The Plot against Joseph

^18 [a]When they saw him from a distance, and before he came closer to them, they ^(A)plotted against him to put him to death. ¹⁹ They said to one another, “^[b]Here comes this dreamer! ²⁰ Now then, come and let’s kill him, and throw him into one of the pits; and ^(B)we will say, ‘A vicious animal devoured him.’ Then we will see what will become of his dreams!” ²¹ But ^(C)Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands ^[c]by saying, “Let’s not ^[d]take his life.” ²² Then Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—so that later he might rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father. ²³ So it came about, when Joseph ^[e]reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the ^[f]multicolored tunic that was on him; ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.

²⁵ Then they sat down to eat ^[g]a meal. But as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of ^(D)Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying ^(E)labdanum resin, ^(F)balsam, and ^[h]myrrh, ^[i]on their way to bring them down to Egypt. ²⁶ And Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and ^(G)cover up his blood? ^27 (H)Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.