15. a man came upon him as he was wandering about in the fields. “What are you looking for?” the man asked him.
16. “I am looking for my brothers,” he answered. “Please tell me where they are tending the flocks.”
17. The man told him, “They have moved on from here; in fact, I heard them say, ‘Let us go on to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
18. They saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
19. They said to one another: “Here comes that dreamer!
20. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We will see then what comes of his dreams.”
21. But when Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying: “We must not take his life.”
22. Then Reuben said, “Do not shed blood! Throw him into this cistern in the wilderness; but do not lay a hand on him.” His purpose was to save him from their hands and restore him to his father.
23. So when Joseph came up to his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the long ornamented tunic he had on;
24. then they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
25. Then they sat down to eat. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, balm, and resin to be taken down to Egypt.
26. Judah said to his brothers: “What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood?
27. Come, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed.
28. Midianite traders passed by, and they pulled Joseph up out of the cistern. They sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
29. When Reuben went back to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not in it, he tore his garments,
30. and returning to his brothers, he exclaimed: “The boy is gone! And I—where can I turn?”
31. They took Joseph’s tunic, and after slaughtering a goat, dipped the tunic in its blood.