Genesis 39
39
1And Joseph hath been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, head of the executioners, an Egyptian man, buyeth him out of the hands of the Ishmaelites who have brought him thither.
2And Jehovah is with Joseph, and he is a prosperous man, and he is in the house of his lord the Egyptian,
3and his lord seeth that Jehovah is with him, and all that he is doing Jehovah is causing to prosper in his hand,
4and Joseph findeth grace in his eyes and serveth him, and he appointeth him over his house, and all that he hath he hath given into his hand.
5And it cometh to pass from the time that he hath appointed him over his house, and over all that he hath, that Jehovah blesseth the house of the Egyptian for Joseph's sake, and the blessing of Jehovah is on all that he hath, in the house, and in the field;
6and he leaveth all that he hath in the hand of Joseph, and he hath not known anything that he hath, except the bread which he is eating. And Joseph is of a fair form, and of a fair appearance.
7And it cometh to pass after these things, that his lord's wife lifteth up her eyes unto Joseph, and saith, ‘Lie with me;’
8and he refuseth, and saith unto his lord's wife, ‘Lo, my lord hath not known what [is] with me in the house, and all that he hath he hath given into my hand;
9none is greater in this house than I, and he hath not withheld from me anything, except thee, because thou [art] his wife; and how shall I do this great evil? — then have I sinned against God.’
10And it cometh to pass at her speaking unto Joseph day [by] day, that he hath not hearkened unto her, to lie near her, to be with her;
11and it cometh to pass about this day, that he goeth into the house to do his work, and there is none of the men of the house there in the house,
12and she catcheth him by his garment, saying, ‘Lie with me;’ and he leaveth his garment in her hand, and fleeth, and goeth without.
13And it cometh to pass when she seeth that he hath left his garment in her hand, and fleeth without,
14that she calleth for the men of her house, and speaketh to them, saying, ‘See, he hath brought in to us a man, a Hebrew, to play with us; he hath come in unto me, to lie with me, and I call with a loud voice,
15and it cometh to pass, when he heareth that I have lifted up my voice and call, that he leaveth his garment near me, and fleeth, and goeth without.’
16And she placeth his garment near her, until the coming in of his lord unto his house.
17And she speaketh unto him according to these words, saying, ‘The Hebrew servant whom thou hast brought unto us, hath come in unto me to play with me;
18and it cometh to pass, when I lift my voice and call, that he leaveth his garment near me, and fleeth without.’
19And it cometh to pass when his lord heareth the words of his wife, which she hath spoken unto him, saying, ‘According to these things hath thy servant done to me,’ that his anger burneth;
20and Joseph's lord taketh him, and putteth him unto the round-house, a place where the king's prisoners [are] bound; and he is there in the round-house.
21And Jehovah is with Joseph, and stretcheth out kindness unto him, and putteth his grace in the eyes of the chief of the round-house;
22and the chief of the round-house giveth into the hand of Joseph all the prisoners who [are] in the round-house, and of all that they are doing there, he hath been doer;
23the chief of the round-house seeth not anything under his hand, because Jehovah [is] with him, and that which he is doing Jehovah is causing to prosper.
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
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.