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

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.(B)

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

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

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17 “Yes,” the man told him. “They have moved on from here, but I heard them say, ‘Let’s go on to Dothan.’” So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there.

Joseph Sold into Slavery

18 When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. 19 “Here comes the dreamer!” they said. 20 “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”

21 But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. 22 “Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.

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