16 He replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are taking care of their flocks?"
17 "They've moved on from here," the man answered. "I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.' " So Joseph went to look for his brothers. He found them near Dothan.
18 But they saw him a long way off. Before he reached them, they made plans to kill him.
19 "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to one another.
20 "Come. Let's kill him. Let's throw him into one of these empty wells. Let's say that a wild animal ate him up. Then we'll see whether his dreams will come true."
21 Reuben heard them. He tried to save Joseph from them. "Let's not take his life," he said.
22 "Let's not spill any blood. Throw him into this empty well here in the desert. But don't harm him yourselves." Reuben said that to save Joseph from them. He was hoping he could take him back to his father.