Genesis 37:18-24

International Children’s Bible

Joseph Sold into Slavery

¹⁸ Joseph’s brothers saw him coming from far away. Before he reached them, they made a plan to kill him. ¹⁹ They said to each other, “Here comes that dreamer. ²⁰ Let’s kill him and throw his body into one of the wells. We can tell our father that a wild animal killed him. Then we will see what will become of his dreams.”

²¹ But Reuben heard their plan and saved Joseph. He said, “Let’s not kill him. ²² Don’t spill any blood. Throw him into this well here in the desert. But don’t hurt him!” Reuben planned to save Joseph later and send him back to his father. ²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they pulled off his robe with long sleeves. ²⁴ Then they threw him into the well. It was empty. There was no water in it.