Génesis 37
Traducción en lenguaje actual
Historia de José (37.1—50.26)
37 1-2 Ésta es la historia de Jacob, que vivió en la tierra de Canaán, donde antes su padre había vivido como extranjero.
Los sueños de José
Cuando José tenía diecisiete años, ayudaba a sus hermanos, los hijos de Bilhá y de Zilpá, a cuidar las ovejas. Pero José le contaba a su padre lo mal que se portaban sus hermanos.
3 Jacob amaba a José más que a sus otros hijos, pues había nacido cuando ya era muy anciano. Por eso le hizo una capa de muchos colores. 4 Pero sus hermanos lo odiaban, y ni siquiera le hablaban, pues veían que su padre lo quería más que a ellos.
5 Un día José tuvo un sueño. Cuando se lo contó a sus hermanos, ellos lo odiaron aún más, 6 pues les dijo:
—Anoche tuve un sueño, 7 y soñé que estábamos en medio del campo, atando el trigo en manojos. De repente, mi manojo se levantó y se quedó bien derecho, mientras los de ustedes lo rodeaban y se inclinaban ante él.
8 Sus hermanos protestaron:
—¡Ahora resulta que vas a ser nuestro rey y nuestro jefe!
Y por causa del sueño y por lo que decía, creció en ellos el odio que le tenían.
9 José tuvo otro sueño, y también se lo contó a sus hermanos. Les dijo:
—Fíjense que tuve otro sueño. Resulta que esta vez el sol, la luna y once estrellas, se inclinaban ante mí.
10 Cuando les contó este sueño a su padre y a sus hermanos, su padre lo reprendió, y le dijo:
—¿Qué clase de sueño es ése? ¿Quieres decir que tu madre y tus hermanos, y yo mismo, vamos a ser tus esclavos?
11 Y sus hermanos le tenían envidia, pero su padre trataba de entender el significado de sus sueños.
José es vendido como esclavo
12 Los hermanos de José habían llevado las ovejas de su padre a los pastos de Siquem. 13-14 Unos días después, Jacob le dijo a José:
—Ya sabes que tus hermanos están en Siquem, cuidando las ovejas. Quiero que vayas a ver si todo está bien, y que regreses a contármelo.
—Sí, papá, enseguida voy —le respondió.
José salió del valle de Hebrón, y llegó a Siquem, 15 pero no encontró a sus hermanos por ningún lado. Poco después lo encontró un hombre y le preguntó:
—¿Qué andas buscando?
16 José le respondió:
—Busco a mis hermanos y a sus rebaños. Tal vez usted pueda decirme dónde están.
17 Aquel hombre contestó:
—Hace días que se fueron. Alcancé a oír que se iban a Dotán.
José siguió buscando a sus hermanos, y allá los encontró. 18 Cuando ellos lo vieron acercarse, antes de que él llegara a donde ellos estaban, se pusieron de acuerdo para matarlo. 19 Unos a otros se decían:
«¡Vaya, vaya! ¡Aquí viene ese gran soñador! 20 Vamos a matarlo y a echarlo en uno de estos pozos, y diremos que algún animal feroz se lo comió. ¡Ya vamos a ver si se cumplen sus sueños!»
21-22 Al oír esto, Rubén trató de librar a José de sus hermanos, para luego llevárselo a su padre. Por eso les dijo: «No está bien que lo matemos. ¿Para qué matarlo? Si quieren, échenlo en este pozo del desierto; ¡pero no le hagan daño!»
23 Cuando José llegó a donde estaban sus hermanos, ellos le quitaron la capa que su padre le había hecho 24 y lo echaron al pozo, que estaba seco. Y Rubén se fue.
25 Los hermanos se sentaron a comer. De pronto vieron que se acercaba un grupo de comerciantes. Eran unos ismaelitas que venían de Galaad. Sus camellos estaban cargados de finos perfumes y hierbas de rico olor, que los ismaelitas pensaban vender en Egipto.
26 Judá entonces les dijo a sus hermanos:
«No ganamos nada con matar a nuestro hermano, y luego tener que mentir acerca de su muerte. 27 Nos conviene más vendérselo a estos ismaelitas. Después de todo, José es nuestro hermano; ¡es de nuestra propia familia!»
Esta idea les pareció bien, 28 así que cuando los comerciantes pasaron por allí, los hermanos de José lo sacaron del pozo y lo vendieron en veinte monedas de plata. Entonces los comerciantes se lo llevaron a Egipto.
29 Cuando Rubén regresó y vio que José ya no estaba en el pozo, rompió su ropa en señal de tristeza, 30 y luego fue a decirles a sus hermanos: «¡José ya no está en el pozo! Y ahora, ¿qué le voy a decir a mi padre?»
