¹Zvino Jakove akagara munyika youtorwa hwababa vake, munyika yeKanani.

¹Jacob lived in the land of his father’s travels, in the land of Canaan.

²Marudzi aJakove ndiwo: Josefa akanga ana makore ane gumi namano­mwe, akafudza makwai pamwechete navakoma vake; akanga achiri muko­mana pamwechete navanakomana vaBhiriha, navanakomana vaZiripa, vaka­dzi vababa vake; Josefa akasivaudzira kuna baba vavo.

²This is the history of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father.

³Zvino Isiraeri akanga achida Josefa kupfuura vana vake vose, nekuti aiva mwanakomana woutana hwake; aka­muitira nguvo yakanga yakareba ina maoko.

³Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a coat of many colors.

⁴Vakoma vake vakaona kuti baba vavo vanomuda kupfuura vakoma vake vose; vakamuvenga, vakasagona kutaura naye nomufaro.

⁴His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn’t speak peaceably to him.

⁵Zvino Josefa akarota hope, akau­dza vakoma vake, ipapo vakanyanya kumuvenga.

⁵Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more.

⁶Akati kwavari, Inzwaiwo hope dzangu dzandarota.

⁶He said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:

⁷Tarirai, taka­nga tichisunga zvisote mumunda, onei chisote changu chikasimuka, chikara­mba chimire; ndikaona zvisote zvenyu zvichikomba changu, zvikakotama pa­mberi pechisote changu.

⁷for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf.”

⁸Vakoma vake vakati kwaari, Ko iwe uchabata ushe pamusoro pedu kanhi? Ko iwe uchava nesimba pamusoro pedu kanhi? Vakanyanya kumuvenga nokuda kokurota kwake nokwamashoko ake.

⁸His brothers said to him, “Will you indeed reign over us? Or will you indeed have dominion over us?” They hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹Akapamha kurotazve, akaudza va­koma vake, akati, Tarirai, ndarotazve dzimwe hope; ndakaona zuva, nomwedzi, nenyeredzi dzine gumi neimwe, dzichi­kotamira pamberi pangu.

⁹He dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.”

¹⁰Akaudza baba vake navakoma vake izvozvo; baba vake vakamutuka, vakati kwaari, Kurota kwako uku kwa­warota kurota kunyi? Ini namai vako navakoma vako tichauya tikakotama pasi pamberi pako kanhi?

¹⁰He 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? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to you to the earth?”

¹¹Vakoma vake vakamugodora; asi baba vake vakache­ngeta shoko iro.

¹¹His brothers envied him, but his father kept this saying in mind.

¹²Zvino vakoma vake vakandofudza makwai ababa vavo paShekemu.

¹²His brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.

¹³Isiraeri akati kuna Josefa, Vakoma vako havafudzi makwai paShe­kemu here? Uya ndikutumire kwavari. Iye akati, Ndiri pano hangu.

¹³Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” He said to him, “Here I am.”

¹⁴Akati kwaari, Zvino chienda undo­tarira kana vakoma vako vakafara, nama­kwai kana akafarawo; ugodzoka kuzondiu­dza. Naizvozvo akamutuma, ari pamupata weHebhuroni, akandosvika Shekemu.

¹⁴He said to him, “Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again.” So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

¹⁵Zvino mumwe murume akamuwana achidzungaira musango; murume akamu­bvunza, akati, Unotsvakeiko?

¹⁵A certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶Iye akati, Ndinotsvaka vakoma vangu; dondiudza hako kwavanofudza makwai.

¹⁶He said, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are feeding the flock.”

¹⁷Murume akati, Vabva pano, no­kuti ndakavanzwa vachiti, Ngatiende Dhotani. Josefa akatevera vakoma vake, akandovawana paDhotani.

¹⁷The man said, “They have left here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan.

¹⁸Ivo vakamuona achiri kure; zvino asati asvika kwavari, vakarangana kuti vamuuraye.

¹⁸They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him.

¹⁹Vakataurirana, vachiti, Hoyo muroti uya wauya.

