#4: Joseph And His Multi-Colored Coat
Chapter 37
1 Jacob lived in the land of his father's travels, in the land of Canaan.
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 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a coat of many colors.
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 Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more.
6 He said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:
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 His brothers said to him, "Will you indeed reign over us? Or will you indeed have dominion over us?" They hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words.
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 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 you to the earth?"
11 His brothers envied him; but his father kept this saying in mind.
12 His brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
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 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 vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 A certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, "What are you looking for?"
16 He said, "I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are feeding the flock."
17 The man said, "They have left here, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan.
18 They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him.
19 They said one to another, "Behold, this dreamer comes.
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 Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, "Let's not take his life."
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 It happened, when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him;
24 and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.
25 They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
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 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. They brought Joseph into Egypt.
29 Reuben returned to the pit; and saw that Joseph wasn't in the pit; and he tore his clothes.
30 He returned to his brothers, and said, "The child is no more; and I, where will I go?"
31 They took Joseph's coat, and killed a male goat, and dipped the coat in the blood.
32 They took the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, "We have found this. Examine it, now, whether it is your son's coat or not."
33 He recognized it, and said, "It is my son's coat. An evil animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces."
34 Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
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 The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard.
Chapter 41
1 It happened at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and behold, he stood by the river.
2 Behold, there came up out of the river seven cattle, sleek and fat, and they fed in the marsh grass.
3 Behold, seven other cattle came up after them out of the river, ugly and thin, and stood by the other cattle on the brink of the river.
4 The ugly and thin cattle ate up the seven sleek and fat cattle. So Pharaoh awoke.
5 He slept and dreamed a second time: and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, healthy and good.
6 Behold, seven heads of grain, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.
7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy and full ears. Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.
8 It happened in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all of Egypt's magicians and wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, "I remember my faults today.
10 Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker.
11 We dreamed a dream in one night, I and he. We dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.
12 There was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. To each man according to his dream he interpreted.
13 It happened, as he interpreted to us, so it was: he restored me to my office, and he hanged him."
14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothing, and came in to Pharaoh.
15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."
16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "It isn't in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace."
17 Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I stood on the brink of the river:
18 and behold, there came up out of the river seven cattle, fat and sleek. They fed in the marsh grass,
19 and behold, seven other cattle came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for ugliness.
20 The thin and ugly cattle ate up the first seven fat cattle,
21 and when they had eaten them up, it couldn't be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ugly, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
22 I saw in my dream, and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, full and good:
23 and behold, seven heads of grain, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.
24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me."
25 Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh.
26 The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. The dream is one.
27 The seven thin and ugly cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted with the east wind; they will be seven years of famine.
28 That is the thing which I spoke to Pharaoh. What God is about to do he has shown to Pharaoh.
29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt.
30 There will arise after them seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land,
31 and the plenty will not be known in the land by reason of that famine which follows; for it will be very grievous.
32 The dream was doubled to Pharaoh, because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
33 "Now therefore let Pharaoh look for a discreet and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.
34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt's produce in the seven plenteous years.
35 Let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it.
36 The food will be for a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt; that the land not perish through the famine."
37 The thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.
38 Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?"
39 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Because God has shown you all of this, there is none so discreet and wise as you.
40 You shall be over my house, and according to your word will all my people be ruled. Only in the throne I will be greater than you."
Translation: World English Bible