Reuben said this so he could rescue Joseph from them and take him back to his father.) |
| 23So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. | 23When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. |
| 24Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. | 24Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.) |
| 25And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. | 25When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt. |
| 26So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? | 26Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? |
| 27Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. | 27Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let's not lay a hand on him, for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh." His brothers agreed. |
| 28Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. | 28So when the Midianite merchants passed by, Joseph's brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites then took Joseph to Egypt. |
| 29Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. | 29Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! He tore his clothes, |
| 30And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?” | 30returned to his brothers, and said, "The boy isn't there! And I, where can I go?" |
| 31So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. | 31So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a young goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood. |
| 32Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?” | 32Then they brought the special tunic to their father and said, "We found this. Determine now whether it is your son's tunic or not." |
| 33And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” | 33He recognized it and exclaimed, "It is my son's tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!" |
| 34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. | 34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned for his son many days. |
| 35And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. | 35All his sons and daughters stood by him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. "No," he said, "I will go to the grave mourning my son." So Joseph's father wept for him. |
| 36Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. | 36Now in Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard. |
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