31 Mataron entonces un cabrito, y con la sangre del cabrito mancharon la capa de José. 32 Luego le llevaron la capa a Jacob, y le dijeron:
—¡Mira lo que encontramos! Nos parece que es la capa de tu hijo.
33 Jacob la reconoció, y lleno de dolor gritó:
—¡Sí, es la capa de mi hijo! ¡Seguramente algún animal feroz lo hizo pedazos y se lo comió!
34 Allí mismo Jacob rompió su ropa en señal de tristeza, se vistió de luto, y durante mucho tiempo lloró por la muerte de su hijo. 35 Todos sus hijos llegaron para consolarlo, pero él no quería que lo consolaran. Más bien, lloraba y decía que quería morirse para estar con José.
36 Cuando los comerciantes llegaron a Egipto, vendieron a José. Lo compró Potifar, que era un oficial del rey de Egipto y capitán de la guardia.
Genesis 37
King James Version
37 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
12 And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
31 And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.
33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.
Genesis 37
New International Version
Joseph’s Dreams
37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed,(A) the land of Canaan.(B)
2 This is the account(C) of Jacob’s family line.
Joseph,(D) a young man of seventeen,(E) was tending the flocks(F) with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah(G) and the sons of Zilpah,(H) his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report(I) about them.
3 Now Israel(J) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons,(K) because he had been born to him in his old age;(L) and he made an ornate[a] robe(M) for him.(N) 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him(O) and could not speak a kind word to him.
5 Joseph had a dream,(P) and when he told it to his brothers,(Q) they hated him all the more.(R) 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves(S) 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.”(T)
8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?”(U) And they hated him all the more(V) because of his dream and what he had said.
9 Then he had another dream,(W) and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars(X) were bowing down to me.”(Y)
10 When he told his father as well as his brothers,(Z) his father rebuked(AA) 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?”(AB) 11 His brothers were jealous of him,(AC) but his father kept the matter in mind.(AD)
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,(AE) 13 and Israel(AF) said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.(AG) 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(AH) and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.(AI)
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.(AJ)’”
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.(AK)
19 “Here comes that dreamer!(AL)” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns(AM) and say that a ferocious animal(AN) devoured him.(AO) Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”(AP)
21 When Reuben(AQ) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.(AR) 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern(AS) 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.(AT)
23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe(AU) he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern.(AV) 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(AW) coming from Gilead.(AX) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm(AY) and myrrh,(AZ) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.(BA)
26 Judah(BB) said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?(BC) 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother,(BD) our own flesh and blood.(BE)” His brothers agreed.
28 So when the Midianite(BF) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern(BG) and sold(BH) him for twenty shekels[b] of silver(BI) to the Ishmaelites,(BJ) who took him to Egypt.(BK)
29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.(BL) 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”(BM)
31 Then they got Joseph’s robe,(BN) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.(BO) 32 They took the ornate robe(BP) 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(BQ) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”(BR)
34 Then Jacob tore his clothes,(BS) put on sackcloth(BT) and mourned for his son many days.(BU) 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him,(BV) but he refused to be comforted.(BW) “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son(BX) in the grave.(BY)” So his father wept for him.
36 Meanwhile, the Midianites[c](BZ) sold Joseph(CA) in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.(CB)
Footnotes
- Genesis 37:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verses 23 and 32.
- Genesis 37:28 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
- Genesis 37:36 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac (see also verse 28); Masoretic Text Medanites
Genesis 37
English Standard Version
Joseph's Dreams
37 Jacob lived in (A)the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.
2 These are the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought (B)a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was (C)the son of his old age. And he made him (D)a robe of many colors.[a] 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, (E)my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and (F)bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But 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 have dreamed? Shall I and (G)your mother and your brothers indeed come (H)to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And (I)his brothers were jealous of him, (J)but his father kept the saying in mind.
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near (K)Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of (L)Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to (M)Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at (N)Dothan.
18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them (O)they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, (P)let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits.[b] Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when (Q)Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—(R)that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, (S)the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and (T)threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a (U)caravan of (V)Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing (W)gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it (X)if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and (Y)let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then (Z)Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and (AA)sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels[c] of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he (AB)tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy (AC)is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 Then they took (AD)Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son's robe. (AE)A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters (AF)rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, (AG)I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile (AH)the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, (AI)the captain of the guard.
Footnotes
- Genesis 37:3 See Septuagint, Vulgate; or (with Syriac) a robe with long sleeves. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain; also verses 23, 32
- Genesis 37:20 Or cisterns; also verses 22, 24
- Genesis 37:28 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
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