Genesis · Literal Standard Version
Genesis 37 Literal Standard Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 And Jacob dwells in the land of his father’s sojournings—in the land of Canaan.
1 Jacob lived in the land of his father’s travels, in the land of Canaan.
2 These [are] the generations of Jacob: Joseph, a son of seventeen years, has been enjoying himself with his brothers among the flock (and he [is] a youth), with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and Joseph brings in an account of their evil to their father.
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 And Israel has loved Joseph more than any of his sons, for he [is] a son of his old age, and has made for him a long coat;
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 and his brothers see that their father has loved him more than any of his brothers, and they hate him, and have not been able to speak [to] him peaceably.
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 And Joseph dreams a dream, and declares to his brothers, and they add still more to hate him.
5 Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more.
6 And he says to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:
6 He said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:
7 that, behold, we are binding bundles in the midst of the field, and behold, my bundle has arisen, and has also stood up, and behold, your bundles are all around, and they bow themselves to my bundle.”
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 And his brothers say to him, “Do you certainly reign over us? Do you certainly rule over us?” And they add still more to hate him, for his dreams, and for his words.
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 And he dreams yet another dream, and recounts it to his brothers, and says, “Behold, I have dreamed a dream again, and behold, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars, are bowing themselves to me.”
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 And he recounts to his father, and to his brothers; and his father pushes against him, and says to him, “What [is] this dream which you have dreamed? Do we certainly come, I, and your mother, and your brothers—to bow ourselves to you, to the earth?”
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 And his brothers are zealous against him, and his father has watched the matter.
11 His brothers envied him, but his father kept this saying in mind.
12 And his brothers go to feed the flock of their father in Shechem,
12 His brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
13 and Israel says to Joseph, “Are your brothers not feeding in Shechem? Come, and I send you to them”; and he says to him, “Here I [am]”;
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 and he says to him, “Now go see the peace of your brothers, and the peace of the flock, and bring me back word”; and he sends him from the Valley of Hebron, and he comes to Shechem.
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 a man finds him, and behold, he is wandering in the field, and the man asks him, saying, “What do you seek?”
15 A certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 And he says, “I am seeking my brothers, please declare to me where they are feeding.”
16 He said, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are feeding the flock.”
17 And the man says, “They have journeyed from this, for I have heard some saying, Let us go to Dothan,” and Joseph goes after his brothers, and finds them in Dothan.
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 And they see him from afar, even before he draws near to them, and they conspire against him to put him to death.
18 They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him.
19 And they say to one another, “Behold, this man of the dreams comes;
19 They said to one another, “Behold, this dreamer comes.
20 and now, come, and we slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and have said, An evil beast has devoured him; and we see what his dreams are.”
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 And Reuben hears, and delivers him out of their hand, and says, “Let us not strike the life”;
21 Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, “Let’s not take his life.”
22 and Reuben says to them, “Shed no blood; cast him into this pit which [is] in the wilderness, and do not put forth a hand on him,” in order to deliver him out of their hand, to bring him back to his father.
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 And it comes to pass, when Joseph has come to his brothers, that they strip Joseph of his coat, the long coat which [is] on him,
23 When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him;
24 and take him and cast him into the pit, and the pit [is] empty, there is no water in it.
24 and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.
25 And they sit down to eat bread, and they lift up their eyes, and look, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, and their camels carrying spices, and balm, and myrrh, going to take [them] down to Egypt.
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 And Judah says to his brothers, “What gain when we slay our brother, and have concealed his blood?
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
27 Come, and we sell him to the Ishmaelites, and our hands are not on him, for he [is] our brother—our flesh”; and his brothers listen.
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 And Midianite merchantmen pass by and they draw out and bring up Joseph out of the pit, and sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver, and they bring Joseph into Egypt.
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 And Reuben returns to the pit, and behold, Joseph is not in the pit, and he tears his garments,
29 Reuben returned to the pit, and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the pit; and he tore his clothes.
30 and he returns to his brothers and says, “The boy is not, and I—to where am I going?”
30 He returned to his brothers, and said, “The child is no more; and I, where will I go?”
31 And they take the coat of Joseph, and slaughter a kid of the goats, and dip the coat in the blood,
31 They took Joseph’s tunic, and killed a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood.
32 and send the long coat, and they bring [it] to their father, and say, “We have found this; please discern whether it [is] your son’s coat or not.”
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 And he discerns it and says, “My son’s coat! An evil beast has devoured him; torn—Joseph is torn!”
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 And Jacob tears his raiment, and puts sackcloth on his loins, and becomes a mourner for his son many days,
34 Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
35 and all his sons and all his daughters rise to comfort him, and he refuses to comfort himself, and says, “For I go down to my son mourning, to Sheol,” and his father weeps for him.
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 And the Midianites have sold him to Egypt, to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, head of the executioners.
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)