Genesis 37 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Jacob settled down and lived in Canaan as his father had done.
1 Y HABITÓ Jacob en la tierra donde peregrinó su padre, en la tierra de Canaán.
1 Jacob lived in the land of his father’s travels, in the land of Canaan.
2 This is the story of Jacob and his family. Joseph was seventeen, and helped look after the flock with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph told his father about some of the bad things his brothers were doing.
2 Estas fueron las generaciones de Jacob. José, siendo de edad de diez y siete años apacentaba las ovejas con sus hermanos; y el joven estaba con los hijos de Bilha, y con los hijos de Zilpa, mujeres de su padre: y noticiaba José á su padre la mala fama de ellos.
2 This is the history of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father.
3 Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him when he was already old. He made a colorful robe with long sleeves for Joseph.
3 Y amaba Israel á José más que á todos sus hijos, porque le había tenido en su vejez: y le hizo una ropa de diversos colores.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a tunic of many colors.
4 When his brothers noticed that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and had nothing good to say about him.
4 Y viendo sus hermanos que su padre lo amaba más que á todos sus hermanos, aborrecíanle, y no le podían hablar pacíficamente.
4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn’t speak peaceably to him.
5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more.
5 Y soñó José un sueño, y contólo á sus hermanos; y ellos vinieron á aborrecerle más todavía.
5 Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more.
6 “Listen to this dream I had,” he told them.
6 Y él les dijo: Oíd ahora este sueño que he soñado:
6 He said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:
7 “We were tying up bundles of grain out in the fields when all of a sudden my bundle stood up, and your bundles came over and bowed down to it.”
7 He aquí que atábamos manojos en medio del campo, y he aquí que mi manojo se levantaba, y estaba derecho, y que vuestros manojos estaban alrededor, y se inclinaban al mío.
7 for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf.”
8 “Do you really think you're going to be our king?” they asked. “Do you honestly believe you're going to rule over us?” They hated him even more because of his dream and how he described it.
8 Y respondiéronle sus hermanos: ¿Has de reinar tú sobre nosotros, ó te has de enseñorear sobre nosotros? Y le aborrecieron aún más á causa de sus sueños y de sus palabras.
8 His brothers asked him, “Will you indeed reign over us? Will you indeed have dominion over us?” They hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words.
9 Then he had another dream and told his brothers about it. “Listen, I had another dream,” he explained. “The sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down before me.”
9 Y soñó aún otro sueño, y contólo á sus hermanos, diciendo: He aquí que he soñado otro sueño, y he aquí que el sol y la luna y once estrellas se inclinaban á mí.
9 He dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.”
10 He also told his father as well as his brothers, and his father told him off, saying, “What's this dream that you've had? Are we—I and your mother and brothers—really going to come and bow down to the ground before you?”
10 Y contólo á su padre y á sus hermanos: y su padre le reprendió, y díjole: ¿Qué sueño es este que soñaste? ¿Hemos de venir yo y tu madre, y tus hermanos, á inclinarnos á ti á tierra?
10 He told it to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked him, and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to the earth before you?”
11 Joseph's brothers became jealous of him, but his father puzzled over the meaning of the dream.
11 Y sus hermanos le tenían envidia, mas su padre paraba la consideración en ello.
11 His brothers envied him, but his father kept this saying in mind.
12 One day Joseph's brothers took their father's flocks to graze near Shechem.
12 Y fueron sus hermanos á apacentar las ovejas de su padre en Sichêm.
12 His brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
13 Israel told Joseph, “Your brothers are looking after the sheep near Shechem. Get ready because I want you to go and see them.” “I'll do it,” Joseph replied.
13 Y dijo Israel á José: Tus hermanos apacientan las ovejas en Sichêm: ven, y te enviaré á ellos. Y él respondió: Heme aquí.
13 Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” He said to him, “Here I am.”
14 So he told him, “Off you go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and come back and let me know.” So he sent him off. Joseph set out from the Hebron Valley,
14 Y él le dijo: Ve ahora, mira cómo están tus hermanos y cómo están las ovejas, y tráeme la respuesta. Y enviólo del valle de Hebrón, y llegó á Sichêm.
14 He said to him, “Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again.” So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 and arrived in Shechem. A man there found him wandering about in the field, so he asked him, “What are you looking for?”
15 Y hallólo un hombre, andando él perdido por el campo, y preguntóle aquel hombre, diciendo: ¿Qué buscas?
15 A certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 “I'm looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they're looking after the flock?”
16 Y él respondió: Busco á mis hermanos: ruégote que me muestres dónde pastan.
16 He said, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are feeding the flock.”
17 “They've already left,” the man replied. “I heard them say, ‘Let's go to Dothan.’” So Joseph followed his brothers and caught up with them at Dothan.
17 Y aquel hombre respondió: Ya se han ido de aquí; y yo les oí decir: Vamos á Dothán. Entonces José fué tras de sus hermanos, y hallólos en Dothán.
