Genesis 37:18-28 ▼

18 Now they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them they plotted against him to kill him.

19 And they said to one another, |Look, this dreamer is coming.

20 Come now, and let’s kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns, and we will say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we will see what will become of his dreams.|

21 But Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hands, and said, |Let’s not take his life.|

22 Reuben said to them, |Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him|—that he might deliver him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.

23 It happened, when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his robe, the long ornamented robe that he was wearing.

24 And they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the pit was empty. There was no water in it.)

25 Then they sat down to eat a meal. And they looked up, and look, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh on their way to carry them down to Egypt.

26 Then Judah said to his brothers, |What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

27 Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our flesh. |And his brothers agreed.

28 So the Midianites merchants passed by, and they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the cistern, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph to Egypt.