Joseph’s Dreams

37 Now Jacob lived in ^(A)the land where his father had lived as a stranger, in the land of Canaan. ² These are the records of the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, when he was ^(B)seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers, while he was still a youth, along with ^(C)the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a ^(D)bad report about them to their father. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, because he was ^(E)the son of his old age; and he made him a ^[a](F)multicolored tunic. ⁴ And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they ^(G)hated him and could not speak to him ^[b]on friendly terms.

⁵ Then Joseph ^[c](H)had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have ^[d]had; ⁷ for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf stood up and also remained standing; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and ^(I)bowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸ Then his brothers said to him, “^(J)Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹ Then he ^[e]had yet another dream, and informed his brothers of it, and said, “Behold, I have ^[f]had yet another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” ¹⁰ He also told it to his father as well as to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have ^[g]had? Am I and your mother and ^(K)your brothers actually going to come to bow down to the ground before you?” ¹¹ And ^(L)his brothers were jealous of him, but his father ^(M)kept the matter in mind.

¹² Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. ¹³ And Israel said to Joseph, “Are your brothers not pasturing the flock in ^(N)Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “^[h]I will go.” ¹⁴ Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the Valley of ^(O)Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

¹⁵ A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “^[i]What are you looking for?” ¹⁶ He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.” ¹⁷ Then the man said, “They have moved from here; for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to ^(P)Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

The Plot against Joseph

^18 [j]When they saw him from a distance, and before he came closer to them, they ^(Q)plotted against him to put him to death. ¹⁹ They said to one another, “^[k]Here comes this dreamer! ²⁰ Now then, come and let’s kill him, and throw him into one of the pits; and ^(R)we will say, ‘A vicious animal devoured him.’ Then we will see what will become of his dreams!” ²¹ But ^(S)Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands ^[l]by saying, “Let’s not ^[m]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 ^[n]reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the ^[o]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 ^[p]a meal. But as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of ^(T)Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying ^(U)labdanum resin, ^(V)balsam, and ^[q]myrrh, ^[r]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 ^(W)cover up his blood? ^27 (X)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. ²⁸ Then some ^(Y)Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him out and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and ^(Z)sold ^[s]him to the Ishmaelites for ^[t]twenty shekels of silver. So ^(AA)they brought Joseph into Egypt.

²⁹ Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he ^(AB)tore his garments. ³⁰ He returned to his brothers and said, “^(AC)The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?” ³¹ So ^(AD)they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood; ³² and they sent the ^[u]multicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please ^[v]examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” ³³ Then he ^[w]examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. ^(AE)A vicious animal has devoured him; ^(AF)Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” ³⁴ So Jacob ^(AG)tore his clothes, and put on a sackcloth undergarment over his waist, and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ Then all his sons and all his daughters got up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will ^(AH)go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. ³⁶ Meanwhile, the ^[x]Midianites ^(AI)sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers had seen that their father was dead, they said, “^(A)What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!” ¹⁶ So they sent instructions to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded us before he died, saying, ¹⁷ ‘This is what you shall say to Joseph: “Please forgive, I beg you, the offense of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”’ And now, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ Then his brothers also came and ^(B)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? ²⁰ As for you, ^(C)you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about ^[a]this present result, to keep many people alive. ²¹ So therefore, do not be afraid; ^(D)I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke ^[b]kindly to them.

Judas’ Remorse

27 ^(A)Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; ² and they bound Him and led Him away, and ^(B)handed Him over to ^(C)Pilate the governor.

³ Then when ^(D)Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned ^(E)the thirty ^[a]pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? ^(F)You shall see to it yourself!” ⁵ And he threw the pieces of silver into ^(G)the temple sanctuary and left; and ^(H)he went away and hanged himself. ⁶ The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them in the temple treasury, since it is money paid for blood.” ⁷ And they conferred together and ^[b]with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. ^8 (I)For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹ Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “^(J)And ^[c]they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the One whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; ^10 (K)and ^[d]they gave them for the Potter’s Field, just as the Lord directed me.”

