The Plot against Joseph

18 1When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they aplotted against him to put him to death.

19 They 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!”

21 But aReuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not 1take his life.”

22 Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.

23 So it came about, when Joseph 1reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his 2tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him;

24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.

25 Then they sat down to eat 1a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of aIshmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing 2baromatic gum and 3cbalm and 4myrrh, 5on their way to bring them down to Egypt.

26 Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and acover up his blood?

27 “aCome and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.

28 Then some aMidianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and bsold 1him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus cthey brought Joseph into Egypt.