| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, in the land of Canaan. | 1So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner. |
| 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 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 5Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more. | 5One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. |
| 6He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: | 6“Listen to this dream,” 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 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!” |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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." | 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!” |
| 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?" | 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?” |
| 11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said. | 11But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant. |
| 12When his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem, | 12Soon after this, Joseph’s brothers went to pasture their father’s flocks at 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. | 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. |
| 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 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. |
| 15When Joseph reached Shechem, a man found him wandering in the field, so the man asked him, "What are you looking for?" | 15When he arrived there, a man from the area noticed him wandering around the countryside. “What are you looking for?” he asked. |
| 16He replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are grazing their flocks." | 16“I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Do you know where they are pasturing their sheep?” |
| 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“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 |
| 18Now Joseph's brothers saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. | 18When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. |
| 19They said to one another, "Here comes this master of dreams! | 19“Here comes the dreamer!” they said. |
| 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!" | 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!” |
| 21When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph from their hands, saying, "Let's not take his life!" | 21But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. |
| 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.) | 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. |
| 23When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. | 23So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. |
| 24Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.) | 24Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now 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. | 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. |
| 26Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? | 26Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 29Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! He tore his clothes, | 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. |
| 30returned to his brothers, and said, "The boy isn't there! And I, where can I go?" | 30Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I do now?” |
| 31So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a young goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood. | 31Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its 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." | 32They sent the beautiful robe to their father with this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn’t this robe belong to your son?” |
| 33He recognized it and exclaimed, "It is my son's tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!" | 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!” |
| 34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned for his son many days. | 34Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 36Now in Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard. | 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. |
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