Joseph Dreams of Greatness

37 Now Jacob dwelt in the land ^(A)where his father was a ^[a]stranger, in the land of Canaan. ² This is the history of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought ^(B)a bad report of them to his father.

³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was ^(C)the son of his old age. Also he ^(D)made him a tunic of many colors. ⁴ But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they ^(E)hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

⁵ Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. ⁶ So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: ^7 (F)There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

⁸ And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹ Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, ^(G)the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

¹⁰ So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and ^(H)your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” ¹¹ And ^(I)his brothers envied him, but his father ^(J)kept the matter in mind.

²³ So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they ^(A)stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. ²⁴ Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

^25 (B)And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of ^(C)Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, ^(D)balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. ²⁶ So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and ^(E)conceal his blood? ²⁷ Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and ^(F)let not our hand be upon him, for he is ^(G)our brother and ^(H)our flesh.” And his brothers listened. ²⁸ Then ^(I)Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, ^(J)and sold him to the Ishmaelites for ^(K)twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

²⁹ Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he ^(L)tore his clothes. ³⁰ And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad ^(M)is no more; and I, where shall I go?”

³¹ So they took ^(N)Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. ³² Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”

³³ And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A ^(O)wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” ³⁴ Then Jacob ^(P)tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and ^(Q)mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ And all his sons and all his daughters ^(R)arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For ^(S)I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.

³⁶ Now ^(T)the ^[a]Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.