Genesis 39
39
Joseph Is Sold to Potiphar in Egypt
1The traders#39:1 traders Literally, “Ishmaelites.” who bought Joseph took him down to Egypt. They sold him to the captain of Pharaoh’s guard, Potiphar. 2The Lord helped Joseph become a successful man. Joseph lived in the house of his master, Potiphar the Egyptian.
3Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph and that the Lord helped Joseph be successful in everything he did. 4So Potiphar was very happy with Joseph. He allowed Joseph to work for him and to help him rule the house. Joseph was the ruler over everything Potiphar owned. 5After Joseph was made the ruler over the house, the Lord blessed the house and everything that Potiphar owned. The Lord also blessed everything that grew in Potiphar’s fields. The Lord did this because of Joseph. 6So Potiphar allowed Joseph to take responsibility for everything in the house. Potiphar didn’t have to worry about anything except deciding what to eat.
Joseph Refuses Potiphar’s Wife
Joseph was a very handsome, good-looking man. 7After some time, the wife of Joseph’s master began to pay special attention to him. One day she said to him, “Sleep with me.”
8But Joseph refused. He said, “My master trusts me with everything in his house. He has given me responsibility for everything here. 9My master has made me almost equal to him in his house. I cannot sleep with his wife! That is wrong! It is a sin against God.”
10The woman talked with Joseph every day, but he refused to sleep with her. 11One day Joseph went into the house to do his work. He was the only man in the house at the time. 12His master’s wife grabbed his coat and said to him, “Come to bed with me.” But Joseph ran out of the house so fast that he left his coat in her hand.
13The woman saw that Joseph had left his coat in her hand and had run out of the house. 14She called to the men outside and said, “Look! This Hebrew slave was brought here to make fun of us. He came in and tried to attack me, but I screamed. 15My scream scared him and he ran away, but he left his coat with me.” 16Then she kept his coat until her husband, Joseph’s master, came home. 17She told her husband the same story. She said, “This Hebrew slave you brought here tried to attack me! 18But when he came near me, I screamed. He ran away, but he left his coat.”
19Joseph’s master listened to what his wife said, and he became very angry. 20So Potiphar put Joseph into the prison where the king’s enemies were held, and that is where Joseph remained.
Joseph in Prison
21The Lord was with Joseph and continued to show his kindness to him, so the commander of the prison guards began to like Joseph. 22The commander of the guards put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. Joseph was their leader, but he still did the same work they did. 23The commander of the guards trusted Joseph with everything that was in the prison. This happened because the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord helped Joseph be successful in everything he did.
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Genesis 39
39
Joseph and Potiphar's Wife
1The Ishmaelites took Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, the king's#39.1 the king's: See the note at 12.15. official in charge of the palace guard. 2-3#Ac 7.9. So Joseph lived in the home of Potiphar, his Egyptian owner.
Soon Potiphar realized that the Lord was helping Joseph to be successful in whatever he did. 4Potiphar liked Joseph and made him his personal assistant, putting him in charge of his house and all of his property. 5Because of Joseph, the Lord began to bless Potiphar's family and fields. 6Potiphar left everything up to Joseph, and with Joseph there, the only decision he had to make was what he wanted to eat.
Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7#4 Macc 2.2. and Potiphar's wife soon noticed him. She asked him to make love to her, 8but he refused and said, “My master isn't worried about anything in his house, because he has placed me in charge of everything he owns. 9No one in my master's house is more important than I am. The only thing he hasn't given me is you, and that's because you are his wife. I won't sin against God by doing such a terrible thing as this.” 10She kept begging Joseph day after day, but he refused to do what she wanted or even to go near her.
11One day, Joseph went to Potiphar's house to do his work, and none of the other servants were there. 12Potiphar's wife grabbed hold of his coat and said, “Make love to me!” Joseph ran out of the house, leaving his coat there in her hands.
13When this happened, 14she called in her servants and said, “Look! This Hebrew has come just to make fools of us. He tried to rape me, but I screamed for help. 15And when he heard me scream, he ran out of the house, leaving his coat with me.”
16Potiphar's wife kept Joseph's coat until her husband came home. 17Then she said, “That Hebrew slave of yours tried to rape me! 18But when I screamed for help, he left his coat and ran out of the house.”
19Potiphar became very angry 20and threw Joseph in the same prison where the king's prisoners were kept.
While Joseph was in prison, 21#Ac 7.9. the Lord helped him and was good to him. He even made the jailer like Joseph so much that 22he put him in charge of the other prisoners and of everything that was done in the jail. 23The jailer did not worry about anything, because the Lord was with Joseph and made him successful in all that he did.
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.