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Genesis 37:18-27
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Genesis 37:18-27
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
18 They saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 19 They said to one another: “Here comes that dreamer! 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We will see then what comes of his dreams.”(A)
21 [a]But when Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying: “We must not take his life.” 22 Then Reuben said, “Do not shed blood! Throw him into this cistern in the wilderness; but do not lay a hand on him.” His purpose was to save him from their hands and restore him to his father.(B)
23 So when Joseph came up to his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the long ornamented tunic he had on; 24 then they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, balm, and resin to be taken down to Egypt.(C) 26 Judah said to his brothers: “What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood?(D) 27 Come, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 37:21–36 The chapter thus far is from the Yahwist source, as are also vv. 25–28a. But vv. 21–24 and 28b–36 are from another source (sometimes designated the Elohist source). In the latter, Reuben tries to rescue Joseph, who is taken in Reuben’s absence by certain Midianites; in the Yahwist source, it is Judah who saves Joseph’s life by having him sold to certain Ishmaelites. Although the two variant forms in which the story was handed down in early oral tradition differ in these minor points, they agree on the essential fact that Joseph was brought as a slave into Egypt because of the jealousy of his brothers.
Genesis 37:18-27
New International Version
Genesis 37:18-27
New International Version
18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.(A)
19 “Here comes that dreamer!(B)” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns(C) and say that a ferocious animal(D) devoured him.(E) Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”(F)
21 When Reuben(G) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.(H) 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern(I) 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.(J)
23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe(K) he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern.(L) The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites(M) coming from Gilead.(N) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm(O) and myrrh,(P) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.(Q)
26 Judah(R) said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?(S) 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother,(T) our own flesh and blood.(U)” His brothers agreed.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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