1
Now Jacob lived in athe land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.
2
These are the records of the generations of Jacob.
3
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was athe son of his old age; and he made him a bvaricolored tunic.
4
His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they ahated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.
5
Then Joseph ahad 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 had;
7
for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and abowed down to my sheaf."
8
Then his brothers said to him, "aAre 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
Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, "Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."
10
He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and ayour brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?"
11
aHis brothers were jealous of him, but his father bkept the saying in mind.
12
Then his brothers went to pasture their father's flock in Shechem.
13
Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in aShechem? Come, and I will send you to them." And he said to him, "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 aHebron, and he came to Shechem.
15
A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, "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 us go to aDothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18
When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they aplotted against him to put him to death.
19
They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer!
20
"Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and awe will say, 'A wild beast devoured him.' Then let us see what will become of his dreams!"
21
But aReuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, "Let us not take his life."
22
Reuben further said to them, "Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him"--that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.
23
So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored 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 a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of aIshmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing baromatic gum and cbalm and
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.