Genesis 37

1And Jacob dwelt in the land of Chanaan wherein his father sojourned.

2And these are his generations: Joseph, when he was sixteen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren, being but a boy: and he was with the sons of Bala and of Zelpha his father’s wives: and he accused his brethren to his father of a most wicked crime.

3Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had him in his old age: and he made him a coat of divers colours.

4And his brethren seeing that he was loved by his father, more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

5Now it fell out also that he told his brethren a dream, that he had dreamed: which occasioned them to hate him the more.

6And he said to them: Hear my dream which I dreamed.

7I thought we were binding sheaves in the field: and my sheaf arose as it were, and stood, and your sheaves standing about, bowed down before my sheaf.

8His brethren answered: Shalt thou be our king? or shall we be subject to thy dominion? Therefore this matter of his dreams and words ministered nourishment to their envy and hatred.

9He dreamed also another dream, which he told his brethren, saying: I saw in a dream, as it were the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars worshipping me.

10And when he had told this to his father and brethren, his father rebuked him, and said: What meaneth this dream that thou hast dreamed? shall I and thy mother, and thy brethren worship thee upon the earth?

11His brethren therefore envied him: but his father considered the thing with himself.

12And when his brethren abode in Sichem feeding their father’s flocks,

13Israel said to him: Thy brethren feed the sheep in Sichem: come, I will send thee to them. And when he answered:

14I am ready: he said to him: Go, and see if all things be well with thy brethren, and the cattle: and bring me word again what is doing. So being sent from the vale of Hebron, he came to Sichem:

15And a man found him there wandering in the field, and asked what he sought.

16But he answered: I seek my brethren; tell me where they feed the flocks.

17And the man said to him: They are departed from this place: for I heard them say: Let us go to Dothain. And Joseph went forward after his brethren, and found them in Dothain.

18And when they saw him afar off, before he came nigh them, they thought to kill him.

19And said one to another: Behold the dreamer cometh.

20Come, let us kill him, and cast him into some old pit: and we will say: Some evil beast hath devoured him: and then it shall appear what his dreams avail him:

21And Ruben hearing this, endeavoured to deliver him out of their hands, and said:

22Do not take away his life, nor shed his blood: but cast him into this pit, that is in the wilderness, and keep your hands harmless: now he said this, being desirous to deliver him out of their hands and to restore him to his father.

23And as soon as he came to his brethren, they forthwith stript him of his outside coat, that was of divers colours:

24And cast him into an old pit, where there was no water.

25And sitting down to eat bread, they saw some Ismaelites on their way coming from Galaad, with their camels, carrying spices, and balm, and myrrh to Egypt.

26And Juda said to his brethren: What will it profit us to kill our brother, and conceal his blood?

27It is better that he be sold to the Ismaelites, and that our hands be not defiled: for he is our brother and our flesh. His brethren agreed to his words.

28And when the Madianite merchants passed by, they drew him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ismaelites, for twenty pieces of silver: and they led him into Egypt.

29And Ruben, returning to the pit, found not the boy:

30And rending his garments he went to his brethren, and said: The boy doth not appear and whither shall I go?

31And they took his coat, and dipped it in the blood of a kid, which they had killed:

32Sending some to carry it to their father, and to say: This we have found: see whether it be thy son’s coat, or not.

33And the father acknowledging it, said: It is my son’s coat, an evil wild beast hath eaten him, a beast hath devoured Joseph.

34And tearing his garments, he put on sackcloth, mourning for his son a long time.

35And all his children being gathered together to comfort their father in his sorrow, he would not receive comfort, but said: I will go down to my son into hell, mourning. And whilst he continued weeping,

36The Madianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Putiphar, an eunuch of Pharao, captain of the soldiers.

1Habitavit autem Jacob in terra Chanaan, in qua pater suus peregrinatus est.

2Et hæ sunt generationes ejus: Joseph cum sedecim esset annorum, pascebat gregem cum fratribus suis adhuc puer: et erat cum filiis Balæ et Zelphæ uxorum patris sui: accusavitque fratres suos apud patrem crimine pessimo.

