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Joseph’s Dreams
Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
Joseph’s Dreams
So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner.
So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner.
This is the account of Jacob’s family line.
Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.
Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.
One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever.
We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
“We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”
His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.
Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!”
When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”
This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?”
His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,
Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,
Soon after this, Joseph’s brothers went to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem.
and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.”
“Very well,” he replied.
“Very well,” he replied.
When they had been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Get ready, and I will send you to them.”
“I’m ready to go,” Joseph replied.
“I’m ready to go,” Joseph replied.
So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.
When Joseph arrived at Shechem,
When Joseph arrived at Shechem,
“Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along,” Jacob said. “Then come back and bring me a report.” So Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron.
a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
When he arrived there, a man from the area noticed him wandering around the countryside. “What are you looking for?” he asked.
He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”
“I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Do you know where they are pasturing their sheep?”
“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ”
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.
“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.
But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
Joseph Sold into Slavery
When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him.
“Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”
“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!”
When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.
But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said.
“Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern 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.
“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.
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe — the ornate robe he was wearing —
So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing.
and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.
Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother — our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed.
When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.
Some time later, Reuben returned to get Joseph out of the cistern. When he discovered that Joseph was missing, he tore his clothes in grief.
He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”
Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I do now?”
Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.
Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood.
They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”
They sent the beautiful robe to their father with this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn’t this robe belong to your son?”
He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”
Their father recognized it immediately. “Yes,” he said, “it is my son’s robe. A wild animal must have eaten him. Joseph has clearly been torn to pieces!”
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days.
Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time.
All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.