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

29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.d 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”e

31 Then they got Joseph’s robe,f slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.g 32 They took the ornate robeh back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animali has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”j

34 Then Jacob tore his clothes,k put on sackclothl and mourned for his son many days.m 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him,n but he refused to be comforted.o “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my sonp in the grave.q” So his father wept for him.

36 Meanwhile, the Midianitesc r sold Josephs in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.t