Genesis 39
39
1 Meanwhile, Joseph was led into Egypt. And Putiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, a leader of the army, an Egyptian man, purchased him from the hand of the Ishmaelites, by whom he was brought.
2 And the Lord was with him, and he was a man who prospered in everything that he did. And he lived in the house of his lord,
3 who knew very well that the Lord was with him, and that all the things that were done by him were directed by his hand.
4 And Joseph found favor in the sight of his lord, and he ministered to him. And, having been placed in charge of everything by him, he governed the house that was entrusted to him and all the things that had been delivered to him.
5 And the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian, because of Joseph, and he multiplied all his substance, as much in the buildings, as in the fields.
6 Neither did he know anything other than the bread that he ate. Now Joseph was beautiful in form, and stately in appearance.
7 And so, after many days, his mistress cast her eyes on Joseph, and she said, "Sleep with me."
8 And without consenting at all to the wicked act, he said to her: "Behold, my lord has delivered all things to me, and he does not know what he has in his own house.
9 Neither is there anything which is not in my power, or that he has not delivered to me, except you, for you are his wife. How then can I do this evil act and sin against my God?"
10 With such words as these, throughout each day, the woman was pestering the young man, and he was refusing the adultery.
11 Then it happened, on a certain day, that Joseph entered the house, and he was doing something, without any witnesses.
12 And she, grasping the hem of his garment, said, "Sleep with me." But he, leaving behind the cloak in her hand, fled and went outside.
13 And when the woman saw the garment in her hands and herself being treated with disrespect,
14 she called to herself the men of her house, and she said to them: "Lo, he has brought in a Hebrew man to abuse us. He entered toward me, in order to join with me; and when I had shouted out,
15 and he had heard my voice, he left behind the cloak that I held, and he fled outside."
16 As a proof, therefore, of her fidelity, she retained the cloak, and she showed it to her husband, when he returned home.
17 And she said: "The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought in to me, approached me to abuse me.
18 And when he had heard me cry out, he left behind the cloak that I held, and he fled outside."
19 His lord, upon hearing these things, and having excessive trust in the words of his mate, was very angry.
20 And he delivered Joseph into prison, where the prisoners of the king were kept, and he was enclosed in that place.
21 But the Lord was with Joseph, and, having mercy on him, he gave him favor in the sight of the leader of the prison,
22 who delivered into his hand all the prisoners who were held in custody. And whatever was done, was under him.
23 Neither did he himself know anything, having entrusted all things to him. For the Lord was with him, and he directed everything that he did.
Genesis 39
39
1After Joseph had been taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelites, Potiphar an Egyptian, one of Pharaoh’s officials and the manager of his household, bought him from them.
2-6a As it turned out, God was with Joseph and things went very well with him. He ended up living in the home of his Egyptian master. His master recognized that God was with him, saw that God was working for good in everything he did. He became very fond of Joseph and made him his personal aide. He put him in charge of all his personal affairs, turning everything over to him. From that moment on, God blessed the home of the Egyptian—all because of Joseph. The blessing of God spread over everything he owned, at home and in the fields, and all Potiphar had to concern himself with was eating three meals a day.
6b-7 Joseph was a strikingly handsome man. As time went on, his master’s wife became infatuated with Joseph and one day said, “Sleep with me.”
8-9He wouldn’t do it. He said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master doesn’t give a second thought to anything that goes on here—he’s put me in charge of everything he owns. He treats me as an equal. The only thing he hasn’t turned over to me is you. You’re his wife, after all! How could I violate his trust and sin against God?”
10She pestered him day after day after day, but he stood his ground. He refused to go to bed with her.
11-15On one of these days he came to the house to do his work and none of the household servants happened to be there. She grabbed him by his cloak, saying, “Sleep with me!” He left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house. When she realized that he had left his coat in her hand and run outside, she called to her house servants: “Look—this Hebrew shows up and before you know it he’s trying to seduce us. He tried to make love to me but I yelled as loud as I could. With all my yelling and screaming, he left his coat beside me here and ran outside.”
16-18She kept his coat right there until his master came home. She told him the same story. She said, “The Hebrew slave, the one you brought to us, came after me and tried to use me for his plaything. When I yelled and screamed, he left his coat with me and ran outside.”
19-23When his master heard his wife’s story, telling him, “These are the things your slave did to me,” he was furious. Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the jail where the king’s prisoners were locked up. But there in jail God was still with Joseph: He reached out in kindness to him; he put him on good terms with the head jailer. The head jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners—he ended up managing the whole operation. The head jailer gave Joseph free rein, never even checked on him, because God was with him; whatever he did God made sure it worked out for the best.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.