| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner. | 1Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan. |
| 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. | 2This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them. |
| 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. | 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors. |
| 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. | 4When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. |
| 5One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. | 5Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. |
| 6“Listen to this dream,” he said. | 6He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: |
| 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!” | 7We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.” |
| 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. | 8“Do you intend to reign over us?” his brothers asked. “Will you actually rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and his statements. |
| 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!” | 9Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” |
| 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?” | 10He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have had? Will your mother and brothers and I actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” |
| 11But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant. | 11And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said. |
| 12Soon after this, Joseph’s brothers went to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem. | 12Some time later, Joseph’s brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks near Shechem. |
| 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. | 13Israel said to him, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flocks at Shechem? Get ready; I am sending you to them.” “I am ready,” Joseph replied. |
| 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. | 14Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem, |
| 15When he arrived there, a man from the area noticed him wandering around the countryside. “What are you looking for?” he asked. | 15a man found him wandering in the field and asked, “What are you looking for?” |
| 16“I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Do you know where they are pasturing their sheep?” | 16“I am looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?” |
| 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 | 17“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan. |
| 18When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. | 18Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him. |
| 19“Here comes the dreamer!” they said. | 19“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another. |
| 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!” | 20“Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!” |
| 21But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. | 21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said. |
| 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. | 22“Do not shed his blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father. |
| 23So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. | 23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors he was wearing— |
| 24Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. | 24and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it. |
| 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. | 25And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt. |
| 26Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime. | 26Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? |
| 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. | 27Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed. |
| 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. | 28So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. |
| 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. | 29When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes, |
| 30Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I do now?” | 30returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?” |
| 31Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood. | 31Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. |
| 32They sent the beautiful robe to their father with this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn’t this robe belong to your son?” | 32They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not.” |
| 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!” | 33His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” |
| 34Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time. | 34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. |
| 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. | 35All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. |
| 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. | 36Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. |
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