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 in Potiphar’s House
1When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
2The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. 3Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did. 4This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. 5From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the Lord began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake. All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished. 6So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!
Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, 7and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded.
8But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. 9No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”
10She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. 11One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work. 12She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.
13When she saw that she was holding his cloak and he had fled, 14she called out to her servants. Soon all the men came running. “Look!” she said. “My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed. 15When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me.”
16She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home. 17Then she told him her story. “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me,” she said. 18“But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!”
Joseph Put in Prison
19Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her. 20So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained. 21But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. 22Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. 23The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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