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| [1]Forsothe Jacob dwellide in the lond of Canaan, in which his fadir was a pilgrym; and these weren the generaciouns of hym. |
[1]AND Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a sojourner, in the land of Canaan. |
| [2]Joseph whanne he was of sixtene yeer, yit a child, kepte a flok with hise britheren, and was with the sones of Bala and Zelfa, wyues of his fadir; and he accuside his britheren at the fadir of `the worste synne. |
[2]These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers; and the lad was reared with the sons of Zilpah, and with the sons of Bilhah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father. |
| [3]Forsothe Israel louyde Joseph ouer alle hise sones, for he hadde gendrid hym in eelde; and he made to Joseph a cote of many colours. |
[3]Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a rich robe with long sleeves. |
| [4]Forsothe hise britheren sien that he was loued of the fader more than alle, and thei hatiden hym, and myyten not speke ony thing pesibli to hym. |
[4]And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him |
| [5]And it bifelde that he telde to hise britheren a sweuene seyn, which cause was `the seed of more hatrede. |
[5]And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him yet the more. |
| [6]And Joseph seide to his britheren, Here ye the sweuene which Y seiy, |
[6]And he said to them, Listen to this dream which I have dreamed: |
| [7]Y gesside that we bounden to gidere handfuls, and that as myn handful roos, and stood, and that youre handfuls stoden aboute and worschipiden myn handful. |
[7]Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose and stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about and bowed down to my sheaf. |
| [8]Hise britheren answerden, Whether thou shalt be oure kyng, ethir we shulen be maad suget to thi lordschip? Therfor this cause of sweuenys and wordis mynystride the nurschyng of enuye, and of hatrede. |
[8]And his brothers said to him, Are you indeed going to reign over us? Or are you going to have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. |
| [9]Also Joseph seiy another sweuene, which he telde to the britheren, and seide, Y seiy bi a sweuene that as the sunne, and moone, and enleuen sterris worschipiden me. |
[9]And he dreamed another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars bowed down to me. |
| [10]And whanne he hadde teld this sweuene to his fadir, and britheren, his fadir blamyde him, and seide, What wole this sweuene to it silf which thou hast seyn? Whether Y and thi modir, and thi britheren, schulen worschipe thee on erthe? |
[10]And when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down ourselves to the ground to you? |
| [11]Therfor hise britheren hadden enuye to hym. Forsothe the fadir bihelde pryuely the thing, |
[11]And his brothers envied him; but his father observed the sayings |
| [12]and whanne his britheren dwelliden in Sichem, aboute flockis of the fadir `to be kept, |
[12]And Joseph's brothers went to feed their father's, flock in Shechem. |
| [13]Israel seide to Joseph, Thi britheren kepen scheep in Sichymys; come thou, Y schal sende thee to hem. |
[13]And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, your brothers are feeding the flocks in Shechem; come, I will send you to them. And he said to him, Here am I. |
| [14]And whanne Joseph answerde, Y am redi, Israel seide, Go thou, and se whether alle thingis ben esi anentis thi britheren, and scheep; and telle thou to me what is doon. He was sent fro the valey of Ebron, and cam into Sichem; |
[14]Then his father said to him, Go, see whether it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So Jacob sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. |
| [15]and a man foond hym errynge in the feeld, and `the man axide, what he souyte. |
[15]And a certain man found him while he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, and said to him, What are you seeking? |
| [16]And he answerde, Y seke my britheren, schewe thou to me where thei kepten flockis. |
[16]And he said, I am seeking my brothers; do tell me where they are feeding their flocks. |
| [17]And the man seide to hym, Thei yeden awei fro this place; forsothe Y herde hem seiynge, Go we into Dothaym. And Joseph yede aftir his britheren, and foond hem in Dothaym. |
[17]And the man said, They have departed from here; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan. |
| [18]And whanne thei hadden seyn hym afer, bifor that he neiyede to hem, |
[18]And they saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. |
| [19]thei thouyten to sle hym, and spaken to gidere, Lo! the dremere cometh, come ye, |
[19]And they said to one another, Behold, here comes the dreamer. |
