He made him a many-colored coat,
And when his brothers saw,
That their father loved him more than them all.
How they hated Joseph, evil seed was sown,
Someday soon its fruit would be known.

Then Joseph dreamed two dreams,
And they seemed to say,
That his family would bow down to him someday.
His brothers filled with envy, hated him the more,
Who do you think you are?

Now Joseph's father sent him to see his brothers one day,
While grazing their father's flock a distance away.
But when they saw him coming,
Before he came near to them,
They conspired to slay him.

Here comes that dreamer they said to each other,
Come let us slay him into a pit we'll cast our brother,
We'll say that an evil beast has devoured him,
We'll see what comes of his dreams then.

They stripped him of his colored coat and threw him into a pit,
Dipped his robe in blood, so the story would fit,
That they would tell their father,
And oh how he would mourn,
The death of his favorite son.

But then they saw some merchantmen,
And decided not to kill,
But to sell Joseph against his own will.
And they took him to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar,
Pharaoh's captain of the guard.

But the Lord was with Joseph, he was a prosperous man,
Potiphar put him in charge of all his household plans.
But his wife was eyeing Joseph,
She wanted to lay with him,
He wouldn't sin against God and do this thing.
He fled from her and she was left with his cloak in her hand,
She used it to accuse him of the evil she had planned.
When Potiphar heard her story, Joseph was prison bound,
But God blessed him there too he found.

Joseph was put in charge of the King's prisoners there,
Interpreted dreams for two of them,
After going to God in prayer.
He asked to be remembered by the butler when set free,
Plead my cause to the King for me.

After two years had passed, the King had two dreams,
No one could interpret them, but Joseph it seems.
The butler now remembered him, he told it to the King,
And Joseph was brought before him.

Joseph said to Pharaoh, God will reveal to you his plan,
Seven years of plenty will come upon the land.
Then seven years of famine, so you must prepare,
Someone to store your food with care.

Then Joseph revealed to Pharaoh the plans that God had given him,
And Pharaoh was amazed at the wisdom he'd been given.
He put him in charge of Egypt,
Dressed in necklace, robe and ring,
Next to the throne beside the King.

The seven years of plenty now had come to an end,
The famine was so severe throughout the world then,
That Jacob sent his ten sons to Egypt to buy some grain,
But kept Joseph's brother Benjamin with him.

When they came to Joseph they bowed down to him,
Joseph recognized them and remembered his dreams.
More than twenty years had gone since he saw them last,
Bringing memories of the past.

They didn't know Joseph, he asked them who they were,
They told him of their family and why they were sent there,
But Joseph roughly spoke to them, said surely you are spies,
They began to fear for their lives.

He put them into custody and kept them for three days,
Left one brother in prison, sent the others on their way.
Warning them to come back with their brother Benjamin,
To prove that they were honest men.

Then Joseph heard them speaking of their guilt to one another,
We're surely being punished for what we did unto our brother.
We knew how distressed he was but we ignored his fears,
Joseph turned away and hid his tears.

Once more they needed food and Jacob sent his sons again,
After much anguish, let Benjamin go with them.
When Joseph saw his brother, so deeply moved was he,
He hurried to his chamber to weep.

Joseph said to his steward, prepare a feast for me at noon,
I myself will serve these men,
Bring them to my room.
He set them at the table, according to their birth,
They marveled that he knew how old they were.

Now Joseph had tested his brothers twice,
He will test them once again,
Hid his silver cup in the sack of Benjamin,
Sent them away but forced them to return back to say,
Whoever has my cup will be my slave.

The cup was discovered where he knew it would be,
The brothers cried guilty, oh so fearfully.
One was willing to give himself in place of Benjamin,
Than to see their father suffer loss once again.

Joseph could not refrain himself and cried unto them,
I am Joseph your brother, is your father still living?
Don't be angry with yourselves that you sold me here,
For it was God who sent me, do not fear.

God sent me before you to preserve your lives,
Made me Lord of Egypt, you have seen with your eyes.
Go tell my father, the honor accorded me,
And bring him down here, quickly.

They went back to their father and told him of Joseph's lot,
Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.
They finally convinced him, and Jacob cried,
My son is yet alive, I'll see him before I die.

Jacob took his journey with all that he had got,
Came to Beersheba, offered sacrifices to God.
God said unto Jacob, a great nation I'll make you there,
Fear not, go down one day, I'll bring you back here.

Joseph made ready his chariot, went up to meet his father,
Threw his arms around him, wept long upon each other.
Jacob and all those with him were settled in the land,
Given the best, by Pharaoh's command.

Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years more,
And grew and multiplied as God had promised before.
Before he died he blessed his sons and made Joseph swear,
To take him back to Canaan and bury him there.

When Jacob died Joseph carried out the plan said,
But when his brothers saw that their father was dead,
They feared that Joseph would repay the evil done to him,
He wept as they begged him to forgive them.

Joseph said do not fear, as kindly as he could,
You thought evil against me, but God meant it for good.
And God will surely visit you, bring you back to the land,
Promised to our Fathers,
Through God's covenant plan.

Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten,
Was buried in Egypt but before then,
Reminded his brothers,
God would surely visit them,
And swear to carry his bones,
To the promised land then.