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.

Read full chapter

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

21 When Reuben(F) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.(G) 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern(H) 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.(I)

23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe(J) he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern.(K) 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(L) coming from Gilead.(M) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm(N) and myrrh,(O) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.(P)

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

28 So when the Midianite(U) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern(V) and sold(W) him for twenty shekels[a] of silver(X) to the Ishmaelites,(Y) who took him to Egypt.(Z)

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

31 Then they got Joseph’s robe,(AC) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.(AD) 32 They took the ornate robe(AE) 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(AF) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”(AG)

34 Then Jacob tore his clothes,(AH) put on sackcloth(AI) and mourned for his son many days.(AJ) 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him,(AK) but he refused to be comforted.(AL) “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son(AM) in the grave.(AN)” So his father wept for him.

36 Meanwhile, the Midianites[b](AO) sold Joseph(AP) in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.(AQ)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 37:28 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
  2. Genesis 37:36 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac (see also verse 28); Masoretic Text Medanites