3Israël autem diligebat Joseph super omnes filios suos, eo quod in senectute genuisset eum: fecitque ei tunicam polymitam.

4Videntes autem fratres ejus quod a patre plus cunctis filiis amaretur, oderant eum, nec poterant ei quidquam pacifice loqui.

5Accidit quoque ut visum somnium referret fratribus suis: quæ causa majoris odii seminarium fuit.

6Dixitque ad eos: Audite somnium meum quod vidi:

7putabam nos ligare manipulos in agro: et quasi consurgere manipulum meum, et stare, vestrosque manipulos circumstantes adorare manipulum meum.

8Responderunt fratres ejus: Numquid rex noster eris? aut subjiciemur ditioni tuæ? Hæc ergo causa somniorum atque sermonum, invidiæ et odii fomitem ministravit.

9Aliud quoque vidit somnium, quod narrans fratribus, ait: Vidi per somnium, quasi solem, et lunam, et stellas undecim adorare me.

10Quod cum patri suo, et fratribus retulisset, increpavit eum pater suus, et dixit: Quid sibi vult hoc somnium quod vidisti? num ego et mater tua, et fratres tui adorabimus te super terram?

11Invidebant ei igitur fratres sui: pater vero rem tacitus considerabat.

12Cumque fratres illius in pascendis gregibus patris morarentur in Sichem,

13dixit ad eum Israël: Fratres tui pascunt oves in Sichimis: veni, mittam te ad eos. Quo respondente,

14Præsto sum, ait ei: Vade, et vide si cuncta prospera sint erga fratres tuos, et pecora: et renuntia mihi quid agatur. Missus de valle Hebron, venit in Sichem:

15invenitque eum vir errantem in agro, et interrogavit quid quæreret.

16At ille respondit: Fratres meos quæro: indica mihi ubi pascant greges.

17Dixitque ei vir: Recesserunt de loco isto: audivi autem eos dicentes: Eamus in Dothain. Perrexit ergo Joseph post fratres suos, et invenit eos in Dothain.

18Qui cum vidissent eum procul, antequam accederet ad eos, cogitaverunt illum occidere:

19et mutuo loquebantur: Ecce somniator venit:

20venite, occidamus eum, et mittamus in cisternam veterem: dicemusque: Fera pessima devoravit eum: et tunc apparebit quid illi prosint somnia sua.

21Audiens autem hoc Ruben, nitebatur liberare eum de manibus eorum, et dicebat:

22Non interficiatis animam ejus, nec effundatis sanguinem: sed projicite eum in cisternam hanc, quæ est in solitudine, manusque vestras servate innoxias: hoc autem dicebat, volens eripere eum de manibus eorum, et reddere patri suo.

23Confestim igitur ut pervenit ad fratres suos, nudaverunt eum tunica talari et polymita:

24miseruntque eum in cisternam veterem, quæ non habebat aquam.

25Et sedentes ut comederent panem, viderunt Ismaëlitas viatores venire de Galaad, et camelos eorum portantes aromata, et resinam, et stacten in Ægyptum.

26Dixit ergo Judas fratribus suis: Quid nobis prodest si occiderimus fratrem nostrum, et celaverimus sanguinem ipsius?

27melius est ut venundetur Ismaëlitis, et manus nostræ non polluantur: frater enim et caro nostra est. Acquieverunt fratres sermonibus illius.

28Et prætereuntibus Madianitis negotiatoribus, extrahentes eum de cisterna, vendiderunt eum Ismaëlitis, viginti argenteis: qui duxerunt eum in Ægyptum.

29Reversusque Ruben ad cisternam, non invenit puerum:

30et scissis vestibus pergens ad fratres suos, ait: Puer non comparet, et ego quo ibo?

31Tulerunt autem tunicam ejus, et in sanguine hædi, quem occiderant, tinxerunt:

32mittentes qui ferrent ad patrem, et dicerent: Hanc invenimus: vide utrum tunica filii tui sit, an non.

33Quam cum agnovisset pater, ait: Tunica filii mei est: fera pessima comedit eum, bestia devoravit Joseph.

34Scissisque vestibus, indutus est cilicio, lugens filium suum multo tempore.

