| NET Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, in the land of Canaan. | 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. Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, was taking care of the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought back 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 all his sons because he was a son born to him late in life, and he made a special tunic 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 Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated Joseph and were not able to speak to him kindly. | 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. |
| 5Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, 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 middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down to it!" | 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!" |
| 8Then his brothers asked him, "Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?" They hated him even more because of his dream and because of what he 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. The sun, the moon, and eleven 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!" |
| 10When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, "What is this dream that you had? Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to 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 in mind what Joseph said. | 11As a result, his brothers became more envious of him. But his father kept thinking about all of this. |
| 12When his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem, | 12Some time later, his brothers left to tend their father's flock in Shechem. |
| 13Israel said to Joseph, "Your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send 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. |
| 14So Jacob said to him, "Go now and check on the welfare of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word." So Jacob sent him from 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 Joseph reached Shechem, a man found him wandering in the field, so the man 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?" |
| 16He replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are grazing their flocks." | 16"I'm searching for my brothers," he responded. "Tell me, where are they tending the flock?" |
| 17The man said, "They left this area, for I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went 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. |
| 18Now Joseph's brothers saw him from a distance, and before he 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 this master of dreams! | 19"Look!" they said. "Here comes the Dream Master! |
| 20Come now, let's kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild animal ate him. Then we'll see how his dreams turn out!" | 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 rescued Joseph from their hands, saying, "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 continued, "Don't shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him." (Reuben said this so he could rescue Joseph from them and take him back 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 reached his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. | 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 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.) |
| 25When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh 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 profit is there 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, but let's not lay a hand on him, for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh." 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 Midianite merchants passed by, Joseph's brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites then 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. |
| 29Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! He tore his clothes, | 29Later, when Reuben returned to the cistern, Joseph wasn't there! In mounting panic, he tore his clothes, |
| 30returned to his brothers, and said, "The boy isn't there! And I, where can I go?" | 30returned to his brothers, and shouted, "He's not there! Now what? Where am I to go?" |
| 31So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a young goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood. | 31So they took Joseph's coat, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the coat in the blood. |
| 32Then they brought the special tunic to their father and said, "We found this. Determine now whether it is your son's tunic 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." |
| 33He recognized it and exclaimed, "It is my son's tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! Joseph has surely 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 on sackcloth, 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 stood by him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. "No," he said, "I will go to the grave mourning my son." So Joseph's 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. |
| 36Now in Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, 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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