Joseph Sold by His Brothers
12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this cdreamer. 20 Come now, let us dkill him and throw him into one of the pits.1 Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 eBut when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a fpit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of gIshmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing hgum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, i“What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then jMidianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and ksold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels2 of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
29 lWhen Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 mThen they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please nidentify whether it is your son’s robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. oA fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to pcomfort him, but he qrefused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall rgo down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had ssold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, tthe captain of the guard.
O God of Our Salvation
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 Praise is due to you,1 O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed.
2 O you who hear prayer,
lto you shall all flesh come.
3 When iniquities prevail against me,
you matone for our transgressions.
4 nBlessed is the one you choose and bring near,
oto dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
5 By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
6 the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being pgirded with might;
7 who qstills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the rtumult of the peoples,
8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
The Purpose of the Parables
10 eThen the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, f“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For gto the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
h“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But iblessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people jlonged to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
