| Holman Christian Standard Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. | 1Jacob continued to live in the land they were occupying, where his father had journeyed in the territory of Canaan. |
| 2These are the family records of Jacob. At 17 years of age, Joseph tended sheep with his brothers. The young man was working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought a bad report about them to their father. | 2This is a record of Jacob's descendants. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was helping his brothers tend their flocks. He was a young man at that time, as were the children of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. But Joseph would come back and tell his father that his brothers were doing bad things. |
| 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons because Joseph was a son born to him in his old age, and he made a robe of many colors for him. | 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his brothers, since he was born to him in his old age, so he had made a richly-embroidered tunic for him. |
| 4When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not bring themselves to speak peaceably to him. | 4When Joseph's brothers realized that their father loved him more than all of his brothers, they hated him so much that they were unable to speak politely to him. |
| 5Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. | 5Right about this time, Joseph had a dream and then told it to his brothers. As a result, his brothers hated him all the more! |
| 6He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: | 6"Let me tell you about this dream that I had!" he said. |
| 7There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf."" | 7"We were tying sheaves together out in the middle of the fields, when all of a sudden, my sheaf stood up erect! And then your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf!" |
| 8Are you really going to reign over us?" his brothers asked him. "Are you really going to rule us?" So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said. | 8At this, his brothers replied, "Do you really think you're going to rule us or lord it over us?" So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his interpretations of them. |
| 9Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers. "Look," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun, moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to me." | 9But then he had another dream, and he proceeded to tell his brothers about that one, too. "I had another dream," he said. "The sun, moon, and eleven of the stars were bowing down before me!" |
| 10He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him. "What kind of dream is this that you have had?" he said. "Are your mother and brothers and I going to come and bow down to the ground before you?" | 10When Joseph told his father about this, his father rebuked him and asked him, "What kind of dream is that? Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come to you and bow down to the ground in front of you?" |
| 11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. | 11As a result, his brothers became more envious of him. But his father kept thinking about all of this. |
| 12His brothers had gone to pasture their father's flocks at Shechem. | 12Some time later, his brothers left to tend their father's flock in Shechem. |
| 13Israel said to Joseph, "Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I'm sending you to them."" I'm ready," Joseph replied. | 13And Israel instructed Joseph, "Your brothers are tending the flock in Shechem. Come here, because I'm going to send you to them." "Here I am!" he responded. |
| 14Then Israel said to him, "Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and bring word back to me." So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem. | 14"Go and see how things are with your brothers," Israel ordered him. "And see how things are with the flock. Bring back a report for me." Then he sent Joseph from the valley of Hebron. When Joseph reached Shechem, |
| 15A man found him there, wandering in the field, and asked him, "What are you looking for?"" | 15a man found him wandering around in a field. So the man asked him, "What are you looking for?" |
| 16I'm looking for my brothers," Joseph said. "Can you tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?"" | 16"I'm searching for my brothers," he responded. "Tell me, where are they tending the flock?" |
| 17They've moved on from here," the man said. "I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.'" So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan. | 17"They've already left," the man answered. "I heard them saying that they were headed to Dothan." So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there. |
| 18They saw him in the distance, and before he had reached them, they plotted to kill him. | 18Now as soon as they saw him approaching from a distance, before he arrived they plotted together to kill him. |
| 19They said to one another, "Here comes that dreamer! | 19"Look!" they said. "Here comes the Dream Master! |
| 20Come on, let's kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal ate him. Then we'll see what becomes of his dreams!" | 20Come on! Let's kill him and toss him into one of the cisterns. Then we'll report that some wild animal devoured him and wait to see what becomes of his dreams!" |
| 21When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from them. He said, "Let's not take his life." | 21When Reuben heard about it, he tried to save Joseph from their plot. "Let's not do any killing," |
| 22Reuben also said to them, "Don't shed blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him"--intending to rescue him from their hands and return him to his father. | 22Reuben told them. "And no blood shedding, either. Instead, let's toss him into this cistern that's way out here in the wilderness. But don't lay a hand on him." (Reuben intended to free Joseph and return him to his father.) |
| 23When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the robe of many colors that he had on. | 23As it was, when Joseph arrived where his brothers were, they stripped off the tunic that Jacob had given him—that is, the richly-embroidered tunic that he was wearing. |
| 24Then they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. | 24They grabbed him and tossed him into the cistern, but the cistern was empty. (There was no water in it.) |
| 25Then they sat down to eat a meal. They looked up, and there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balsam, and resin, going down to Egypt. | 25After this, while they were seated, eating their food, they looked around and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with camels carrying spices, balm, and myrrh for sale down in Egypt. |
| 26Then Judah said to his brothers, "What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? | 26Then Judah suggested to his brothers, "Where's the profit in just killing our brother and shedding his blood? |
| 27Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh," and they agreed. | 27Come on! Let's sell him to the Ishmaelites! That way, we won't have laid our hands on him. After all, he's our brother, our own flesh." So Judah's brothers listened to him. |
| 28When Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt. | 28As the Midianite merchants were passing through, they extracted Joseph from the cistern and sold Joseph for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who then took Joseph down to Egypt. |
| 29When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. | 29Later, when Reuben returned to the cistern, Joseph wasn't there! In mounting panic, he tore his clothes, |
| 30He went back to his brothers and said, "The boy is gone! What am I going to do?" | 30returned to his brothers, and shouted, "He's not there! Now what? Where am I to go?" |
| 31So they took Joseph's robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. | 31So they took Joseph's coat, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the coat in the blood. |
| 32They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, "We found this. Examine it. Is it your son's robe or not?" | 32Then they stretched out the richly-embroidered tunic to dry, and brought it to their father. "We've found this," they reported. "Look at it and see if this is or isn't your son's tunic." |
| 33His father recognized it. "It is my son's robe," he said. "A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has been torn to pieces!" | 33Examining it, he cried out, "It's my son's tunic! A wild animal has no doubt torn Joseph to pieces." |
| 34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. | 34So Jacob tore his clothes, dressed himself in sackcloth, and then mourned many days for his son. |
| 35All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said. "I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning." And his father wept for him. | 35All his sons and daughters showed up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He kept saying, "Leave me alone! I'll go down to the next world, still mourning for my son." So Joseph's father wept for him. |
| 36Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard. | 36Meanwhile, down in Egypt, the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's court officials, who was also Commander-in-Chief of the imperial guards. |
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