Genesis 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.

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Genesis 39

Joseph in Potiphar’s House

1Joseph had been taken to Egypt. Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s Egyptian officials and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

2The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. He worked in the house of his Egyptian master. 3Joseph’s master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful. 4Potiphar liked Joseph so much that he made him his trusted servant. He put him in charge of his household and everything he owned. 5From that time on the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s household because of Joseph. Therefore, the Lord’s blessing was on everything Potiphar owned in his house and in his fields. 6So he left all that he owned in Joseph’s care. He wasn’t concerned about anything except the food he ate.

Joseph was well-built and handsome. 7After a while his master’s wife began to desire Joseph, so she said, “Come to bed with me.”

8But Joseph refused and said to her, “My master doesn’t concern himself with anything in the house. He trusts me with everything he owns. 9No one in this house is greater than I. He’s kept nothing back from me except you, because you’re his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10Although she kept asking Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or be with her.

11One day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there. 12She grabbed him by his clothes and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he ran outside and left his clothes in her hand.

13When she realized that he had gone but had left his clothes behind, 14she called her household servants and said to them, “Look! My husband brought this Hebrew here to fool around with us. He came in and tried to go to bed with me, but I screamed as loud as I could. 15As soon as he heard me scream, he ran outside and left his clothes with me.”

16She kept Joseph’s clothes with her until his master came home. 17Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought here came in and tried to fool around with me. 18But when I screamed, he ran outside and left his clothes with me.”

19When Potiphar heard his wife’s story, especially when she said, “This is what your slave did to me,” he became very angry. 20So Joseph’s master arrested him and put him in the same prison where the king’s prisoners were kept.

While Joseph was in prison, 21the Lord was with him. The Lord reached out to him with his unchanging love and gave him protection. The Lord also put Joseph on good terms with the warden. 22So the warden placed Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in that prison. Joseph became responsible for everything that they were doing. 23The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care because the Lord was with Joseph and made whatever he did successful.

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