Joseph and His Brothers
1 Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, where his father Isaac had lived, 2 and this is the story of his family.
When Jacob's son Joseph was 17 years old, he took care of the sheep with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. But he was always telling his father all sorts of bad things about his brothers.
3 Jacob loved Joseph more than he did any of his other sons, because Joseph was born when Jacob was very old. Jacob had even given Joseph a fancy coat 4 which showed that Joseph was his favorite son, and so Joseph's brothers hated him and would not be friendly to him.
5 One day, Joseph told his brothers what he had dreamed, and they hated him even more. 6 Joseph said, “Let me tell you about my dream. 7 We were out in the field, tying up bundles of wheat. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles gathered around and bowed down to it.”
8 His brothers asked, “Do you really think you are going to be king and rule over us?” Now they hated Joseph more than ever because of what he had said about his dream.
9 Joseph later had another dream, and he told his brothers, “Listen to what else I dreamed. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me.”
10 When he told his father about this dream, his father became angry and said, “What's that supposed to mean? Are your mother and I and your brothers all going to come and bow down to you?” 11 Joseph's brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept wondering about the dream.
Joseph Is Sold and Taken to Egypt
12 One day when Joseph's brothers had taken the sheep to a pasture near Shechem, 13 his father Jacob said to him, “I want you to go to your brothers. They are with the sheep near Shechem.”
“Yes, sir,” Joseph answered.
14 His father said, “Go and find out how your brothers and the sheep are doing. Then come back and let me know.” So he sent him from Hebron Valley.
Joseph was near Shechem 15 and wandering through the fields, when a man asked, “What are you looking for?”
16 Joseph answered, “I'm looking for my brothers who are watching the sheep. Can you tell me where they are?”
17 “They're not here anymore,” the man replied. “I overheard them say they were going to Dothan.”
Joseph left and found his brothers in Dothan. 18 But before he got there, they saw him coming and made plans to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Look, here comes the hero of those dreams! 20 Let's kill him and throw him into a pit and say that some wild animal ate him. Then we'll see what happens to those dreams.”
21 Reuben heard this and tried to protect Joseph from them. “Let's not kill him,” he said. 22 “Don't murder him or even harm him. Just throw him into a well out here in the desert.” Reuben planned to rescue Joseph later and take him back to his father.
23 When Joseph came to his brothers, they pulled off his fancy coat 24 and threw him into a dry well.
25 As Joseph's brothers sat down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with all kinds of spices that they were taking to Egypt. 26 So Judah said, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and hide his body? 27 Let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not harm him. After all, he is our brother.” And the others agreed.
28 When the Midianite merchants came by, Joseph's brothers took him out of the well, and for 20 pieces of silver they sold him to the Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt.
29 When Reuben returned to the well and did not find Joseph there, he tore his clothes in sorrow. 30 Then he went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”
31 Joseph's brothers killed a goat and dipped Joseph's fancy coat in its blood. 32 After this, they took the coat to their father and said, “We found this! Look at it carefully and see if it belongs to your son.”
33 Jacob knew it was Joseph's coat and said, “It's my son's coat! Joseph has been torn to pieces and eaten by some wild animal.”
34 Jacob mourned for Joseph a long time, and to show his sorrow he tore his clothes and wore sackcloth. 35 All of Jacob's children came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will go to my grave, mourning for my son.” So Jacob kept on grieving.
36 Meanwhile, the Midianites had sold Joseph in Egypt to a man named Potiphar, who was the king's official in charge of the palace guard.
يوسف وإخوته
1 وأقامَ يعقوبُ في أَرضِ كنعانَ، حيثُ تغرَّبَ أَبوهُ. 2 وهذِهِ سيرةُ بَني يعقوبَ: كانَ يوسُفُ، وهوَ فتىً في السَّابعَةَ عَشْرَةَ مِنْ عُمرِه، يرعَى الغنَمَ معَ إخوتِهِ بَني بِلْهَةَ وبَني زِلفَةَ زوجَتي أبـيهِ، فأخبرَ أبَاه بِما يُشاعُ عَنْ مَساوِئِهِم. 3 وكان يعقوبُ يُحِبُّ يوسُفَ أكثرَ مِنْ سائِرِ بَنيهِ لأنَّه ابنُ شَيخوخَتِهِ. فصنَعَ لَه قميصا مُلَوَّنا. 4 ورأَى إخوتُهُ أنَّ أبَاهُم يُحِبُّه أكثرَ مِنهُم جميعا. فأَبغَضوهُ حتى لم يقدِروا أنْ يُكَلِّموهُ بِمَوَدَّةٍ.
5 ورأى يوسُفُ حُلُما، فلمَّا أخبَرَ بِهِ إخوتَه زادَ بُغضُهم لَه. 6 قالَ لهُم: «إسْمعوا هذا الحُلُمَ الّذي رأيتُه. 7 رأيتُ كأنَّنا نحزِمُ حُزَما في الحقلِ، فوَقَفَت حُزمَتي بَغتَةً وانتَصَبَت ثُمَّ أحاطَت بِها حُزمُكُم وسجَدَت لها». 8 فقالَ لَه إخوَتُه: «أتَظنُّ أنَّكَ تَملِكُ وتـتَسَلَّطُ علَينا؟» وزادَ بُغضُهُم لَه لأجلِ أحلامِهِ وكلامِهِ. 9 ورأى حُلُما آخرَ، فَقَصَّهُ على إخوتِهِ قالَ: «رأيتُ حُلُما آخرَ، كأنَّ الشَّمسَ ساجِدةٌ لي والقمرَ وأحدَ عَشَرَ كوكبا». 10 ولمَّا قَصَّهُ على أبـيهِ وإخوتِهِ إنتَهرَه أبوهُ وقالَ لَه: «ما هذا الحُلُمُ الّذي رأيتَه؟ أنَجيءُ أنا وأمُّكَ وإخوتُكَ فنسجُدَ لكَ إلى الأرضِ؟» 11 فحَسدَهُ إخوتُه. وأمَّا أبوه فحفِظَ هذا الكلامَ في قلبهِ.