17 The man said, “They have left here, for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan.
18 But they saw him coming way off in the distance, and before he got to them, they made plans to kill him.
18 Y como ellos lo vieron de lejos, antes que cerca de ellos llegara, proyectaron contra él para matarle.
18 They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him.
19 “Look, here comes the Lord of Dreams!” they said to each other.
19 Y dijeron el uno al otro: He aquí viene el soñador;
19 They said to one another, “Behold, this dreamer comes.
20 “Come on, let's kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We'll say that some wild animal has eaten him. Then we'll see what happens to his dreams!”
20 Ahora pues, venid, y matémoslo y echémosle en una cisterna, y diremos: Alguna mala bestia le devoró: y veremos qué serán sus sueños.
20 Come now therefore, and let’s kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, ‘An evil animal has devoured him.’ We will see what will become of his dreams.”
21 When Reuben heard all this, he tried to save Joseph from them.
21 Y como Rubén oyó esto, librólo de sus manos, y dijo: No lo matemos.
21 Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, “Let’s not take his life.”
22 “Let's not attack and kill him,” he suggested. “Don't murder him, just throw him into this pit here in the desert. You don't need to be guilty of violence.” Reuben said this so that he could come back later and rescue Joseph from them and take him home to his father.
22 Y díjoles Rubén: No derraméis sangre; echadlo en esta cisterna que está en el desierto, y no pongáis mano en él; por librarlo [así] de sus manos, para hacerlo volver á su padre.
22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.
23 So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off his robe—the colorful long-sleeved robe he was wearing—
23 Y sucedió que, cuando llegó José á sus hermanos, ellos hicieron desnudar á José su ropa, la ropa de colores que tenía sobre sí;
23 When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him;
24 grabbed him and threw him into a pit. (The pit was empty—it didn't have any water in it.)
24 Y tomáronlo, y echáronle en la cisterna; mas la cisterna estaba vacía, no había en ella agua.
24 and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.
25 They were just sitting down to have a meal when they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic spices, balm, and myrrh to take to Egypt.
25 Y sentáronse á comer pan: y alzando los ojos miraron, y he aquí una compañía de Ismaelitas que venía de Galaad, y sus camellos traían aromas y bálsamo y mirra, é iban á llevarlo á Egipto.
25 They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
26 “What's the point of killing our brother?” Judah asked his brothers. “Then we'd have to cover up his death!
26 Entonces Judá dijo á sus hermanos: ¿Qué provecho el que matemos á nuestro hermano y encubramos su muerte?
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
27 Instead, why don't we sell him to these Ishmaelites? We don't have to kill him. After all he's our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.
27 Venid, y vendámosle á los Ismaelitas, y no sea nuestra mano sobre él; que nuestro hermano es nuestra carne. Y sus hermanos acordaron con él.
27 Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh.” His brothers listened to him.
28 So when the Ishmaelites (who were traders from Midian) came by, they pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites took him to Egypt.
28 Y como pasaban los Midianitas mercaderes, sacaron ellos á José de la cisterna, y trajéronle arriba, y le vendieron á los Ismaelitas por veinte piezas de plata. Y llevaron á José á Egipto.
28 Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The merchants brought Joseph into Egypt.
29 When Reuben came back later and looked into the pit, Joseph was gone. He tore his clothes in grief.
29 Y Rubén volvió á la cisterna, y no halló á José dentro, y rasgó sus vestidos.
29 Reuben returned to the pit, and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the pit; and he tore his clothes.
30 He returned to his brothers. “The boy's gone!” he moaned. “What am I going to do now?”
30 Y tornó á sus hermanos, y dijo: El mozo no parece; y yo, ¿adónde iré yo?
30 He returned to his brothers, and said, “The child is no more; and I, where will I go?”
31 They slaughtered a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in the blood.
31 Entonces tomaron ellos la ropa de José, y degollaron un cabrito de las cabras, y tiñeron la ropa con la sangre;
31 They took Joseph’s tunic, and killed a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood.
32 Then they sent the colorful robe to their father with the message, “We found this. Please examine it and see if it's your son's robe or not.”
32 Y enviaron la ropa de colores y trajéronla á su padre, y dijeron: Esta hemos hallado, reconoce ahora si es ó no la ropa de tu hijo.
32 They took the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, “We have found this. Examine it, now, and see if it is your son’s tunic or not.”
33 His father recognized it right away and said, “This is my son's robe! Some wild animal must have eaten him. Poor Joseph has been ripped to pieces, no doubt about it!”
33 Y él la conoció, y dijo: La ropa de mi hijo es; alguna mala bestia le devoró; José ha sido despedazado.
33 He recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s tunic. An evil animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.”
34 Jacob tore his clothes in grief and dressed in sackcloth. He mourned the death of his son for a long time.
34 Entonces Jacob rasgó sus vestidos, y puso saco sobre sus lomos, y enlutóse por su hijo muchos días.
34 Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
35 All his sons and daughters tried to console him, but he rejected their attempts. “No,” he said, “I will go down into my grave mourning for my son.” So Joseph's father went on weeping for him.
35 Y levantáronse todos sus hijos y todas sus hijas para consolarlo; mas él no quiso tomar consolación, y dijo: Porque yo tengo de descender á mi hijo enlutado hasta la sepultura. Y llorólo su padre.
