Genesis 39
39
1And Joseph was brought into Egypt; and Putiphar an eunuch of Pharao, chief captain of the army, an Egyptian, bought him of the Ismaelites, by whom he was brought.
2And the Lord was with him, and he was a prosperous man in all things: and he dwelt in his master's house,
3Who knew very well that the Lord was with him, and made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4And Joseph found favour in the sight of his master, and ministered to him: and being set over all by him, he governed the house committed to him, and all things that were delivered to him:
5And the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian for Joseph's sake: and multiplied all his substance, both at home, and in the fields.
6Neither knew he any other thing, but the bread which he ate. And Joseph was of a beautiful countenance, and comely to behold.
7And after many days his mistress cast her eyes on Joseph, and said: Lie with me.
8But he, in no wise consenting to that wicked act, said to her: Behold, my master hath delivered all things to me, and knoweth not what he hath in his own house.
9Neither is there any thing which is not in my power, or that he hath not delivered to me, but thee, who art his wife: How then can I do this wicked thing, and sin against my God?
10With such words as these, day by day, both the woman was importunate with the young man, and he refused the adultery.
11Now it happened on it certain day, that Joseph went into the house, and was doing some business without any man with him:
12And she catching the skirt of his garment, said: Lie with me. But he leaving the garment in her hand fled, and went out.
13And when the woman saw the garment in her hands, and herself disregarded,
14She called to her the men of her house, and said to them: See, he hath brought in a Hebrew, to abuse us. He came in to me, to lie with me: and when I cried out,
15And he heard my voice, he left the garment that I held, and got him out.
16For a proof therefore of her fidelity, she kept the garment, and shewed it to her husband when he returned home:
17And said: The Hebrew servant, whom thou last brought, came to me to abuse me.
18And when he heard me cry, he left the garment which I held, and fled out.
19His master hearing these things, and giving too much credit to his wife's words, was very angry:
20And cast Joseph into the prison, where the king's prisoners were kept. And he was there shut up.
21But the Lord was with Joseph, and having mercy upon him gave him favour in the sight of the chief keeper of the prison:
22Who delivered into his hand all the prisoners that were kept in custody: and whatsoever was done was under him.
23Neither did he himself know any thing, having committed all things to him: for the Lord was with him, and made all that he did to prosper.
An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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®)
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