Genesis 37:29-36

Contemporary English Version

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the well and did not find Joseph there, he tore his clothes in sorrow. ³⁰ Then he went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”

³¹ Joseph's brothers killed a goat and dipped Joseph's fancy coat in its blood. ³² After this, they took the coat to their father and said, “We found this! Look at it carefully and see if it belongs to your son.”

³³ Jacob knew it was Joseph's coat and said, “It's my son's coat! Joseph has been torn to pieces and eaten by some wild animal.”

³⁴ Jacob mourned for Joseph a long time, and to show his sorrow he tore his clothes and wore sackcloth.^{[a] 35} All of Jacob's children came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will go to my grave, mourning for my son.” So Jacob kept on grieving.

³⁶ Meanwhile, the Midianites had sold Joseph in Egypt to a man named Potiphar, who was the king's^[b] official in charge of the palace guard.