^37:20Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild⁴⁴ animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!”⁴⁵

^37:21When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph⁴⁶ from their hands,⁴⁷ saying,⁴⁸ “Let’s not take his life!”⁴⁹^37:22Reuben continued,⁵⁰ “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.”⁵¹ (Reuben said this⁵² so he could rescue Joseph⁵³ from them⁵⁴ and take him back to his father.)

^37:23When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him⁵⁵ of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. ^37:24Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty;⁵⁶ there was no water in it.)

Read in Logos

Footnotes

44 The Hebrew word can sometimes carry the nuance “evil,” but when used of an animal it refers to a dangerous wild animal.
45 Heb “what his dreams will be.”
46 Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
47 From their hands. The instigators of this plot may have been the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah (see v. 2).
48 Heb “and he said.”
49 Heb “we must not strike him down [with respect to] life.”
50 Heb “and Reuben said to them.”
51 The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.
52 The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
53 Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
54 Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.
55 Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
56 The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that helps the reader or hearer to picture what happened.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“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.”

When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. “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.

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing—and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

So now, come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal ate him. Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”

When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from them. He said, “Let’s not take his life.” Reuben also said to them, “Don’t shed blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him”—intending to rescue him from them and return him to his father.

When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off Joseph’s robe, the long-sleeved robe that he had on. Then they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty, without water.

NLTNew Living Translation

“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!”

But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. “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.

So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Now then, come, let us kill him and throw him in one of the pits. Then we will say a wild animal devoured him. Then we will see what his dreams become.” And Reuben heard it and delivered him from their hand and said, “We must not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, “You must not shed blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the desert, but do not lay a hand on him”—so that he might rescue him from their hand to return him to his father. And it happened that as Joseph came to his brothers they stripped Joseph of his robe, the robe with long sleeves, that was upon him. And they took him and threw him into the pit (the pit was empty; there was no water in it).

KJV 1900King James Version

Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

Public Domain