35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “For I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” His father wept for him.
36 In the meantime the Ishmaelites had arrived in Egypt and had sold Joseph to Potiphar. Potiphar was one of Pharaoh's officers, the captain of the guard.
36 Y los Midianitas lo vendieron en Egipto á Potiphar, eunuco de Faraón, capitán de los de la guardia.
36 The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Joseph
Betrayed and enslaved, he rose to rule Egypt and saved his family from famine.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 37; 39–50
Potiphar
An Egyptian officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard who bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites, put him in charge of his household, and had him thrown into prison after his wife's…
Cited in the guide: Genesis 37:36; Genesis 39:1; Genesis 39:4
Cross references (36)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Genesis 17:8; Genesis 23:4; Hebrews 11:9–16; Genesis 36:7; Genesis 28:4
- 2 Genesis 35:25–26; 1 Samuel 2:22–24; Genesis 35:22; 1 Corinthians 11:18; Genesis 10:1
- 3 John 3:35; Genesis 37:32; 2 Samuel 13:18; John 13:22–23; Genesis 37:23
- 4 Genesis 27:41; 1 John 4:20; 1 John 3:12; 1 John 2:11; Psalm 69:4
- 5 Genesis 28:12; Genesis 42:9; John 17:14; Daniel 4:5; Amos 3:7
- 6 Genesis 44:18
- 7 Genesis 42:6; Genesis 44:14; Genesis 43:26; Genesis 42:9; Colossians 1:18
- 8 1 Samuel 10:27; Acts 7:35; Genesis 49:26; Acts 4:27–28; Exodus 2:14
- 9 Acts 7:9–14; Genesis 46:29; Genesis 37:7; Daniel 8:10; Genesis 43:28
- 10 Genesis 27:29; Isaiah 60:14; Philippians 2:10–11; Genesis 37:7
- 11 Acts 7:9; Luke 2:51; Luke 2:19; Daniel 7:28; Isaiah 11:13
- 12 Genesis 37:1; Genesis 33:18; Genesis 34:25–31
- 13 Ephesians 6:1–3; 1 Samuel 17:17–20; Matthew 10:16; 1 Samuel 3:16; Genesis 27:18
- 14 Genesis 35:27; Psalm 125:5; Luke 19:42; Genesis 13:18; 2 Samuel 18:32
- 15 Judges 4:22; John 4:27; Genesis 21:14; John 20:15; John 18:4
- 16 Luke 19:10; Song of Songs 1:7
- 17 2 Kings 6:13
- 18 Acts 23:12; Psalm 37:32; 1 Samuel 19:1; Psalm 37:12; Mark 14:1
- 19 Genesis 28:12; Genesis 37:5; Genesis 49:23; Genesis 37:11
- 20 Titus 3:3; Proverbs 27:4; 2 Kings 2:24; Matthew 2:2–16; Proverbs 1:11–12
- 21 Genesis 42:22; Joshua 10:28; Genesis 35:22; Matthew 10:28; Genesis 9:5
- 22 Exodus 24:11; Matthew 27:24; Genesis 42:22; Genesis 22:12; Acts 12:1
- 23 Genesis 37:31–33; Matthew 27:28; Genesis 37:3; Genesis 42:21; Psalm 22:18
- 24 Jeremiah 38:6; Zechariah 9:11; Psalm 130:1–2; Psalm 40:2; Psalm 88:8
- 25 Genesis 43:11; Jeremiah 8:22; Genesis 37:28; Jeremiah 46:11; Genesis 16:11–12
- 26 Genesis 37:20; Genesis 4:10; Ezekiel 24:7; Jeremiah 41:8; Romans 6:21
- 27 Matthew 16:26; Genesis 42:21; 1 Samuel 18:17; Genesis 29:14; 2 Samuel 12:9
- 28 Acts 7:9; Psalm 105:17; Genesis 25:2; Genesis 45:4–5; Genesis 37:25
- 29 Genesis 37:34; Job 1:20; Joel 2:13; Acts 14:14; Genesis 44:13
- 30 Genesis 42:13; Genesis 42:32; Jeremiah 31:15; Genesis 42:35–36; Genesis 37:20
- 31 Genesis 37:23; Genesis 37:3; Proverbs 28:13
- 32 Luke 15:30; Genesis 44:20–23; Genesis 37:3
- 33 Genesis 44:28; Genesis 37:20; 1 Kings 13:24; 2 Kings 2:24; Proverbs 14:15
- 34 Genesis 37:29; Job 1:20; 2 Samuel 3:31; Esther 4:1–3; Nehemiah 9:1
- 35 Genesis 42:38; Job 2:11; 2 Samuel 12:17; Genesis 42:31; Genesis 35:22–26
- 36 Genesis 40:4; Genesis 37:28; 2 Kings 25:8; Genesis 39:1–23; Genesis 25:1–2
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Because Joseph was sold into Egypt by his brethren. That Joseph whom the brethren envied, and sold him into Egypt, when sold into Egypt, toiled, was humbled; when made known and exalted, flourished, reigned.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)