Genesis 37:1–20

The Generations of Jacob

¹Now Jacob lived in ^athe land ¹where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.

²These are the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, when ^aseventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with ^bthe sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back an ^cevil report about them to their father.

³Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was ^athe son of his old age; and he made him a ^1bvaricolored tunic.

⁴And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and so they ^ahated him and could not speak to him in peace.

Joseph’s Dreams

⁵Then Joseph ^1ahad a dream, and he told it to his brothers; so they hated him even more.

⁶And he said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have ¹had:

⁷Indeed, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf rose up and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and ^abowed down to my sheaf.”

⁸Then his brothers said to him, “^aAre you really 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.

⁹Then he ¹had still another dream and recounted it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have ²had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

¹⁰And he recounted it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have ¹had? Shall I and your mother and ^ayour brothers really come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?”

^11aAnd his brothers were jealous of him, but his father ^bkept the saying in mind.

¹²Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem.

¹³And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in ^aShechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “¹I will go.”

¹⁴Then 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 ^aHebron, and he came to Shechem.

¹⁵And a man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “¹What are you seeking?”

¹⁶And he said, “I am seeking my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.”

¹⁷Then the man said, “They have journeyed from here; for I heard them saying, ‘Let us go to ^aDothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹⁸And they saw him from a distance, and before he came close to them, they ^aplotted against him to put him to death.

¹⁹Then they said to one another, “¹Here comes this dreamer!

²⁰“So now, come and let us kill him and cast him into one of the pits; and ^awe will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!”