³ Now Israel^(A) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons,^(B) because he had been born to him in his old age;^(C) and he made an ornate^[a] robe^(D) for him.^{(E) 4} When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him^(F) and could not speak a kind word to him.

⁵ Joseph had a dream,^(G) and when he told it to his brothers,^(H) they hated him all the more.^{(I) 6} He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷ We were binding sheaves^(J) of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”^(K)

⁸ His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?”^(L) And they hated him all the more^(M) because of his dream and what he had said.

⁹ Then he had another dream,^(N) and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars^(O) were bowing down to me.”^(P)

¹⁰ When he told his father as well as his brothers,^(Q) his father rebuked^(R) him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”^{(S) 11} His brothers were jealous of him,^(T) but his father kept the matter in mind.^(U)

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe^(A) he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern.^(B) The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites^(C) coming from Gilead.^(D) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm^(E) and myrrh,^(F) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.^(G)

²⁶ Judah^(H) said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?^{(I) 27} Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother,^(J) our own flesh and blood.^(K)” His brothers agreed.

²⁸ So when the Midianite^(L) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern^(M) and sold^(N) him for twenty shekels^[a] of silver^(O) to the Ishmaelites,^(P) who took him to Egypt.^(Q)

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.^{(R) 30} He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”^(S)

³¹ Then they got Joseph’s robe,^(T) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.^{(U) 32} They took the ornate robe^(V) back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

³³ He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal^(W) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”^(X)

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39 Now Joseph^(A) had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard,^(B) bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.^(C)

² The Lord was with Joseph^(D) so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.

⁶ So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care;^(A) with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,^{(B) 7} and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”^(C)

⁸ But he refused.^(D) “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.^(E)

¹⁰ And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused^(A) to go to bed with her or even be with her.

¹¹ One day he went into the house to attend to his duties,^(B) and none of the household servants^(C) was inside. ¹² She caught him by his cloak^(D) and said, “Come to bed with me!”^(E) But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.^(F)

¹⁶ She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she told him this story:^(A) “That Hebrew^(B) slave^(C) you brought us came to me to make sport of me. ¹⁸ But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

¹⁹ When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger.^{(D) 20} Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison,^(E) the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹ the Lord was with him;^(F) he showed him kindness^(G) and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.^(H)

Pharaoh’s Dreams

41 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream:^(A) He was standing by the Nile,^(B)

⁸ In the morning his mind was troubled,^(A) so he sent for all the magicians^(B) and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.^(C)

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings.^{(D) 10} Pharaoh was once angry with his servants,^(E) and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard.^{(F) 11} Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.^{(G) 12} Now a young Hebrew^(H) was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard.^(I) We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream.^{(J) 13} And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.^(K)”

¹⁴ So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon.^(L) When he had shaved^(M) and changed his clothes,^(N) he came before Pharaoh.

¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it.^(O) But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”^(P)

¹⁶ “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”^(Q)

¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,^{(R) 18} when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds.^{(S) 19} After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰ The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. ²¹ But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

²² “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. ²³ After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. ²⁴ The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.^(T)”

²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same.^(U) God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.^{(V) 26} The seven good cows^(W) are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. ²⁷ The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.^(X)

²⁸ “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.^{(Y) 29} Seven years of great abundance^(Z) are coming throughout the land of Egypt, ³⁰ but seven years of famine^(AA) will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land.^(AB)

³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you,^(A) there is no one so discerning and wise as you.^{(B) 40} You shall be in charge of my palace,^(C) and all my people are to submit to your orders.^(D) Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.^(E)”