¹⁹They said one to another, “Behold, this dreamer comes.

²⁰Uyai zvino timuuraye, timukandire mune rimwe ra­makomba aya, tigoti, Wadyiwa nechi­kara; tigoona kuti kurota kwake kucha­zoitwa seiko.

²⁰Come now therefore, and let’s kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, ‘An evil animal has devoured him.’ We will see what will become of his dreams.”

²¹Rubheni akazvinzwa, akamurwira mumaoko avo, akati, Ngatirege kumuu­raya.

²¹Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, “Let’s not take his life.”

²²Rubheni akati kwavari, Musa­durura ropa; mukandirei mugomba iri riri musango, asi regai kutambanudza maoko enyu kwaari; kuti amurwire pamaoko avo, agomudzosera kuna baba vake.

²²Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.

²³Zvino Josefa akati asvika kuvakoma vake, vakabvisira Josefa nguvo yake, nguvo iya yakanga yakareba ina maoko, yaaka­nga akafuka;

²³It happened, when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him;

²⁴vakamutora, vakamuka­ndira mugomba; gomba rakanga risina chinhu, makanga musina mvura.

²⁴and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.

²⁵Vakagara pasi, vakadya zvokudya; zvino vakasimudza meso avo, vakatarira, vakaona boka ravaIshimaeri vachifamba, vachibva Giriyadhi, makamera avo akata­kura zvinhu zvinonhuhwira, nebarisami, nemura, vachindozviisa Egipita.

²⁵They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

²⁶Zvino Judha akati kuvana vababa vake, Tinga­waneiko kana tikauraya munin'ina wedu tichivanza ropa rake?

²⁶Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

²⁷Uyai timutengese kuvaIshimaeri; maoko edu arege kuva kwaari; nekuti munun una wedu, nyama imwe nesu. Vana vababa vake vakamuteerera.

²⁷Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh.” His brothers listened to him.

²⁸Zvino vatengesi vavaMidhiani vakapfuurapo, vakakwidza Josefa vachi­mubudisa mugomba, vakatengesa Josefa kuvaIshimaeri namashekeri ana makumi maviri; ivo vakaisa Josefa Egipita.

²⁸Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. They brought Joseph into Egypt.

²⁹Zvino Rubheni akadzokera kugo­mba, akawana Josefa asisimo mugomba; akabvarura nguvo dzake.

²⁹Reuben returned to the pit; and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the pit; and he tore his clothes.

³⁰Akadzokera kuvanin'ina vake, akati, Mwana haa­chipo; ini zvino ndichaendepiko?

³⁰He returned to his brothers, and said, “The child is no more; and I, where will I go?”

³¹Zvino vakatora nguvo yaJosefa, va­kauraya nhongo yembudzi, vakanyika nguvo muropa;

³¹They took Joseph’s coat, and killed a male goat, and dipped the coat in the blood.

³²vakatumira nguvo iyo yakareba ina maoko kuna baba vavo, vakati, Tanonga chinhu ichi; fananidzai zvakanaka kana iri nguvo yomwanako­mana wenyu, kana isati iri iyo.

³²They took the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, “We have found this. Examine it, now, whether it is your son’s coat or not.”

³³Ivo vakafananidza vakati, Inguvo yomwanakomana wangu; wadyiwa ne­chikara; Josefa zvirokwazvo wapara­dzwa.

³³He recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s coat. An evil animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.”

³⁴Jakove akabvarura nguvo dzake, akasimira madhumbu pachiuno chake, akachema mwanakomana wake mazuva mazhinji.

³⁴Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

³⁵Vanakomana vake vose navakunda vake vose vakasimuka vakamunyaradza; asi akaramba kunyara­dzwa, akati, Ndichaburukira kuguva kumwanakomana wangu, ndichichema. Baba vake vakamuwungudzira.

³⁵All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “For I will go down to Sheol Sheol is the place of the dead. to my son mourning.” His father wept for him.

³⁶Zvino vaMidhiani vakandomute­ngesa Egipita kuna Potifari, muranda waFarao, mukuru wavarindi.

³⁶The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.