Joseph’s Dreams
1Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
2This is the account of Jacob’s family line.
Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
3Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate37:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verses 23 and 32. robe for him. 4When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
5Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7We were binding sheaves 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.”
8His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
9Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked 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?” 11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
12Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 13and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.”
“Very well,” he replied.
14So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.
When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16He 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.’ ”
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
19“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. 20“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.”
21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. 22“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.
23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— 24and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
25As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
26Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.
28So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels37:28 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
29When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. 30He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”
31Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”
33He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”
34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. 35All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.
36Meanwhile, the Midianites37:36 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac (see also verse 28); Masoretic Text Medanites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.
約瑟的夢
1雅各住在他父親寄居的迦南， 2以下是有關雅各一家的記載。
十七歲的少年約瑟跟哥哥們，就是他父親雅各的妾辟拉和悉帕生的兒子們一同放羊。他向父親報告哥哥們做的壞事。 3約瑟是以色列年老時生的，眾子中以色列最愛他，為他做了一件彩衣。 4約瑟的哥哥們見父親偏愛他，就懷恨在心，對他惡言相向。
5約瑟做了一個夢，並告訴了哥哥們，他們更恨他了。 6約瑟對哥哥們說：「你們聽聽我做的夢： 7我們在田裡捆莊稼，我捆的莊稼站立起來，你們捆的莊稼都圍著我捆的莊稼下拜。」 8他的哥哥們回答說：「難道你真要做我們的王嗎？真要統治我們嗎？」因為約瑟的夢和他說的話，他們就更加恨他。
9後來，約瑟又做了一個夢，他又去對哥哥們說：「你們聽聽我做的另一個夢，我夢見太陽、月亮和十一顆星星都向我下拜。」 10約瑟把夢告訴了父親和哥哥們，他父親就責備他說：「你做的是什麼夢！難道你的父母弟兄真的都要來向你俯伏下拜嗎？」 11約瑟的哥哥們嫉恨他，他父親卻把這些話記在心裡。
12約瑟的哥哥們到示劍放父親的羊。 13以色列對約瑟說：「你哥哥們在示劍放羊，我要派你去他們那裡。」約瑟說：「好的。」 14以色列說：「你去看看你哥哥們以及羊群是否平安，然後回來告訴我。」於是，他派約瑟從希伯崙谷出發，前往示劍。 15有人見約瑟在田野走迷了路，就問他：「你在找什麼？」 16約瑟回答說：「我在找我哥哥們，你知道他們在哪裡放羊嗎？」 17那人說：「他們已經走了，我聽他們說要到多坍去。」約瑟就趕往多坍，在那裡找到了他們。
18約瑟的哥哥們遠遠看見他走來，趁他還沒有到跟前，就合謀要殺死他。 19他們彼此商量說：「看！做夢的來了。 20來吧！我們殺了他，把他扔在井裡，就說有野獸把他吃掉了，看他的夢怎麼實現。」 21呂便聽後想救約瑟的性命，就說：「我們不要害他性命。」 22他又說：「不要殺人流血，把他扔在這曠野的井裡吧，不要下手害他。」呂便想從他們手上救下約瑟，把他交回給父親。 23這時候，約瑟來到哥哥們那裡，他們就剝去他身上的彩衣， 24抓住他把他扔到井裡。當時，那口井是乾的，沒有水。
25他們坐下來吃飯的時候，抬頭看見一支從基列來的以實瑪利商隊用駱駝馱著香料、乳香、沒藥去埃及。 26猶大對他的眾弟兄說：「我們殺死弟弟、掩蓋他的血跡有什麼益處呢？ 27不如把他賣給以實瑪利人，不要下手害他，他畢竟是我們的弟弟，我們的骨肉啊！」其他弟兄都贊成他的意見。 28於是，那些米甸商人經過的時候，他們就把約瑟從井裡拉上來，以四兩銀子的價錢把他賣給了以實瑪利人。這些商人把他帶到埃及去了。
29呂便回到井邊發現約瑟不見了，就傷心地撕裂了身上的衣服， 30回到弟兄們那裡說：「那少年不見了，我現在怎麼辦？」 31他們宰了一隻公山羊，把約瑟的彩衣拿來沾上血， 32拿去給父親，說：「我們撿到這件衣服，你看看是不是你兒子的？」 33雅各認出那件彩衣，說：「這是我兒子的衣服，一定是野獸把他吃了，約瑟一定被撕碎了！」 34雅各撕裂自己的衣服，腰間束上麻布，為約瑟哀傷了好多天。 35他的兒女都來安慰他，他卻不肯接受他們的安慰，說：「我一定會悲悲傷傷地下到陰間，去我兒子那裡。」約瑟的父親為他哀哭。
36那些米甸人把約瑟帶到埃及後，賣給了法老的內臣護衛長波提乏。