35Congregatis autem cunctis liberis ejus ut lenirent dolorem patris, noluit consolationem accipere, sed ait: Descendam ad filium meum lugens in infernum. Et illo perseverante in fletu,

36Madianitæ vendiderunt Joseph in Ægypto Putiphari eunucho Pharaonis, magistro militum.

1Now Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, where his father sojourned.

2And these are his generations. Joseph, when he was sixteen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers, when he was still a boy. And he was with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the wives of his father. And he accused his brothers to their father of a most sinful crime.

3Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had conceived him in his old age. And he made him a tunic, woven of many colors.

4Then his brothers, seeing that he was loved by his father more than all his other sons, hated him, and they were not able to say anything peacefully to him.

5Then it also happened that he recounted the vision of a dream to his brothers, for which reason a greater hatred began to be nurtured.

6And he said to them, “Listen to my dream that I saw.

7I thought we were binding sheaves in the field. And my sheaf seemed to rise up and stand, and your sheaves, standing in a circle, reverenced my sheaf.”

8His brothers responded: “Would you be our king? Or will we be subject to your dominion?” Therefore, this matter of his dreams and words provided kindling to their envy and hatred.

9Likewise, he saw another dream, which he explained to his brothers, saying, “I saw by a dream, as if the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars were reverencing me.”

10And when he had related this to his father and brothers, his father rebuked him, and he said: “What does it mean to you, this dream that you have seen? Should I, and your mother, and your brothers reverence you upon the earth?”

11Therefore, his brothers were envious of him. Yet truly, his father considered the matter silently.

12And while his brothers were lodging at Shechem, pasturing their father’s flocks,

13Israel said to him: “Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” And when he answered,

14“I am ready,” he said to him, “Go, and see if everything is prospering with your brothers and the cattle, and report to me what is happening.” So, having been sent from the valley of Hebron, he arrived at Shechem.

15And a man found him wandering in a field, and he asked him what he was seeking.

16So he responded: “I seek my brothers. Tell me where they pasture the flocks.”

17And the man said to him: “They have withdrawn from this place. But I heard them saying, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” Therefore, Joseph continued on after his brothers, and he found them at Dothan.

18And, when they had seen him from afar, before he approached them, they decided to kill him.

19And they said one to another: “Behold, the dreamer approaches.

20Come, let us kill him and cast him into the old cistern. And let us say: ‘an evil wild beast has devoured him.’ And then it will become apparent what his dreams will do for him.”

21But Reuben, on hearing this, strove to free him from their hands, and he said:

22“Do not take away his life, nor shed blood. But throw him into this cistern, which is in the wilderness, and so keep your hands harmless.” But he said this, wanting to rescue him from their hands, so as to return him to his father.

23And so, as soon as he came to his brothers, they very quickly stripped him of his tunic, which was ankle-length and woven of many colors,

24and they cast him into an old cistern, which held no water.

25And sitting down to eat bread, they saw some Ishmaelites, travelers coming from Gilead, with their camels, carrying spices, and resin, and oil of myrrh into Egypt.

26Therefore, Judah said to his brothers: “What will it profit us, if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

27It is better that he be sold to the Ishmaelites, and then our hands will not be defiled. For he is our brother and our flesh.” His brothers agreed to his words.

28And when the Midianite merchants were passing by, they drew him from the cistern, and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And these led him into Egypt.

29And Reuben, returning to the cistern, did not find the boy.

30And rending his garments, he went to his brothers and said, “The boy is not present, and so where shall I go?”

31Then they took his tunic, and they dipped it in the blood of a young goat, which they had killed,

32sending those who carried it to their father, and they said: “We found this. See whether it is the tunic of your son or not.”

33And when the father acknowledged it, he said: “It is the tunic of my son. An evil wild beast has eaten him; a beast has devoured Joseph.”

34And tearing his garments, he was clothed in haircloth, mourning his son for a long time.

35Then, when all of his sons gathered together to ease their father’s sorrow, he was not willing to accept consolation, but he said: “I will descend in mourning to my son in the underworld.” And while he persevered in weeping,

36the Midianites in Egypt sold Joseph to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, instructor of the soldiers.