5 Joseph had a dream,h and when he told it to his brothers,i they hated him all the more.j 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheavesk 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.”l

8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?”m And they hated him all the moren because of his dream and what he had said.

9 Then he had another dream,o and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven starsp were bowing down to me.”q

10 When he told his father as well as his brothers,r his father rebukeds 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?”t 11 His brothers were jealous of him,u but his father kept the matter in mind.v

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,w 13 and Israelx said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.y Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied.

14 So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothersz and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.a

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.b’ ”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.c

19 “Here comes that dreamer!d” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisternse and say that a ferocious animalf devoured him.g Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”h

21 When Reubeni heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.j 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cisternk 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.l

23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robem he was wearing—24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern.n The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaeliteso coming from Gilead.p Their camels were loaded with spices, balmq and myrrh,r and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.s

26 Judaht said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?u 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother,v our own flesh and blood.w” His brothers agreed.

28 So when the Midianitex merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cisterny and soldz him for twenty shekelsb of silvera to the Ishmaelites,b who took him to Egypt.c

14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.k

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudgel against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”m 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructionsn before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sinso and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’p Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.q” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.r

18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him.s “We are your slaves,”t they said.

19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?u 20 You intended to harm me,v but God intendedw it for goodx to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.y 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.z” And he reassured them and spoke kindlya to them.