Genesis 37

1Jacob lived in the land of Canaan where his father Isaac had been a stranger before.

2Here is the story of Jacob's family. When Joseph was young, only 17 years old, Joseph looked after his father's sheep and goats with his brothers, the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah. Joseph told his father about the bad things that his brothers did.

3Jacob's other name was Israel. Jacob loved Joseph more than all of his other sons because Joseph was born when Jacob was old. Jacob gave Joseph a special coat that had many colors.

4Joseph's brothers saw that their father, Jacob, loved Joseph more than them, and they hated Joseph. Joseph's brothers did not want to say anything good about Joseph.

5One night Joseph dreamed and Joseph told his brothers what Joseph had dreamed. Then the brothers hated Joseph even more.

6Joseph told his brothers: I dreamed a dream.

7Joseph said: We were tying bundles of wheat in the field. I dreamed that my bundle of wheat was standing upright and your bundles of wheat stood around my bundle and bowed before mine.

8Joseph's brothers said to Joseph: Do you really think that you will be king and rule over us? Joseph's brothers hated Joseph even more after Joseph told the brothers about the dream.

9Joseph dreamed another dream and told his brothers: I dreamed again. This time the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me.

10Joseph told his father and his brothers about the dream. His father rebuked Joseph and said: What kind of dream is this? Should your mother and your brothers and I come and bow down to the ground before you?

11Joseph's brothers were jealous of Joseph, but Joseph's father kept the matter in mind.

12Joseph's brothers had to look after their father's sheep and goats near the town of Shechem.

13Jacob said to Joseph: Your brothers are looking after the sheep and goats near the town of Shechem. You must go to them. Joseph said: Yes, Father, I will go.

14Jacob told Joseph: Go and see if everything is well with your brothers and with the sheep and goats. Go and look and come and tell me everything. So Jacob sent Joseph from the Hebron Valley, and Joseph went near the town of Shechem.

15Joseph was walking in the field when a man saw Joseph. The man asked Joseph: What are you looking for?

16Joseph said to the man: I am looking for my brothers. Do you know where they are with their sheep and goats? If you know, please tell me.

17The man said: They are no longer here. They went away from here. They said that they were going to Dothan. Joseph followed his brothers and found them in Dothan.

18While Joseph was still far away, the brothers saw Joseph coming. Before Joseph reached them, the brothers made a plan to kill Joseph.

19Joseph's brothers said to each other: Look, here comes the big dreamer.

20Joseph's brothers said: Let us kill Joseph and throw him into a pit. We can tell our father that a wild animal killed Joseph. Then we will show that all of his dreams meant nothing.

21When Joseph's brothers told Reuben about it, Reuben wanted to save Joseph. Reuben said: No, we must not kill Joseph.

22Reuben said to the brothers: Do not shed blood. Put Joseph into this pit in the wilderness, but do not hurt Joseph. Reuben said this so that Reuben could later rescue Joseph and bring Joseph back to their father.

23When Joseph came to his brothers, they took off his coat of many colors that Joseph was wearing.

24Joseph's brothers took Joseph and threw him into an empty well that was dry.

25Joseph's brothers sat down to eat, then Joseph's brothers looked, and saw a group of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying many different spices, balm and myrrh. The Ishmaelites wanted to sell their spices in Egypt.

26Judah said to his brothers: We will have nothing if we kill our brother Joseph and keep quiet about it.

27Let us sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. We must not kill him. Remember, Joseph is our brother. Judah's brothers agreed with Judah.

28When the Midianite merchants came near, Joseph's brothers pulled Joseph out of the empty well and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver. The merchants took Joseph to Egypt.

29When Reuben came back to the empty well and saw that Joseph was not there, Reuben was very upset and tore his clothes.

30Reuben went back to his brothers and asked them: The child is no longer there. Where shall I go?

31Joseph's brothers killed a goat and took Joseph's coat and put blood on it.

32Joseph's brothers sent Joseph's coat of many colors to their father and said: We found this coat. See if it is your son's coat or not.

33Jacob looked at the coat and said: This is my son's coat. A wild animal has devoured Joseph. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.

34Jacob was very sad. Jacob tore his clothes and put on sack-cloth. Jacob cried and mourned for Joseph for a long time.

35All Jacob's sons and daughters came to comfort Jacob, but Jacob refused to be comforted. Jacob said: I will continue to mourn for Joseph until I die. Jacob cried a lot about Joseph.

36The Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the palace guard.