² This is the account^(A) of Jacob’s family line.

Joseph,^(B) a young man of seventeen,^(C) was tending the flocks^(D) with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah^(E) and the sons of Zilpah,^(F) his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report^(G) about them.

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

⁵ Joseph had a dream,^(N) and when he told it to his brothers,^(O) they hated him all the more.^{(P) 6} He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷ We were binding sheaves^(Q) 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.”^(R)

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

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

¹⁰ When he told his father as well as his brothers,^(X) his father rebuked^(Y) 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?”^{(Z) 11} His brothers were jealous of him,^(AA) but his father kept the matter in mind.^(AB)

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹² Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,^{(AC) 13} and Israel^(AD) said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.^(AE) Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied.

¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers^(AF) and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.^(AG)

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

¹⁷ “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.^(AH)’”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.^(AI)

¹⁹ “Here comes that dreamer!^(AJ)” they said to each other. ²⁰ “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns^(AK) and say that a ferocious animal^(AL) devoured him.^(AM) Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”^(AN)

²¹ When Reuben^(AO) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.^{(AP) 22} “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern^(AQ) here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.^(AR)

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe^(AS) he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern.^(AT) 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^(AU) coming from Gilead.^(AV) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm^(AW) and myrrh,^(AX) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.^(AY)

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

²⁸ So when the Midianite^(BD) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern^(BE) and sold^(BF) him for twenty shekels^[b] of silver^(BG) to the Ishmaelites,^(BH) who took him to Egypt.^(BI)

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

³¹ Then they got Joseph’s robe,^(BL) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.^{(BM) 32} They took the ornate robe^(BN) 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^(BO) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”^(BP)

³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes,^(BQ) put on sackcloth^(BR) and mourned for his son many days.^{(BS) 35} All his sons and daughters came to comfort him,^(BT) but he refused to be comforted.^(BU) “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son^(BV) in the grave.^(BW)” So his father wept for him.

³⁶ Meanwhile, the Midianites^[c](BX) sold Joseph^(BY) in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.^(BZ)

Judah and Tamar

38 At that time, Judah^(CA) left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam^(CB) named Hirah.^{(CC) 2} There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua.^(CD) He married her and made love to her; ³ she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er.^{(CE) 4} She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan.^{(CF) 5} She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah.^(CG) It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.

⁶ Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.^{(CH) 7} But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight;^(CI) so the Lord put him to death.^(CJ)

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.”^{(CK) 9} But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. ¹⁰ What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.^(CL)

¹¹ Judah then said to his daughter-in-law^(CM) Tamar,^(CN) “Live as a widow in your father’s household^(CO) until my son Shelah^(CP) grows up.”^(CQ) For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.

¹² After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua,^(CR) died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah,^(CS) to the men who were shearing his sheep,^(CT) and his friend Hirah the Adullamite^(CU) went with him.

¹³ When Tamar^(CV) was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,”^{(CW) 14} she took off her widow’s clothes,^(CX) covered herself with a veil^(CY) to disguise herself, and then sat down^(CZ) at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah.^(DA) For she saw that, though Shelah^(DB) had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute,^(DC) for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ Not realizing^(DD) that she was his daughter-in-law,^(DE) he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”^(DF)

“And what will you give me to sleep with you?”^(DG) she asked.

¹⁷ “I’ll send you a young goat^(DH) from my flock,” he said.

“Will you give me something as a pledge^(DI) until you send it?” she asked.

¹⁸ He said, “What pledge should I give you?”

“Your seal^(DJ) and its cord, and the staff^(DK) in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.^{(DL) 19} After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes^(DM) again.

²⁰ Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite^(DN) in order to get his pledge^(DO) back from the woman, but he did not find her. ²¹ He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute^(DP) who was beside the road at Enaim?”

“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.

²² So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’”

²³ Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has,^(DQ) or we will become a laughingstock.^(DR) After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”

²⁴ About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”

Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”^(DS)

²⁵ As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”^(DT)

²⁶ Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I,^(DU) since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.^(DV)” And he did not sleep with her again.

²⁷ When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.^{(DW) 28} As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife^(DX) took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist^(DY) and said, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out,^(DZ) and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez.^{[d](EA) 30} Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist,^(EB) came out. And he was named Zerah.^[e](EC)