Jesus before Pilate

^11 (L)Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “So You are the ^(M)King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “^(N)It is as you say.” ¹² And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, ^(O)He did not offer any answer. ¹³ Then Pilate *said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they are testifying against You?” ¹⁴ And still ^(P)He did not answer him in regard to even a single ^[e]charge, so the governor was greatly amazed.

^15 (Q)Now at the Passover Feast the governor was accustomed to release for the ^[f]people any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶ And at that time they were holding a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus ^(R)who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that it was because of envy that ^[g]they had handed Him over.

¹⁹ And ^(S)while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “See that you have nothing to do with that ^(T)righteous Man; for ^[h]last night I suffered greatly ^(U)in a dream because of Him.” ²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ^(V)ask for Barabbas, and to put Jesus to death. ²¹ And the governor ^[i]said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²² Pilate *said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus ^(W)who is called Christ?” They all *said, “^[j]Crucify Him!” ²³ But he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” Yet they kept shouting all the more, saying, “^[k]Crucify Him!”

²⁴ Now when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that ^(X)a riot was starting, he took water and ^(Y)washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of ^(Z)this Man’s blood; ^(AA)you yourselves shall see.” ²⁵ And all the people replied, “^(AB)His blood shall be on us and on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas ^[l]for them; but after having Jesus ^(AC)flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

^27 (AD)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into ^(AE)the ^[m]Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman ^[n](AF)cohort to Him. ²⁸ And they stripped Him and ^(AG)put a red ^[o]cloak on Him. ^29 (AH)And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a ^[p]reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “^(AI)Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And ^(AJ)they spit on Him, and took the reed and beat Him on the head. ^31 (AK)And after they had mocked Him, they took the cloak off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

^32 (AL)As they were coming out, they found a man of ^(AM)Cyrene named Simon, ^[q]whom they compelled to carry His ^[r]cross.

The Crucifixion

^33 (AN)And when they came to a place called ^(AO)Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, ^34 (AP)they gave Him ^(AQ)wine mixed with ^[s]bile to drink; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink it.

³⁵ And when they had crucified Him, ^(AR)they divided His garments among themselves by casting ^[t]lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they began to ^(AS)keep watch over Him there. ³⁷ And above His head they put up the charge against Him ^[u]which read, “^(AT)THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁸ At that time two ^[v]rebels *were being crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ And those passing by were ^[w]speaking abusively to Him, ^(AU)shaking their heads, ⁴⁰ and saying, “^(AV)You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! ^(AW)If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, ⁴² “^(AX)He saved others; ^[x]He cannot save Himself! ^(AY)He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. ^43 (AZ)He has trusted in God; let God rescue Him now, if He ^[y]takes pleasure in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ^44 (BA)And the ^[z]rebels who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him in the same way.

^45 (BB)Now from the ^[aa]sixth hour darkness ^[ab]fell upon all the land until the ^[ac]ninth hour. ⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “^(BC)Eli, Eli, lema sabaktanei?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ⁴⁷ And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” ⁴⁸ And ^(BD)immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. ⁴⁹ But the rest of them said, “^[ad]Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him^[ae].” ⁵⁰ And Jesus ^(BE)cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. ^51 (BF)And behold, ^(BG)the ^[af]veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and ^(BH)the earth shook and the rocks were split. ⁵² Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the ^[ag]saints who had ^(BI)fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered ^(BJ)the holy city and appeared to many. ^54 (BK)Now as for the centurion and those who were with him ^(BL)keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw ^(BM)the earthquake and the other things that were happening, they became extremely frightened and said, “Truly this was ^[ah](BN)the Son of God!”

^55 (BO)And many women were there watching from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ^(BP)caring for Him. ⁵⁶ Among them were ^(BQ)Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and ^(BR)the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

^57 (BS)Now when it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea came, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock; and he rolled ^(BT)a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ And ^(BU)Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶² Now on the next day, that is, the day which is after ^(BV)the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, ⁶³ and they said, “Sir, we remember that when that deceiver was still alive, He said, ‘^(BW)After three days I am rising.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore, give orders for the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have a ^(BX)guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ And they went and made the tomb secure with ^(BY)the guard, ^(BZ)sealing ^(CA)the stone.