Genesis 37:20–29

^20pCome therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

²¹But ^qReuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” ²²And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.

²³So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they ^rstripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. ²⁴Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

^25sAnd they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of ^tIshmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, ^ubalm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. ²⁶So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and ^vconceal his blood? ²⁷Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and ^wlet not our hand be upon him, for he is ^xour brother and ^your flesh.” And his brothers listened. ²⁸Then ^zMidianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, ^aand sold him to the Ishmaelites for ^btwenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

²⁹Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he ^ctore his clothes.