1
And it came to pass that Jacob said unto Joseph: Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them.
2
And Joseph said unto him: Here am I.
3
And Jacob said unto Joseph: Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren and well with the flocks; and bring me word again.
4
And thus did Jacob send Joseph out of the valea of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
5
¶ And a certain man found him, and behold, there he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, saying: What seekest thou?
6
And Joseph said: I seek my brethren; tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
7
And the man said: They are departed hence; for I heard them say: Let us go to Dothan.
8
¶ And it came to pass that Joseph went after his brethren and found them in Dothan.
9
And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him, to slay him.
10
And they said one to another: Behold, this dreamer cometh! Come now, therefore, and let us slay him and cast him into some pit;
11
And we will say: Some evil beast hath devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
12
¶ And it came to pass that when Joseph approached his brethren they made as to worship him and mocked him, saying: Have mercy on us O king! Save us, O mighty one!
13
And they seized upon Joseph, and Dan drew his sword as to kill him and thrust it into the side of Joseph, yet it pierced not his flesh; and they were all astonished.
14
And Reuben heard it; and he delivered him out of their hands and said: Let us not kill him.
15
And Reuben said unto them: Truly, YHVHa hath chosen him, and the power of Elyonb dwells with him;
16
Therefore, shed not his blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and we shall lay no hand upon him, that we might rid him out of our hands, to deliver him to our father again.
17
¶ And it came to pass that they stripped Joseph out of his tunic, his coat of many colorsa that was on him; and they took him and cast him into a pit;
18
And the pit was empty; for there was no water in it.
19
And they sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their eyes and looked; and behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
20
And Judah said unto his brethren: What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood?
21
Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh; and his brethren were content.
22
Then there passed by the Midianites, merchantmen; and the brothers of Joseph drew him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver; and these merchantmen brought Joseph into Egypt.
23
¶ And it came to pass that Reuben returned to the pit; and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes,
24
And he returned unto his brethren, and said: The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
25
And they took the coat of Joseph, and killed a kid of the goats, and they dipped the coat in the blood;
26
And they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said: This have we found; know now whether it be the coat of thy son or no.
27
And Jacob knew it and said: It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
28
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
29
And all the sons and all the daughtersa of Jacob rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted.
30
And Jacob said: I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning; and so did Jacob, his father, weep for him.