Genesis 37:12-36
1599 Geneva Bible
12 ¶ Then his brethren went to keep their father’s sheep in Shechem.
13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren keep in Shechem? come and I will send thee to them.
14 And he answered him, I am here. Then he said unto him, Go now, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and how the flocks prosper, and bring me word again: so he sent him from the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 ¶ Then a man found him: for lo, he was wandering in the field, and the man asked him, saying, what seekest thou?
16 And he answered, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they keep sheep.
17 And the man said, they are departed hence: for I heard them say, Let us go unto Dothan. Then went Joseph after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came at them, they [a]conspired against him for to slay him.
19 For they said one to another, Behold, this [b]dreamer cometh.
20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, A wicked beast hath devoured him: then we shall see, what will come of his dreams.
21 (A)But when Reuben heard that, he delivered him out of their hands, and said, [c]Let us not kill him.
22 Also Reuben said unto them, Shed not blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him. Thus he said, that he might deliver him out of their hand, and restore him to his father.
23 ¶ Now when Joseph was come unto his brethren, they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his parti-colored coat that was upon him.
24 And they took him, and cast [d]him into a pit, and the pit was empty, without water in it.
25 Then they sat them down to eat bread: and lift up their eyes and looked, and behold, there came a company of Ishmaelites from Gilead, and their camels laden with spicery, and [e]balm, and myrrh, and were going to carry it down into Egypt.
26 Then Judah said to his brethren, What availeth it, if we slay our brother, though we keep his blood secret?
27 Come and let us (B)sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hands be upon him: for he is our brother, and our flesh: and his brethren obeyed.
28 Then the [f]Midianites’ merchant men passed by, and they drew forth, and lift Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver: who brought Joseph into Egypt.
29 ¶ Afterward Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit: then he rent his clothes,
30 And returned to his brethren, and said, The child is not yonder, 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 So they sent that parti-colored coat, [g]and they brought it unto their father, and said, This have we found: see now, whether it be thy son’s coat, or no.
33 Then he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat: a wicked beast hath (C)devoured him: Joseph is surely torn in pieces.
34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth about his loins, and sorrowed for his son a long season.
35 Then all his sons and his daughters arose up to comfort him, but he would not be comforted, but said, [h]Surely I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning: so his father wept for him.
36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar [i]an Eunuch of Pharaoh’s and his [j]chief steward.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 37:18 The holy Ghost covereth not men’s faults, as do vain writers, which make vice virtue.
- Genesis 37:19 Or, master of dreams.
- Genesis 37:21 Hebrew, let us not smite his life.
- Genesis 37:24 Their hypocrisy appeareth in this that they feared man more than God: and thought it was not murder, if they shed not his blood: or else had an excuse to cover their fault.
- Genesis 37:25 Or, rosen, turpentine, or treacle.
- Genesis 37:28 Moses writing according to the opinion of them which took the Midianites and Ishmaelites to be both one, doth here confound their names: as also appeareth, verse 36 and Gen. 39:1, or else he was first offered to the Midianites, but sold to the Ishmaelites.
- Genesis 37:32 To wit, the messengers which were sent.
- Genesis 37:35 Or, I will mourn for him so long as I live.
- Genesis 37:36 Which word doth not always signify him that is gelded, but also him that is in some high dignity.
- Genesis 37:36 Or, captain of the guard.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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