Genesis 37:1

Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed,<cr>1</cr>  the land of Canaan.<cr>2</cr> 

This is the account<cr>1</cr>  of Jacob’s family line.<pb/>Joseph,<cr>2</cr>  a young man of seventeen,<cr>3</cr>  was tending the flocks<cr>4</cr>  with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah<cr>5</cr>  and the sons of Zilpah,<cr>6</cr>  his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report<cr>7</cr>  about them.

Genesis 37:2

Now Israel<cr>1</cr>  loved Joseph more than any of his other sons,<cr>2</cr>  because he had been born to him in his old age;<cr>3</cr>  and he made an ornate<ft>1</ft> robe<cr>4</cr>  for him.<cr>5</cr> 

Genesis 37:3

When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him<cr>1</cr>  and could not speak a kind word to him.

Genesis 37:4

Joseph had a dream,<cr>1</cr>  and when he told it to his brothers,<cr>2</cr>  they hated him all the more.<cr>3</cr> 

Genesis 37:5

He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had:

Genesis 37:6

We were binding sheaves<cr>1</cr>  of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 37:7

His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?”<cr>1</cr>  And they hated him all the more<cr>2</cr>  because of his dream and what he had said.

Genesis 37:8

Then he had another dream,<cr>1</cr>  and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars<cr>2</cr>  were bowing down to me.”<cr>3</cr> 

Genesis 37:9

When he told his father as well as his brothers,<cr>1</cr>  his father rebuked<cr>2</cr>  him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”<cr>3</cr> 

Genesis 37:10

His brothers were jealous of him,<cr>1</cr>  but his father kept the matter in mind.<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 37:11

Genesis 37:12

Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,<cr>1</cr> 

and Israel<cr>1</cr>  said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.<cr>2</cr>  Come, I am going to send you to them.”<pb/>“Very well,” he replied.

Genesis 37:13

So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers<cr>1</cr>  and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.<cr>2</cr> <pb/>When Joseph arrived at Shechem,

Genesis 37:14

a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

Genesis 37:15

He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

Genesis 37:16

“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.<cr>1</cr> ’”<pb/>So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.

Genesis 37:17

But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 37:18

“Here comes that dreamer!<cr>1</cr> ” they said to each other.

Genesis 37:19

“Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns<cr>1</cr>  and say that a ferocious animal<cr>2</cr>  devoured him.<cr>3</cr>  Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”<cr>4</cr> 

Genesis 37:20

When Reuben<cr>1</cr>  heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 37:21

“Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern<cr>1</cr>  here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 37:22

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe<cr>1</cr>  he was wearing—

Genesis 37:23

and they took him and threw him into the cistern.<cr>1</cr>  The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

Genesis 37:24

As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites<cr>1</cr>  coming from Gilead.<cr>2</cr>  Their camels were loaded with spices, balm<cr>3</cr>  and myrrh,<cr>4</cr>  and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.<cr>5</cr> 

Genesis 37:25

Judah<cr>1</cr>  said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 37:26

Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother,<cr>1</cr>  our own flesh and blood.<cr>2</cr> ” His brothers agreed.

Genesis 37:27

So when the Midianite<cr>1</cr>  merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern<cr>2</cr>  and sold<cr>3</cr>  him for twenty shekels<ft>1</ft> of silver<cr>4</cr>  to the Ishmaelites,<cr>5</cr>  who took him to Egypt.<cr>6</cr> 

Genesis 37:28

When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 37:29

He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 37:30

Then they got Joseph’s robe,<cr>1</cr>  slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 37:31

They took the ornate robe<cr>1</cr>  back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

Genesis 37:32

He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal<cr>1</cr>  has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 37:33

Then Jacob tore his clothes,<cr>1</cr>  put on sackcloth<cr>2</cr>  and mourned for his son many days.<cr>3</cr> 

Genesis 37:34

All his sons and daughters came to comfort him,<cr>1</cr>  but he refused to be comforted.<cr>2</cr>  “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son<cr>3</cr>  in the grave.<cr>4</cr> ” So his father wept for him.

Genesis 37:35

Meanwhile, the Midianites<ft>1</ft><cr>1</cr>  sold Joseph<cr>2</cr>  in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.<cr>3</cr> 

Genesis 37:36

Genesis 38:1

At that time, Judah<cr>1</cr>  left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam<cr>2</cr>  named Hirah.<cr>3</cr> 

There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua.<cr>1</cr>  He married her and made love to her;

Genesis 38:2

she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er.<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 38:3

She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan.<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 38:4

She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah.<cr>1</cr>  It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.

Genesis 38:5

Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 38:6

But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight;<cr>1</cr>  so the Lord put him to death.<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 38:7

Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.”<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 38:8

But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother.

Genesis 38:9

What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 38:10

Judah then said to his daughter-in-law<cr>1</cr>  Tamar,<cr>2</cr>  “Live as a widow in your father’s household<cr>3</cr>  until my son Shelah<cr>4</cr>  grows up.”<cr>5</cr>  For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.

