Genesis 39
39
Joseph in Potiphar’s House
1When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
2The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. 4This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. 5From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. 6So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!
Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, 7and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.
8But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. 9No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”
10She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. 11One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work. 12She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.
13When she saw that she was holding his cloak and he had fled, 14she called out to her servants. Soon all the men came running. “Look!” she said. “My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed. 15When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me.”
16She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home. 17Then she told him her story. “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me,” she said. 18“But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!”
Joseph Put in Prison
19Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her. 20So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained. 21But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. 22Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. 23The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.
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Genesis 39: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Genesis 39
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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