Genesis 37 Young's Literal Translation

About YLT

Individual translator
OT: Masoretic Hebrew
NT: Textus Receptus
Protestant (66 books)
Very literal
1898
Public domain

Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings

YLT Young's Literal Translation

WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)

1 And Jacob dwelleth 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] births of Jacob: Joseph, a son of seventeen years, hath been enjoying himself with his brethren 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 bringeth in an account of their evil unto 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 hath loved Joseph more than any of his sons, for he [is] a son of his old age, and hath 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 brethren see that their father hath loved him more than any of his brethren, 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 dreameth a dream, and declareth to his brethren, 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 saith unto them, 'Hear ye, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

6 He said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:

7 that, lo, we are binding bundles in the midst of the field, and lo, my bundle hath arisen, and hath also stood up, and lo, your bundles are round about, and 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 brethren say to him, 'Dost thou certainly reign over us? dost thou 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 dreameth yet another dream, and recounteth it to his brethren, and saith, 'Lo, I have dreamed a dream again, and lo, 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 recounteth unto his father, and unto his brethren; and his father pusheth against him, and saith to him, 'What [is] this dream which thou hast dreamt? do we certainly come — I, and thy mother, and thy brethren — to bow ourselves to thee, 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 brethren are zealous against him, and his father hath watched the matter.

11 His brothers envied him, but his father kept this saying in mind.

12 And his brethren 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 saith unto Joseph, 'Are not thy brethren feeding in Shechem? come, and I send thee unto them;' and he saith to him, 'Here [am] I;'

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 saith to him, 'Go, I pray thee, see the peace of thy brethren, and the peace of the flock, and bring me back word;' and he sendeth him from the valley of Hebron, and he cometh 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 findeth him, and lo, he is wandering in the field, and the man asketh him, saying, 'What seekest thou?'

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 saith, 'My brethren I am seeking, declare to me, I pray thee, 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 saith, 'They have journeyed from this, for I have heard some saying, Let us go to Dothan,' and Joseph goeth after his brethren, and findeth 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 draweth near unto 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 one unto another, 'Lo, this man of the dreams cometh;

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 hath 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 heareth, and delivereth him out of their hand, and saith, 'Let us not smite the life;'

21 Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, “Let’s not take his life.”

22 and Reuben saith unto them, 'Shed no blood; cast him into this pit which [is] in the wilderness, and put not forth a hand upon him,' — in order to deliver him out of their hand, to bring him back unto 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 cometh to pass, when Joseph hath come unto his brethren, that they strip Joseph of his coat, the long coat which [is] upon 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 lo, a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, and their camels bearing 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 saith unto his brethren, '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 brethren hearken.

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 silverlings, 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 returneth unto the pit, and lo, Joseph is not in the pit, and he rendeth 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 returneth unto his brethren, and saith, 'The lad is not, and I — whither 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] in unto their father, and say, 'This have we found; discern, we pray thee, whether it [is] thy 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 discerneth it, and saith, 'My son's coat! an evil beast hath devoured him; torn — torn is Joseph!'

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 rendeth his raiment, and putteth sackcloth on his loins, and becometh 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 refuseth to comfort himself, and saith, 'For — I go down mourning unto my son, to Sheol,' and his father weepeth 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 Medanites have sold him unto 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.

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Joseph
Ruler in Egypt
Betrayed and enslaved, he rose to rule Egypt and saved his family from famine.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 37; 39–50
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Potiphar
Pharaoh's captain of the guard
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
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Cross references (36)

Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.

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).

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“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).

Quotes verse 37:28 Augustine of Hippo, Expositions on the Psalms (Psalm LXXVII)
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)

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