Genesis 39
39
Joseph’s Temptation. 1When Joseph was taken down to Egypt, an Egyptian, Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and his chief steward, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 2#1 Sm 3:19; 10:7; 18:14; 2 Sm 5:10; 2 Kgs 18:7; Acts 7:9. The Lord was with Joseph and he enjoyed great success and was assigned to the household of his Egyptian master. 3When his master saw that the Lord was with him and brought him success in whatever he did, 4he favored Joseph and made him his personal attendant; he put him in charge of his household and entrusted to him all his possessions.#Dn 1:9. 5From the moment that he put him in charge of his household and all his possessions, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the Lord’s blessing was on everything he owned, both inside the house and out. 6Having left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge, he gave no thought, with Joseph there, to anything but the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome. 7After a time, his master’s wife looked at him with longing and said, “Lie with me.” 8But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, as long as I am here, my master does not give a thought to anything in the house, but has entrusted to me all he owns. 9He has no more authority in this house than I do. He has withheld from me nothing but you, since you are his wife. How, then, could I do this great wrong and sin against God?” 10Although she spoke to him day after day, he would not agree to lie with her, or even be near her.#1 Mc 2:53.
11One such day, when Joseph came into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were then in the house, 12she laid hold of him by his cloak, saying, “Lie with me!” But leaving the cloak in her hand, he escaped and ran outside. 13When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand as he escaped outside, 14she cried out to her household servants and told them, “Look! My husband has brought us a Hebrew man to mock us! He came in here to lie with me, but I cried out loudly. 15When he heard me scream, he left his cloak beside me and escaped and ran outside.”
16She kept the cloak with her until his master came home. 17Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave whom you brought us came to me to amuse himself at my expense. 18But when I screamed, he left his cloak beside me and escaped outside.” 19When the master heard his wife’s story in which she reported, “Thus and so your servant did to me,” he became enraged. 20Joseph’s master seized him and put him into the jail where the king’s prisoners were confined.#Ps 105:18. And there he sat, in jail.
21But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him kindness by making the chief jailer well-disposed toward him.#Acts 7:9–10. 22The chief jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners in the jail. Everything that had to be done there, he was the one to do it. 23The chief jailer did not have to look after anything that was in Joseph’s charge, since the Lord was with him and was bringing success to whatever he was doing.
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Genesis 39
39
Joseph and Potiphar's Wife
1Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. 4So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge; and, with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. 7And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8But he refused and said to his master's wife, “Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. 9He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” 10And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her. 11One day, however, when he went into the house to do his work, and while no one else was in the house, 12she caught hold of his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. 13When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14she called out to the members of her household and said to them, “See, my husband#39.14 Heb he has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us! He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice; 15and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out, he left his garment beside me, and fled outside.” 16Then she kept his garment by her until his master came home, 17and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to insult me; 18but as soon as I raised my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me, and fled outside.”
19When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, “This is the way your servant treated me,” he became enraged. 20And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison. 21But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. 22The chief jailer committed to Joseph's care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph's care, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.
New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.