20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!”
21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph from their hands, saying, “Let’s not take his life!”
22 Reuben continued, “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” (Reuben said this so he could rescue Joseph from them and take him back to his father.)
23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore.
24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.)
25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt.
26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?