American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.
These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought the evil report of them unto their father.
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him {Or, a long garment with sleeves}a coat of many colors.
And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren; and they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves came round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed yet a dream: and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me.
And he told it to his father, and to his brethren; and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the saying in mind.
And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
And Israel said unto Joseph, Are not thy brethren feeding the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
And he said to him, Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren, 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.
And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
And he said, I am seeking my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they are feeding the flock.
And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
And they saw him afar off, and before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
And they said one to another, Behold, this {Hebrew: master of dreams.}dreamer cometh.
Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, An evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, Let us not take his life.
And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him: that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.
And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him;
and they took him, and cast him into the pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing {Or, gum tragacanth Or, storax}spicery and {Or, mastic}balm and {Or, ladanum}myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood?
Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened unto him.
And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt.
And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat in the blood;
and they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, This have we found: know now whether it is thy son's coat or not.
And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat: an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.
And Jacob rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning. And his father wept for him.
And the {Hebrew: Medanites.}Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the {Hebrew: chief of the executioners.}captain of the guard.
thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people {Or, order themselves Or, do homage}be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, {Abrech, probably an Egyptian word, similar in sound to the Hebrew word meaning to kneel.}Bow the knee: and he set him over all the land of Egypt.
Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy grain from Egypt.
And Joseph was the governor over the land; he it was that sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves to him with their faces to the earth.
And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly with them; and he said unto them. Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
And they said, We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
hereby ye shall be proved: by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
And he put them all together into ward three days.
And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
Then Joseph commanded to fill their vessels with grain, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provisions for the way: and thus was it done unto them.
And their father Israel said unto them, If it be so now, do this: take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and myrrh, {That is, pistachio nuts}nuts, and almonds;
and take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:
take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:
and {Hebrew: El Shaddai.}God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release unto you your other brother and Benjamin. And if I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.
And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his grain money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.
As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.
And when they were gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?
Is not this that in which my lord drinketh, and whereby he indeed divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.
And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these words.
And they said unto him, Wherefore speaketh my lord such words as these? Far be it from thy servants that they should do such a thing.
Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold?
With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.
And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my bondman; and ye shall be blameless.
Then they hasted, and took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.
And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left off at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.
And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; and he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.
And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? know ye not that such a man as I can indeed divine?
And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is found.
And he said, Far be it from me that I should do so: the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my bondman; but as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.
Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh, my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant; for thou art even as Pharaoh.
My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?
And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother; and his father loveth him.
And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.
And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.
And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.
And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
And our father said, Go again, buy us a little food.
And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.
And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:
and the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I have not seen him since:
and if ye take this one also from me, and harm befall him, ye will bring down my gray hairs with {Hebrew: evil.}sorrow to Sheol.
Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us; seeing that {Or, his soul is knit with the lad's soul See 1 Samuel 18:1}his life is bound up in the lad's life;
it will come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants will bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to Sheol.
For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then shall I bear the blame to my father for ever.
Now therefore, let thy servant, I pray thee, abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.
For how shall I go up to my father, if the lad be not with me? lest I see the evil that shall come on my father.
And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is found.
A Psalm of David. Maschil.Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,Whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man unto whom Jehovah imputeth not iniquity,And in whose spirit there is no guile.
When I kept silence, my bones wasted awayThrough my {Hebrew: roaring.}groaning all the day long.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me:My moisture was changed {Or, into the}as with the drought of summer. [Selah
I acknowledged my sin unto thee,And mine iniquity did I not hide:I said, I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah;And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. [Selah
For this let every one that is godly pray unto thee {Or, in the time of finding out sin}in a time when thou mayest be found:Surely when the great waters overflow they shall not reach unto him.
Thou art my hiding-place; thou wilt preserve me from trouble;Thou wilt compass me about with songs of deliverance. [Selah
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:I will counsel thee with mine eye upon thee.
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding;Whose trappings must be bit and bridle to hold them in, {Or, That they come not near}Else they will not come near unto thee.
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;But he that trusteth in Jehovah, lovingkindness shall compass him about.
Be glad in Jehovah, and rejoice, ye righteous;And shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.
Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood before him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
And he {Hebrew: gave forth his voice in weeping.}wept aloud: and the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and there are yet five years, in which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest.
And God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive {Or, to be a great company that escape}by a great deliverance.
So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not;
and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
and there will I nourish thee; for there are yet five years of famine; lest thou come to poverty, thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast.
And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen: and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
And he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
And the report thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye: lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
and take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
Now thou art commanded, this do ye: take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
And the sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.
And to his father he sent after this manner: ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with grain and bread and provision for his father by the way.
So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father.
And they told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt. And his heart fainted, for he believed them not.
And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:
and Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
And they sent a message unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for that they did unto thee evil. And now, we pray thee, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.