King James New American Standard Bible
  • 1 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
  • 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
  • 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
  • 4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
  • 5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
  • 6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
  • 7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
  • 8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
  • 9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
  • 10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
  • 11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
  • 12 And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
  • 13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
  • 14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
  • 15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
  • 16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
  • 17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
  • 18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
  • 19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
  • 20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
  • 21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
  • 22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
  • 23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
  • 24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
  • 25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
  • 26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
  • 27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
  • 28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
  • 29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
  • 30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
  • 31 And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
  • 32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.
  • 33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
  • 34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
  • 35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
  • 36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.
  • 1 Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.
  • 2 These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.
  • 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic.
  • 4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.
  • 5 Then Joseph had 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 bowed down to my sheaf.”
  • 8 Then his brothers said to him, “Are 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 your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?”
  • 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept 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 Shechem? 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 Hebron, 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 Dothan.'” 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 plotted 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 we will say, 'A wild beast devoured him.' Then let us see what will become of his dreams!”
  • 21 But Reuben 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 Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.
  • 26 Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?
  • 27 “Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.
  • 28 Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.
  • 29 Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments.
  • 30 He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?”
  • 31 So they took Joseph's tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood;
  • 32 and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son's tunic or not.”
  • 33 Then he examined it and said, “It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”
  • 34 So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.
  • 35 Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
  • 36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh's officer, the captain of the bodyguard.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission.