Genesis 37 NIV ISV Parallel

◄ Genesis 37 ►

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1Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, 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's family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

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 any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe 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 his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak 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.

5Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the 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.

7We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine 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!"

8His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had 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 he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and 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 as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down 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?"

11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

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

12Now 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.

13and Israel said to Joseph, "As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them." "Very well," he 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 he said to him, "Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me." Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem,

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,

15a man found him wandering around in the fields and 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. Can you 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?"

17"They have moved on from here," the man answered. "I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near 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.

18But they saw him in the 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.

19"Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other.

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

20"Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes 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!"

21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. "Let's not take his life," he said.

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

22"Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him." Reuben said this to rescue him 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.)

23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe--the ornate 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.

24and they took him and threw him into the cistern. 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.)

25As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them 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 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 and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." 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 came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who 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.

29When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.

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

30He went back to his brothers and said, "The boy isn't there! Where can I turn now?"

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

31Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.

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

32They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, "We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe."

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 said, "It is my son's robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured 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 came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said, "I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave." So his 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.

36Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt 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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