What is more, I pledged my life to my father for the boy. I told him that if I did not bring the boy back to him, I would bear the blame all my life.

Judah said to his father, "Send the boy with me, and we will leave at once. Then none of us will starve to death.

I will pledge my own life, and you can hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you safe and sound, I will always bear the blame.

"Suppose two Israelites go to court to settle a dispute, and one is declared innocent and the other guilty.

"But now, O God, what can we say after all that has happened? We have again disobeyed the commands

LORD God of Israel, you are just, but you have let us survive. We confess our guilt to you; we have no right to come into your presence."

(SEE 40:3)

Condemning the innocent or letting the wicked go---both are hateful to the LORD.

So now my friend says, "You people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, judge between my vineyard and me.

You, Lord, always do what is right, but we have always brought disgrace on ourselves. This is true of all of us who live in Judea and in Jerusalem and of all the Israelites whom you scattered in countries near and far because they were unfaithful to you.

When the people heard this, they were deeply troubled and said to Peter and the other apostles, "What shall we do, brothers?"

They saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted against him and decided to kill him.

Come on now, let's kill him and throw his body into one of the dry wells. We can say that a wild animal killed him. Then we will see what becomes of his dreams."

"Just throw him into this well in the wilderness, but don't hurt him." He said this, planning to save him from them and send him back to his father.

Then they took him and threw him into the well, which was dry.

Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain by killing our brother and covering up the murder?

and when some Midianite traders came by, the brothers pulled Joseph out of the well and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

and said to one another, "Yes, now we are suffering the consequences of what we did to our brother; we saw the great trouble he was in when he begged for help, but we would not listen. That is why we are in this trouble now."

Reuben said, "I told you not to harm the boy, but you wouldn't listen. And now we are being paid back for his death."

But if you do not keep your promise, I warn you that you will be sinning against the LORD. Make no mistake about it; you will be punished for your sin.

The LORD's command to Israel not to take from Jericho anything that was to be destroyed was not obeyed. A man named Achan disobeyed that order, and so the LORD was furious with the Israelites. (Achan was the son of Carmi and grandson of Zabdi, and belonged to the clan of Zerah, a part of the tribe of Judah.)

He then brought Zabdi's family forward, one by one, and Achan, the son of Carmi and grandson of Zabdi, was picked out.

Adonibezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. God has now done to me what I did to them." He was taken to Jerusalem, where he died.

Someone guilty of murder is digging his own grave as fast as he can. Don't try to stop him.

for God will judge you in the same way you judge others, and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others.

Whatever is covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known.

I will pledge my own life, and you can hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you safe and sound, I will always bear the blame.

But Israel's sins will be forgiven only when the stones of pagan altars are ground up like chalk, and no more incense altars or symbols of the goddess Asherah are left.

You, Lord, always do what is right, but we have always brought disgrace on ourselves. This is true of all of us who live in Judea and in Jerusalem and of all the Israelites whom you scattered in countries near and far because they were unfaithful to you.

Sir, if any one of us is found to have it, he will be put to death, and the rest of us will become your slaves."

We were all in the field tying up sheaves of wheat, when my sheaf got up and stood up straight. Yours formed a circle around mine and bowed down to it."

Then Joseph had another dream and told his brothers, "I had another dream, in which I saw the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down to me."