Genesis 37:1–20

Joseph’s Dream

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

²These are the records of 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 a ^cbad 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.

⁴His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they ^ahated him and could not speak to him ¹on friendly terms.

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

⁶He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have ¹had;

⁷for 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 ^abowed down to my sheaf.”

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

⁹Now he ¹had 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.”

¹⁰He 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 ¹had? Shall I and your mother and ^ayour brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?”

^11aHis 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.

¹³Israel 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.

¹⁵A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “¹What are you looking for?”

¹⁶He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.”

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

The Plot against Joseph

¹⁸¹When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they ^aplotted against him to put him to death.

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

²⁰“Now then, come and let us kill him and throw 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!”