Genesis 37 New King James Version (NKJV)
Joseph Dreams of Greatness
37 Now Jacob dwelt
in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock
with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah,
his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph
more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him
a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father
loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

5 Now Joseph had a dream,
and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them,
“Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the
field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around
and bowed down to my sheaf.”

8 And his brothers said
to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated
him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9 Then he dreamed still
another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this
time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

10 So he
told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him,
“What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your
brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his
father kept the matter in mind.
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
12 Then his brothers went to feed their
father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers
feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.”

So he said to him, “Here I am.”

14 Then he said to him,
“Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to
me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.

15 Now a certain man
found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you
seeking?”

16 So he said, “I am
seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”

17 And the man said,
“They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after
his brothers and found them in Dothan.

18 Now when they saw him
afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19 Then they said to one
another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! 20 Come 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!”

21 But Reuben
heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill
him.” 22 And 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.

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

25 And they sat down to
eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming
from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to
carry them down to Egypt. 26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What
profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 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 brothers listened. 28 Then Midianite traders
passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold
him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to
Egypt.

29 Then Reuben returned
to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his
clothes. 30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The
lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”

31 So they took Joseph’s
tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 Then they sent the
tunic of many colors, and they brought itto their father and said, “We
have found this. Do you know whether it isyour son’s tunic or not?”

33 And he recognized it
and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is
torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and
mourned for his son many days. 35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but
he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.”
Thus his father wept for him.

36 Now the
Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of
Pharaoh and captain of the guard.