25. When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt.
26. Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
27. Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him, for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed.
28. So when the Midianite merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites then took Joseph to Egypt.
29. Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! He tore his clothes,
30. returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?”
31. So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a young goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood.