Genesis 39

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

1Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

2The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

8But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

11One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

13When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

16She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

19When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

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Genesis 39

Joseph Is Sold to Potiphar

1Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar was an officer to the king of Egypt. He was the captain of the palace guard. He bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man. He lived in the house of his master, Potiphar the Egyptian.

3Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph. He saw that the Lord made Joseph successful in everything he did. 4So Potiphar was very happy with Joseph. He allowed Joseph to be his personal servant. He put Joseph in charge of the house. Joseph was trusted with everything Potiphar owned. 5So Joseph was put in charge of the house. He was put in charge of everything Potiphar owned. Then the Lord blessed the people in Potiphar’s house because of Joseph. And the Lord blessed everything that belonged to Potiphar, both in the house and in the field. 6So Potiphar put Joseph in charge of everything he owned. Potiphar was not concerned about anything, except the food he ate.

Joseph Is Put into Prison

Now Joseph was well built and handsome. 7After some time the wife of Joseph’s master began to desire Joseph. One day she said to him, “Have physical relations with me.”

8But Joseph refused. He said to her, “My master trusts me with everything in his house. He has put me in charge of everything he owns. 9There is no one in his house greater than I. He has not kept anything from me, except you. And that is because you are his wife. How can I do such an evil thing? It is a sin against God.”

10The woman talked to Joseph every day, but he refused to have physical relations with her or even spend time with her.

11One day Joseph went into the house to do his work as usual. He was the only man in the house at that time. 12His master’s wife grabbed his coat. She said to him, “Come and have physical relations with me.” But Joseph left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house.

13She saw what Joseph had done. He had left his coat in her hands and had run outside. 14So she called to the servants in her house. She said, “Look! This Hebrew slave was brought here to shame us. He came in and tried to have physical relations with me. But I screamed. 15My scream scared him, and he ran away. But he left his coat with me.” 16She kept his coat until her husband came home. 17And she told her husband the same story. She said, “This Hebrew slave you brought here came in to shame me! 18When he came near me, I screamed. He ran away, but he left his coat.”

19When Joseph’s master heard what his wife said Joseph had done, he became very angry. 20So Potiphar arrested Joseph and put him into prison. This prison was where the king’s prisoners were put. And Joseph stayed there in the prison.

21But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. The Lord caused the prison warden to like Joseph. 22The prison warden chose Joseph to take care of all the prisoners. He was responsible for whatever was done in the prison. 23The warden paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s care. This was because the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord made Joseph successful in everything he did.

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