Genesis 37 NLT ISV Parallel

◄ Genesis 37 ►

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International Standard Version

1So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner.

1Jacob continued to live in the land they were occupying, where his father had journeyed in the territory of Canaan.

2This 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.

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.

3Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe.

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.

4But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word 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.

5One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever.

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!

6“Listen to this dream,” he said.

6"Let me tell you about this dream that I had!" he said.

7“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!”

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!"

8His 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.

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.

9Soon 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!”

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!"

10This 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?”

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?"

11But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.

11As a result, his brothers became more envious of him. But his father kept thinking about all of this.

12Soon after this, Joseph’s brothers went to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem.

12Some time later, his brothers left to tend their father's flock in Shechem.

13When 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.

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.

14“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.

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,

15When he arrived there, a man from the area noticed him wandering around the countryside. “What are you looking for?” he asked.

15a man found him wandering around in a field. So the man asked him, "What are you looking for?"

16“I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Do you know where they are pasturing their sheep?”

16"I'm searching for my brothers," he responded. "Tell me, where are they tending the flock?"

17“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. Joseph Sold into Slavery

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.

18When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him.

18Now as soon as they saw him approaching from a distance, before he arrived they plotted together to kill him.

19“Here comes the dreamer!” they said.

19"Look!" they said. "Here comes the Dream Master!

20“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!”

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!"

21But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said.

21When Reuben heard about it, he tried to save Joseph from their plot. "Let's not do any killing,"

22“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.

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.)

23So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing.

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 grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern 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, 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.

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.

26Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime.

26Then Judah suggested to his brothers, "Where's the profit in just killing our brother and shedding his blood?

27Instead 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.

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.

28So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him 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.

29Some time later, Reuben returned to get Joseph out of the cistern. When he discovered that Joseph was missing, he tore his clothes in grief.

29Later, when Reuben returned to the cistern, Joseph wasn't there! In mounting panic, he tore his clothes,

30Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I do now?”

30returned to his brothers, and shouted, "He's not there! Now what? Where am I to go?"

31Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood.

31So they took Joseph's coat, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the coat in the blood.

32They sent the beautiful robe to their father with this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn’t this robe belong to your son?”

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."

33Their 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!”

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 and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time.

34So Jacob tore his clothes, dressed himself in sackcloth, and then mourned many days for his son.

35His family all tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “I will go to my grave mourning for my son,” he would say, and then he would weep.

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 Midianite traders arrived in Egypt, where they sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the palace 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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