Genesis 38:11

After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua,<cr>1</cr>  died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah,<cr>2</cr>  to the men who were shearing his sheep,<cr>3</cr>  and his friend Hirah the Adullamite<cr>4</cr>  went with him.

Genesis 38:12

When Tamar<cr>1</cr>  was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,”<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 38:13

she took off her widow’s clothes,<cr>1</cr>  covered herself with a veil<cr>2</cr>  to disguise herself, and then sat down<cr>3</cr>  at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah.<cr>4</cr>  For she saw that, though Shelah<cr>5</cr>  had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

Genesis 38:14

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute,<cr>1</cr>  for she had covered her face.

Genesis 38:15

Not realizing<cr>1</cr>  that she was his daughter-in-law,<cr>2</cr>  he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”<cr>3</cr> <pb/>“And what will you give me to sleep with you?”<cr>4</cr>  she asked.

Genesis 38:16

“I’ll send you a young goat<cr>1</cr>  from my flock,” he said.<pb/>“Will you give me something as a pledge<cr>2</cr>  until you send it?” she asked.

Genesis 38:17

He said, “What pledge should I give you?”<pb/>“Your seal<cr>1</cr>  and its cord, and the staff<cr>2</cr>  in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.<cr>3</cr> 

Genesis 38:18

After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes<cr>1</cr>  again.

Genesis 38:19

Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite<cr>1</cr>  in order to get his pledge<cr>2</cr>  back from the woman, but he did not find her.

Genesis 38:20

He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute<cr>1</cr>  who was beside the road at Enaim?”<pb/>“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.

Genesis 38:21

So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’”

Genesis 38:22

Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has,<cr>1</cr>  or we will become a laughingstock.<cr>2</cr>  After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”

Genesis 38:23

About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”<pb/>Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 38:24

As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 38:25

Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I,<cr>1</cr>  since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.<cr>2</cr> ” And he did not sleep with her again.

Genesis 38:26

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 38:27

As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife<cr>1</cr>  took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist<cr>2</cr>  and said, “This one came out first.”

Genesis 38:28

But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out,<cr>1</cr>  and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez.<ft>1</ft><cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 38:29

Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist,<cr>1</cr>  came out. And he was named Zerah.<ft>1</ft><cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 38:30

Genesis 39:1

Now Joseph<cr>1</cr>  had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard,<cr>2</cr>  bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.<cr>3</cr> 

The Lord was with Joseph<cr>1</cr>  so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.

Genesis 39:2

When his master saw that the Lord was with him<cr>1</cr>  and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did,<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 39:3

Joseph found favor in his eyes<cr>1</cr>  and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household,<cr>2</cr>  and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.<cr>3</cr> 

Genesis 39:4

From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household<cr>1</cr>  of the Egyptian because of Joseph.<cr>2</cr>  The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.<cr>3</cr> 

Genesis 39:5

So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care;<cr>1</cr>  with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.<pb/>Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 39:6

and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 39:7

But he refused.<cr>1</cr>  “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 39:8

No one is greater in this house than I am.<cr>1</cr>  My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 39:9

And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused<cr>1</cr>  to go to bed with her or even be with her.

Genesis 39:10

One day he went into the house to attend to his duties,<cr>1</cr>  and none of the household servants<cr>2</cr>  was inside.

Genesis 39:11

She caught him by his cloak<cr>1</cr>  and said, “Come to bed with me!”<cr>2</cr>  But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.<cr>3</cr> 

Genesis 39:12

When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,

Genesis 39:13

she called her household servants.<cr>1</cr>  “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew<cr>2</cr>  has been brought to us to make sport of us!<cr>3</cr>  He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.<cr>4</cr> 

Genesis 39:14

When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 39:15

She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home.

Genesis 39:16

Then she told him this story:<cr>1</cr>  “That Hebrew<cr>2</cr>  slave<cr>3</cr>  you brought us came to me to make sport of me.

Genesis 39:17

But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

Genesis 39:18

When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger.<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 39:19

Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison,<cr>1</cr>  the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.<pb/>But while Joseph was there in the prison,

Genesis 39:20

the Lord was with him;<cr>1</cr>  he showed him kindness<cr>2</cr>  and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.<cr>3</cr> 

Genesis 39:21

So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.<cr>1</cr> 

Genesis 39:22

The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s<cr>1</cr>  care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 39:23

Genesis 40:1

Some time later, the cupbearer<cr>1</cr>  and the baker<cr>2</cr>  of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt.

Pharaoh was angry<cr>1</cr>  with his two officials,<cr>2</cr>  the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,

Genesis 40:2

and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard,<cr>1</cr>  in the same prison where Joseph was confined.

Genesis 40:3

The captain of the guard<cr>1</cr>  assigned them to Joseph,<cr>2</cr>  and he attended them.<pb/>After they had been in custody<cr>3</cr>  for some time,

Genesis 40:4

each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream<cr>1</cr>  the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.<cr>2</cr> 

Genesis 40:5

When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected.

Genesis 40:6

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

Genesis 37-50 - NIV

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