1   Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. 2   These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, tended the flock with his brothers; he was an assistant to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report about them to their father. 3   Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he had been born to him in his old age. And he made a long ornamented robe for him. 4   His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn’t speak a kind word to him. 5   Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more. 6   He said to them, "Please listen to this dream I had: 7   And look, we were binding sheaves in the field, and look, my sheaf arose and also stood upright. And look, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf." 8   Then his brothers said to him, "Will you indeed reign over us? Or will you indeed rule over us?" So they hated him all the more for his dreams and for what he said. 9   And he had another dream, and told it to his father and to his brothers, and said, "Look, I had yet another dream, and look, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me." 10   When he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, "What is this dream that you had? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come and bow down to the ground in front of you?" 11   His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept thinking about the matter. 12   Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13   And Israel said to Joseph, "Aren’t your brothers pasturing the flock near Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." And he said to him, "I am ready." 14   So he said to him, "Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers and well with the flock, and report back to me." So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15   And a man found him, and look, he was wandering in the field. And the man asked him, "What are you looking for?" 16   He said, "I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock." 17   The man said, "They have left here, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan. 18   Now they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them they plotted against him to kill him. 19   And they said to one another, "Look, this dreamer is coming. 20   Come now, and let’s kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns, and we will say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we will see what will become of his dreams." 21   But Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hands, and said, "Let’s not take his life." 22   Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him"—that he might deliver him out of their hands, to restore him to his father. 23   It happened, when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his robe, the long ornamented robe that he was wearing. 24   And they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the pit was empty. There was no water in it.) 25   Then they sat down to eat a meal. And they looked up, and look, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh on their way to carry them down to Egypt. 26   Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27   Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our flesh." And his brothers agreed. 28   So the Midianites merchants passed by, and they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the cistern, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph to Egypt. 29   And Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the cistern; and he tore his clothes. 30   He went back to his brothers and said, "The boy is gone. Now, what am I to do?" 31   They took Joseph’s robe and killed a male goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32   And they sent the long ornamented robe and they brought it to their father, and said, "We found this. Please examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not." 33   And he recognized it, and said, "It is my son’s robe. A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces." 34   Then Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35   All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, "Indeed, I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning." And his father wept for him. 36   Now the Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

This website is public domain.