Joseph and His Brothers

¹Jacob continued to live in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived,

²and this is the story of Jacob's family. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, took care of the sheep and goats with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's concubines. He brought bad reports to his father about what his brothers were doing.

³Jacob loved Joseph more than all his other sons, because he had been born to him when he was old. He made a long robe with full sleeves for him.

⁴When his brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than he loved them, they hated their brother so much that they would not speak to him in a friendly manner.

⁵One time Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more.

⁶He said, “Listen to the dream I had.

⁷We were all in the field tying up sheaves of wheat, when my sheaf got up and stood up straight. Yours formed a circle around mine and bowed down to it.”

⁸“Do you think you are going to be a king and rule over us?” his brothers asked. So they hated him even more because of his dreams and because of what he said about them.

⁹Then Joseph had another dream and told his brothers, “I had another dream, in which I saw the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down to me.”

¹⁰He also told the dream to his father, and his father scolded him: “What kind of a dream is that? Do you think that your mother, your brothers, and I are going to come and bow down to you?”

¹¹Joseph's brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept thinking about the whole matter.

Joseph Is Sold and Taken to Egypt

¹²One day when Joseph's brothers had gone to Shechem to take care of their father's flock,

¹³Jacob said to Joseph, “I want you to go to Shechem, where your brothers are taking care of the flock.” Joseph answered, “I am ready.”

¹⁴His father told him, “Go and see if your brothers are safe and if the flock is all right; then come back and tell me.” So his father sent him on his way from Hebron Valley. Joseph arrived at Shechem

¹⁵and was wandering around in the country when a man saw him and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶“I am looking for my brothers, who are taking care of their flock,” he answered. “Can you tell me where they are?”

¹⁷The man said, “They have already left. I heard them say that they were going to Dothan.” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

¹⁸They saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted against him and decided to kill him.

¹⁹They said to one another, “Here comes that dreamer.

²⁰Come on now, let's kill him and throw his body into one of the dry wells. We can say that a wild animal killed him. Then we will see what becomes of his dreams.”

²¹Reuben heard them and tried to save Joseph. “Let's not kill him,” he said.

²²“Just throw him into this well in the wilderness, but don't hurt him.” He said this, planning to save him from them and send him back to his father.

²³When Joseph came up to his brothers, they ripped off his long robe with full sleeves.

²⁴Then they took him and threw him into the well, which was dry.

²⁵While they were eating, they suddenly saw a group of Ishmaelites traveling from Gilead to Egypt. Their camels were loaded with spices and resins.

²⁶Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother and covering up the murder?

²⁷Let's sell him to these Ishmaelites. Then we won't have to hurt him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed,

²⁸and when some Midianite traders came by, the brothers pulled Joseph out of the well and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

²⁹When Reuben came back to the well and found that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes in sorrow.

³⁰He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there! What am I going to do?”

³¹Then they killed a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in its blood.

³²They took the robe to their father and said, “We found this. Does it belong to your son?”

³³He recognized it and said, “Yes, it is his! Some wild animal has killed him. My son Joseph has been torn to pieces!”

³⁴Jacob tore his clothes in sorrow and put on sackcloth. He mourned for his son a long time.

³⁵All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “I will go down to the world of the dead still mourning for my son.” So he continued to mourn for his son Joseph.

³⁶Meanwhile, in Egypt the Midianites had sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of the king's officers, who was the captain of the palace guard.

^1-2I swear by the living Almighty God, who refuses me justice and makes my life bitter—

³as long as God gives me breath,

⁴my lips will never say anything evil, my tongue will never tell a lie.

⁵I will never say that you men are right; I will insist on my innocence to my dying day.

⁶I will never give up my claim to be right; my conscience is clear.

⁷May all who oppose me and fight against me be punished like the wicked and the unrighteous.

⁸What hope is there for the godless in the hour when God demands their life?

⁹When trouble comes, will God hear their cries?

¹⁰They should have desired the joy he gives; they should have constantly prayed to him.

¹¹Let me teach you how great is God's power, and explain what Almighty God has planned.

¹²But no, after all, you have seen for yourselves; so why do you talk such nonsense?

[Zophar]

¹³This is how Almighty God punishes wicked, violent people.

¹⁴They may have many sons, but all will be killed in war; their children never have enough to eat.

¹⁵Those who survive will die from disease, and even their widows will not mourn their death.

¹⁶The wicked may have too much silver to count and more clothes than anyone needs;

¹⁷but some good person will wear the clothes, and someone honest will get the silver.

¹⁸The wicked build houses like a spider's web or like the hut of a slave guarding the fields.

¹⁹One last time they will lie down rich, and when they wake up, they will find their wealth gone.

²⁰Terror will strike like a sudden flood; a wind in the night will blow them away;

²¹the east wind will sweep them from their homes;

²²it will blow down on them without pity while they try their best to escape.

²³The wind howls at them as they run, frightening them with destructive power.

In Praise of Wisdom

¹There are mines where silver is dug; There are places where gold is refined.

²We dig iron out of the ground And melt copper out of the stones.

³Miners explore the deepest darkness. They search the depths of the earth And dig for rocks in the darkness.

⁴Far from where anyone lives Or human feet ever travel, They dig the shafts of mines. There they work in loneliness, Clinging to ropes in the pits.

⁵Food grows out of the earth, But underneath the same earth All is torn up and crushed.

⁶The stones of the earth contain sapphires, And its dust contains gold.

⁷No hawk sees the roads to the mines, And no vulture ever flies over them.

⁸No lion or other fierce beast Ever travels those lonely roads.

⁹Miners dig the hardest rocks, Dig mountains away at their base.

¹⁰As they tunnel through the rocks, They discover precious stones.

¹¹They dig to the sources of rivers And bring to light what is hidden.

¹²But where can wisdom be found? Where can we learn to understand?

¹³Wisdom is not to be found among mortals; No one knows its true value.

¹⁴The depths of the oceans and seas Say that wisdom is not found there.

¹⁵It cannot be bought with silver or gold.

¹⁶The finest gold and jewels Cannot equal its value.

¹⁷It is worth more than gold, Than a gold vase or finest glass.

¹⁸The value of wisdom is more Than coral or crystal or rubies.

¹⁹The finest topaz and the purest gold Cannot compare with the value of wisdom.

²⁰Where, then, is the source of wisdom? Where can we learn to understand?

²¹No living creature can see it, Not even a bird in flight.

²²Even death and destruction Admit they have heard only rumors.

²³God alone knows the way, Knows the place where wisdom is found,

²⁴Because he sees the ends of the earth, Sees everything under the sky.

²⁵When God gave the wind its power And determined the size of the sea;

²⁶When God decided where the rain would fall, And the path that the thunderclouds travel;

²⁷It was then he saw wisdom and tested its worth— He gave it his approval.

²⁸God said to us humans, “To be wise, you must have reverence for the Lord. To understand, you must turn from evil.”

²⁵You will not have to worry about sudden disasters, such as come on the wicked like a storm.

²⁶The Lord will keep you safe. He will not let you fall into a trap.

²⁷Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it.