Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
To look up a word in a dictionary, select the word with your mouse and press 'd' on your keyboard.
Joseph and His Brothers
1 Jacob continued to live in the
land of Canaan, where his father
had lived,
2 and this is the story
of Jacob's family.
2 Joseph, a young man of seventeen,
took care of the sheep and goats
with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah
and Zilpah, his father's concubines.
He brought bad reports to his father
about what his brothers were doing.
3 Jacob loved Joseph more than
all his other sons, because he had
been born to him when he was old.
He made a long robe with full
sleeves note for him.
4 When his brothers
saw that their father loved
Joseph more than he loved them,
they hated their brother so much
that they would not speak to him in
a friendly manner.
5 One time Joseph had a dream,
and when he told his brothers about
it, they hated him even more.
6 He
said, “Listen to the dream I had.
7 We were all in the field tying up
sheaves of wheat, when my sheaf
got up and stood up straight. Yours
formed a circle around mine and
bowed down to it.”
8 “Do you think you are going to
-- --
be a king and rule over us?” his
brothers asked. So they hated him
even more because of his dreams
and because of what he said about
them.
9 Then Joseph had another dream
and told his brothers, “I had another
dream, in which I saw the sun, the
moon, and eleven stars bowing
down to me.”
10 He also told the dream to his father,
and his father scolded him:
“What kind of a dream is that? Do
you think that your mother, your
brothers, and I are going to come
and bow down to you?”
11 Joseph's
brothers were jealous of him, but his
father kept thinking about the whole
matter. note
Joseph Is Sold and Taken to Egypt
12 One day when Joseph's brothers
had gone to Shechem to take care of
their father's flock,
13 Jacob said to
Joseph, “I want you to go to Shechem,
where your brothers are taking
care of the flock.”
13 Joseph answered, “I am ready.”
14 His father told him, “Go and see
if your brothers are safe and if the
flock is all right; then come back and
tell me.” So his father sent him on
his way from Hebron Valley.
14 Joseph arrived at Shechem
15 and
was wandering around in the country
when a man saw him and asked
him, “What are you looking for?”
16 “I am looking for my brothers,
who are taking care of their flock,”
he answered. “Can you tell me
where they are?”
17 The man said, “They have already
left. I heard them say that
they were going to Dothan.” So
Joseph went after his brothers and
found them at Dothan.
18 They saw him in the distance,
and before he reached them, they
plotted against him and decided to
kill him.
19 They said to one another,
“Here comes that dreamer.
20 Come
on now, let's kill him and throw his
body into one of the dry wells. We
can say that a wild animal killed
him. Then we will see what becomes
of his dreams.”
21 Reuben heard them and tried to
save Joseph. “Let's not kill him,” he
said.
22 “Just throw him into this well
in the wilderness, but don't hurt
him.” He said this, planning to save
him from them and send him back to
his father.
23 When Joseph came up
to his brothers, they ripped off his
long robe with full sleeves. note
24 Then
they took him and threw him into
the well, which was dry.
25 While they were eating, they
suddenly saw a group of Ishmaelites
traveling from Gilead to Egypt.
Their camels were loaded with
spices and resins.
26 Judah said to his
brothers, “What will we gain by killing
our brother and covering up the
murder?
27 Let's sell him to these Ishmaelites.
Then we won't have to
hurt him; after all, he is our brother,
our own flesh and blood.” His brothers
agreed,
28 and when some Midianite
traders came by, the brothers note
pulled Joseph out of the well and
sold him for twenty pieces of silver
to the Ishmaelites, who took him to
Egypt. note
29 When Reuben came back to the
well and found that Joseph was not
there, he tore his clothes in sorrow.
30 He returned to his brothers and
said, “The boy is not there! What am
I going to do?”
31 Then they killed a goat and
dipped Joseph's robe in its blood.
32 They took the robe to their father
and said, “We found this. Does it belong
to your son?”
33 He recognized it and said, “Yes,
it is his! Some wild animal has killed
him. My son Joseph has been torn to
pieces!”
34 Jacob tore his clothes in
sorrow and put on sackcloth. He
mourned for his son a long time.
35 All his sons and daughters came to
comfort him, but he refused to be
comforted and said, “I will go down
to the world of the dead still mourning
for my son.” So he continued to
mourn for his son Joseph.
36 Meanwhile, in Egypt the Midianites
had sold Joseph to Potiphar, one
-- --
of the king's officers, who was the
captain of the palace guard.
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
|