إخوة يوسف يـبيعونه
12 وذَهَبَ إخوةُ يوسُفَ ليرعَوا غنَمَ أبـيهِم عِندَ شكيمَ، 13 فقالَ يعقوبُ ليوسُفَ: «إخوتُكَ يرعَونَ الغنَمَ عِندَ شكيمَ، فتَعالَ أُرسِلُكَ إليهِم». قالَ: «نعم، ها أنا». 14 فقالَ لَه: «اذهبْ وانظُرْ كيفَ حالُ إخوتِكَ وحالُ الغنَمِ وجِئْني بالخبَرِ!» وأَرسلَه مِنْ وادي حَبرونَ، فجاءَ إلى شكِيمَ. 15 وصادَفَه رَجُلٌ وهوَ تائِهٌ في البرِّيَّةِ، فسألَه: «ماذا تطلُبُ؟» 16 فأجابَ: «أَطلبُ إخوتي. أخبِرني أينَ يَرعَونَ». 17 فقالَ الرَّجُلُ: «رَحلوا مِنْ هُنا، وسَمِعْتُهُم يقولونَ: نذهبُ إلى دُوثانَ». فسعَى يوسُفُ وراءَ إخوتِه، فوَجَدَهُم في دُوثانَ.
18 فلمَّا رأَوه عَنْ بُعدٍ وهوَ يقتربُ مِنهُم تآمَروا ليقتُلُوه. 19 فقالَ بعضُهم لِبعضٍ: «ها صاحبُ الأحلامِ مُقبلٌ نحوَنا. 20 تَعالوا نقتُلْه ونَطرَحْهُ في بِئرٍ ونقولُ: «وَحشٌ شَرِسٌ أكَلَهُ، ونرى ماذا تنفَعُ أحلامُهُ». 21 فسَمِـعَ رَأوبـينُ، فأنقَذهُ مِنْ أَيديهِم وقالَ: «لا نقتُلُه!» 22 ثُمَّ قالَ لهُم رَأُوبـينُ: «لا تسفُكُوا دَما. إطرَحوهُ في هذِهِ البِئرِ الّتي في البرِّيَّةِ ولا ترفَعوا أيدِيَكُم علَيه». قالَ هذا لِـينقِذَه مِنْ أيديهم ويَرُدَّهُ إلى أَبـيهِ. 23 فلمَّا وصَلَ يوسُفُ إلى إخوتِهِ نزَعُوا عَنه القميصَ المُلوَّنَ الّذي يَلبسُهُ 24 وأخذُوه وطَرَحوهُ في البِئرِ، وكانَتِ البِئرُ فارِغَةً لا ماءَ فيها، 25 ثُمَّ جَلَسوا يأكُلون. ورَفَعُوا عُيونَهم فرأَوا قافِلَةً مِن الإسماعيليِّينَ مُقبِلَةً مِنْ جِلْعادَ، وجِمالُهُم مُحَمَّلَةٌ صُمْغا وبَلْسَما ومُرًّا، وهُم في طريقِ نُزُولِهم إلى مِصْرَ. 26 فقالَ يَهوذا لإخوتِهِ: «ما الفائِدَةُ مِنْ أنْ نقتُلَ أخانا ونُخفيَ دَمَهُ؟ 27 تعالَوا نبـيعُه لِلإِسماعيليِّينَ ولا نرفَعُ أيديَنا علَيهِ، فهُوَ أخونا مِنْ لَحمِنا ودَمِنا». فسَمِـعَ لَه إخوَتُهُ.
28 ومَرَّ تُجَّارٌ مديانيُّونَ فأمسَكُوا يوسُفَ وأصعدُوه مِنَ البِئرِ وباعُوه لِلإِسماعيليِّينَ بِــعِشْرينَ مِنَ الفِضَّةِ، فجاؤوا بهِ إلى مِصْرَ 29 ورَجَع رَأوبـينُ إلى البئر، فلم يَجدْ يوسُفَ في البئرِ، فمزّقَ ثيابَهُ 30 ورجَعَ إلى إخوتِهِ وقالَ لهُم: «الولَدُ غيرُ موجُودٍ، وأنا إلى أينَ أذهبُ؟» 31 فأخَذوا قميصَ يوسُفَ وذبَحَوا تَيسا مِنَ المَعَزِ وغَمَسُوا القميصَ في الدَّمِ. 32 وأرسلوا القميصَ المُلوَّنَ إلى أبـيهِم وقالوا: «وَجَدْنا هذا. فتَحَقَّقْ أقميصُ ابنِكَ هوَ أم لا؟» 33 فتَحَقَّقَهُ وقالَ: «قميصُ ابني. وَحشٌ شَرِسٌ أكَلَهُ. مَزَّقَ يوسُفَ تَمزيقا». 34 وشَقَّ يعقوبُ ثيابَه ولَبِسَ المِسْحَ حِدادا على ابنهِ، وناحَ أيّاما كثيرةً. 35 وقامَ جميعُ بَنيهِ وبَناتِه يُعَزُّونَه، فأبى أنْ يتَعَزَّى وقالَ: «بل أنزِلُ إلى عالمِ الأمواتِ نائِحا على ابني». وبَكى علَيه يعقوبُ.
36 وباعَ المِديانيُّونَ يوسُفَ في مِصْرَ لِفُوطيفارَ، كبـيرِ خَدَمِ فِرعَونَ ورئيسِ الطُّهاةِ.