| [20]sle we hym, and sende we into an eld sisterne, and we schulen seie, A wielde beeste ful wickid hath deuourid hym; and thanne it schal appere what hise dremes profiten to hym. |
[20]Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and throw him into one of the pits; and then we will say that a wild beast has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams. |
| [21]Sotheli Ruben herde this, and enforside to delyuere hym fro her hondis, |
[21]And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and he said to them, Let us not kill him. |
| [22]and seide, Sle we not the lijf of hym, nether schede we out his blood, but caste ye hym into an eeld cisterne, which is in the wildirnesse, and kepe ye youre hondis gilteles. Forsothe he seide this, willynge to delyuere hym fro her hondis, and to yelde to his fadir. |
[22]And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood; throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not harm him; that he might deliver him from their hands, and bring him back to his father |
| [23]Therfor anoon as Joseph cam to hise britheren, thei dispuyliden hym of the coote, doun to the heele, and of many colours, and senten into the eeld cisterne, |
[23]And it came to pass, when Joseph was come to his brothers, they stripped him of the rich robe that he was wearing; |
| [24]that hadde no water. |
[24]And they took him, and threw him into a pit; and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. |
| [25]And thei saten `to ete breed; and thei sien that Ismaelitis weigoers camen fro Galaad, and that her camels baren swete smellynge spiceries, and `rosyn, and stacten, into Egipt. |
[25]And they sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a caravan of Arabians coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to carry it down to Egypt. |
| [26]Therfor Judas seide to hise britheren, What schal it profite to vs, if we schulen sle oure brother, and schulen hide his blood? |
[26]And Judah said to his brothers, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? |
| [27]It is betere that he be seeld to Ismalitis, and oure hondis be not defoulid, for he is oure brother and fleisch. The britheren assentiden to these wordis; |
[27]Come, let us sell him to the Arabians, and let us not harm him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brothers listened to him. |
| [28]and whanne marchauntis of Madian passiden forth, thei drowen hym out of the cisterne, and seelden hym to Ismaelitis, for thriytti platis of siluer; whiche ledden hym in to Egipt. |
[28]Then some Midianite merchants passed by; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Arabians for twenty pieces of silver; and they brought him into Egypt. |
| [29]And Ruben turnede ayen to the cisterne, and foond not the child; |
[29]And then Reuben returned to the pit, and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. |
| [30]and he to-rente his closis, and he yede to hise britheren, and seide, The child apperith not, and whidir schal Y go? |
[30]And he returned to his brothers, and said to them, Where is the boy; and as for me, where shall I go |
| [31]Forsothe thei token his coote, and dippiden in the blood of a kide, which thei hadden slayn; and senten men that baren to the fadir, |
[31]And they took Joseph's robe, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the robe in the blood; |
| [32]and seiden, We han founde this coote, se, whether it is the coote of thi sone, ether nai. |
[32]And they sent the robe with long sleeves, and they brought it to their father; and said, This we have found: know now whether it be your son's coat or not. |
| [33]And whanne the fader hadde knowe it, he seide, It is the coote of my sone, a wielde beeste ful wickid hath ete hym, a beeste hath deuourid Joseph. |
[33]And he recognized it, and said, It is my son's coat; a wild beast has devoured him; my son Joseph is surely torn to pieces. |
| [34]And he to-rente his clothis, and he was clothid with an heire, and biweilide his sone in myche tyme. |
[34]Then Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. |
| [35]Sothely whanne hise fre children weren gaderid to gidere, that thei schulden peese the sorewe of the fadir, he nolde take counfort, but seide, Y schal go doun in to helle, and schal biweile my sone. And the while Jacob contynude in wepyng, |
[35]And all his sons and all his daughters made an effort to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, I will go down to Sheol, to my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him. |
| [36]Madianytis seelden Joseph into Egipt to Putifar, chast `and onest seruaunt of Farao, maistir of the chyualrie. |
[36]And the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officers, the commander of the guard |