Genesis 39

CHAPTER 39

1Therefore Joseph was led into Egypt, and Potiphar, a gelding of Pharaoh, prince of the host, a man of Egypt, bought him of the hand of Ishmaelites, of which he was brought thither.

2And the Lord was with him, and he was a man doing with prosperity in all things. And Joseph dwelled in the house of his lord,

3which knew full well that the Lord was with Joseph, and that all things which he did, were dressed of the Lord in his hand.

4And Joseph found grace before his lord, and he served him, of whom Joseph was made sovereign of all things, and he governed the house betaken to him, and all things that were betaken to him.

5And the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph, and multiplied all his chattel [or substance], as well in houses, as in fields;

6neither he knew any other thing, but [the] bread which he ate. Forsooth Joseph was fair in face, and shapely in sight.

7And so after many days the lady of his lord cast her eyes into Joseph, and said, Sleep thou with me;

8which assented not to the unleave-ful work, and said to her, Lo! while all things be betaken to me, my lord wot not what he hath in his house,

9neither anything is, which is not in my power, either which he hath not betaken to me, except thee, which art his wife; how therefore may I do this evil, and do sin against my lord?

10They spake such words by all days or by long time, and the woman was dis-easeful to the young man, and he forsook the adultery.

11Forsooth it befelled in a day, that Joseph entered into the house, and did some work without witnesses.

12And she took the hem of his cloth, and she said, Sleep thou with me; and he left the mantle in her hand, and he fled, and went out.

13And when the woman had seen the cloth in her hands, and that she was despised,

14she called to her the men of her house, and said to them, Lo! my lord hath brought in an Hebrew man, that he should scorn us; he entered to me to do lechery with me, and when I cried,

15and he heard my voice, he left the mantle which I held, and he fled out.

16Therefore into proving of the truth, she showed the mantle, that she held, to her husband turning again home.

17And she said, The Hebrew servant, whom thou broughtest in, entered to me to scorn me;

18and when he saw me cry, he left the mantle that I held, and he fled out.

19And when these things were heard, the lord believed over much to the words of the wife, and he was full wroth;

20and he betook Joseph into prison, where the bound men of the king were kept, and he was enclosed there.

21Forsooth the Lord was with Joseph, and had mercy on him, and gave grace to him, in the sight of the prince of the prison,

22which betook in the hand of Joseph all the prisoners that were holden in keeping, and whatever thing was done, it was done under Joseph,

23neither the prince knew anything, for all things were betaken to Joseph; for the Lord was with him, and dressed all his works.

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Genesis 39

Joseph and the Wife of Potiphar

1Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar had bought him from the Ishmaelite traders who had taken him there. Potiphar was one of Pharaoh’s officials. He was the captain of the palace guard.

2The Lord was with Joseph. He gave him great success. Joseph lived in Potiphar’s house. 3Joseph’s master saw that the Lord was with him. He saw that the Lord made Joseph successful in everything he did. 4So Potiphar was pleased with Joseph and made him his attendant. He put Joseph in charge of his house. He trusted Joseph to take care of everything he owned. 5From that time on, the Lord blessed Potiphar’s family and servants because of Joseph. He blessed everything Potiphar had in his house and field. 6So Joseph took good care of everything Potiphar owned. With Joseph in charge, Potiphar didn’t have to worry about anything except the food he ate.

Joseph was strong and handsome. 7After a while, his master’s wife noticed Joseph. She said to him, “Come to bed with me!”

8But he refused. “My master has put me in charge,” he told her. “Now he doesn’t have to worry about anything in the house. He trusts me to take care of everything he owns. 9No one in this house is in a higher position than I am. My master hasn’t held anything back from me, except you. You are his wife. So how could I do an evil thing like that? How could I sin against God?” 10She spoke to Joseph day after day. But he told her he wouldn’t go to bed with her. He didn’t even want to be with her.

11One day Joseph went into the house to take care of his duties. None of the family servants was inside. 12Potiphar’s wife grabbed him by his coat. “Come to bed with me!” she said. But he left his coat in her hand. And he ran out of the house.

13She saw that he had left his coat in her hand and had run out of the house. 14So she called her servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew slave has been brought here to make fun of us! He came in here to force me to have sex with him. But I screamed for help. 15He heard my scream. So he left his coat beside me and ran out of the house.”

16She kept Joseph’s coat with her until Potiphar came home. 17Then she told him her story. She said, “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to rape me. 18But I screamed for help. So he left his coat beside me and ran out of the house.”

19Potiphar’s wife told him, “That’s how your slave treated me.” When Joseph’s master heard her story, he became very angry. 20So he put Joseph in prison. It was the place where the king’s prisoners were kept.

While Joseph was there in the prison, 21the Lord was with him. He was kind to him. So the man running the prison was pleased with Joseph. 22He put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. He made him responsible for everything done there. 23The man who ran the prison didn’t pay attention to anything in Joseph’s care. That’s because the Lord was with Joseph. He gave Joseph success in everything he did.

Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®

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