Genesis 37

37 ¹Jacob come stay for di land wia im papa bin dey live as stranger, di land of Canaan. ²Na dis one be Jacob family record. Joseph, wey bin be young man wey dey seventeen years, dey mind di flock wit im broda dem, di pikin dem of Bilhah and Zilpah, im papa wife dem—and e carry bad report about dem come give dia papa. ³Israel love Joseph pass all im oda pikin dem, bikos e born am wen e don old, and e make one robe of plenty colour give am. ⁴Wen im broda dem see say dia papa love am pass all of dem, dem hate am and dem no fit talk any good word give am.

⁵Joseph dream one dream and e tell im broda dem, and dem come hate am even more. ⁶E tell dem, “Make una hear dis dream wey I dream: ⁷Sharparly, we dey tie bundle of corn for di farm, and sharparly, my own bundle rise and stand upright, and sharparly, una bundle dem gada round and bow down give am.”

⁸Im broda dem tell am, “You go really rule ova us? You go truly be oga ova us?” So dem come hate am even more bikos of im dream dem and im word dem. ⁹E dream again and e tell im broda dem, “Look, I dream anoda dream—di sun, moon, and eleven star dem dey bow down give me.” ¹⁰Wen e tell im papa and im broda dem, im papa scold am: “Wetin be dis dream wey you dream? Me, your mama, and your broda dem go really come bow down for ground before you?” ¹¹Im broda dem dey jealous am, but im papa keep di matter for mind.

Dem Send Am go Meet Im Broda Dem

¹²Now im broda dem don go dey graze dia papa flock near Shechem. ¹³Israel tell Joseph, “Abi your broda dem no dey graze di flock for Shechem? Come, I go send you go meet dem.” “I dey here,” na so e answer.

¹⁴E tell am, “Go see how your broda dem and di flock dey do, and bring me word.” So e send am komot from di Valley of Hebron, and Joseph come reach Shechem. ¹⁵One man see am as e dey waka up and down for di field and e ask am, “Wetin you dey look for?”

¹⁶E answer, “Na my broda dem I dey look for. Abeg, you fit tell me wia dem dey graze dia flock?”

¹⁷“Dem don komot from here,” na so di man talk. “I hear dem say, ‘Make we go Dothan.’” Joseph waka go afta im broda dem and e find dem for Dothan.

¹⁸Dem see am from far, and before e reach dem, dem plan to kill am.

¹⁹“See di dreamer dey come!” na so dem talk to one anoda. ²⁰“Now come, make we kill am, throw am inside one of di pit dem, and say wild animal chop am. Den we go see wetin go happen to im dream dem.”

²¹Reuben hear and e try to save am komot from dia hand. “Make we no take im life,” na so e talk. ²²Reuben tell dem, “No pour blood—throw am inside dis pit wey dey for desert, but no touch am.” Reuben talk dis one so dat e go fit save Joseph komot from dem and carry am go back give im papa. ²³Wen Joseph reach im broda dem, dem strip im robe komot for im body—di robe of plenty colour wey e dey wear. ²⁴Dem carry am and throw am inside di pit. Di pit bin empty, no water dey inside am.

²⁵Dem sidon to chop, dem look up, and dem see one caravan of Ishmaelite dey come from Gilead, dia camel dem dey carry spice, balm, and myrrh, dey go down to Egypt. ²⁶Judah tell im broda dem, “Wetin we go gain if we kill our broda and hide im blood? ²⁷Come, make we sell am give di Ishmaelite dem, make we no do am wahala for our own hand—na our broda, na our own flesh.” Im broda dem gree. ²⁸As di Midianite trader dem dey pass, im broda dem lift Joseph komot from di pit and sell am give di Ishmaelite dem for twenty piece of silver, and di Ishmaelite dem carry am go Egypt.

²⁹Wen Reuben come back to di pit and see say Joseph no dey dia, e tear im cloth. ³⁰E go back to im broda dem and talk, “Di boy don go! Wia I go turn go now?”

³¹Den dem take Joseph robe, kill one goat, and soak di robe inside di blood. ³²Dem send di robe of plenty colour and bring am come give dia papa, dem talk, “Na dis one we find. Check am well: na your pikin robe, abi no be?”

³³E recognise am: “Na my pikin robe—dangerous animal don chop am! For sure, dem don tear Joseph into pieces.” ³⁴Den Jacob tear im cloth, wear mourning cloth, and e cry for im pikin for plenty days. ³⁵All im son and daughter dem come to comfort am, but e refuse make dem comfort am, e dey talk, “No, na wit mourning I go go down go meet my pikin for grave.” So im papa cry for am. ^a a v35 Sheol na di place of di dead—one shadowy place wia everybody dey go wen e die, no be di later New Testament idea of hell as place of judgement. ³⁶Now di Midianite dem sell Joseph for Egypt give Potiphar, one Pharaoh official and captain of di guard.