Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39 Now Joseph^(A) had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard,^(B) bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.^(C)

² The Lord was with Joseph^(D) so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. ³ When his master saw that the Lord was with him^(E) and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did,^{(F) 4} Joseph found favor in his eyes^(G) and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household,^(H) and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.^{(I) 5} From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household^(J) of the Egyptian because of Joseph.^(K) The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.^{(L) 6} So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care;^(M) with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,^{(N) 7} and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”^(O)

⁸ But he refused.^(P) “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.^{(Q) 9} No one is greater in this house than I am.^(R) My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”^{(S) 10} And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused^(T) to go to bed with her or even be with her.

¹¹ One day he went into the house to attend to his duties,^(U) and none of the household servants^(V) was inside. ¹² She caught him by his cloak^(W) and said, “Come to bed with me!”^(X) But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.^(Y)

¹³ When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, ¹⁴ she called her household servants.^(Z) “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew^(AA) has been brought to us to make sport of us!^(AB) He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.^{(AC) 15} When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”^(AD)

¹⁶ She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she told him this story:^(AE) “That Hebrew^(AF) slave^(AG) you brought us came to me to make sport of me. ¹⁸ But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

¹⁹ When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger.^{(AH) 20} Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison,^(AI) the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹ the Lord was with him;^(AJ) he showed him kindness^(AK) and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.^{(AL) 22} So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.^{(AM) 23} The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s^(AN) care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.^(AO)

¹¹ Then Elkanah went home to Ramah,^(A) but the boy ministered^(B) before the Lord under Eli the priest.

Eli’s Wicked Sons

¹² Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard^(C) for the Lord. ¹³ Now it was the practice^(D) of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat^(E) was being boiled ¹⁴ and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. ¹⁵ But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”

¹⁶ If the person said to him, “Let the fat^(F) be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”

¹⁷ This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they^[a] were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.^(G)

¹⁸ But Samuel was ministering^(H) before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod.^{(I) 19} Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual^(J) sacrifice. ²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed^(K) for and gave to^[b] the Lord.” Then they would go home. ²¹ And the Lord was gracious to Hannah;^(L) she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew^(M) up in the presence of the Lord.

²² Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything^(N) his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women^(O) who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ²³ So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. ²⁴ No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good. ²⁵ If one person sins against another, God^[c] may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will^(P) intercede^(Q) for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.

²⁶ And the boy Samuel continued to grow^(R) in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.^(S)

Prophecy Against the House of Eli

²⁷ Now a man of God^(T) came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? ²⁸ I chose^(U) your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense,^(V) and to wear an ephod^(W) in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings^(X) presented by the Israelites. ²⁹ Why do you^[d] scorn my sacrifice and offering^(Y) that I prescribed for my dwelling?^(Z) Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?’

³⁰ “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.^(AA)’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor,^(AB) but those who despise^(AC) me will be disdained.^{(AD) 31} The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age,^{(AE) 32} and you will see distress^(AF) in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, no one in your family line will ever reach old age.^{(AG) 33} Every one of you that I do not cut off from serving at my altar I will spare only to destroy your sight and sap your strength, and all your descendants^(AH) will die in the prime of life.

³⁴ “‘And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign^(AI) to you—they will both die^(AJ) on the same day.^{(AK) 35} I will raise up for myself a faithful priest,^(AL) who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed^(AM) one always. ³⁶ Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead,^(AN) “Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.^(AO)”’”

Salvation for Others

56 This is what the Lord says:

⁴ For this is what the Lord says:

God’s Accusation Against the Wicked

40 The Lord said to Job:^(Y)

Marriage at the Resurrection^(A)

²³ That same day the Sadducees,^(B) who say there is no resurrection,^(C) came to him with a question. ²⁴ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.^{(D) 25} Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. ²⁷ Finally, the woman died. ²⁸ Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures^(E) or the power of God. ³⁰ At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage;^(F) they will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹ But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’^[a]?^(G) He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”

³³ When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.^(H)

Paul Transferred to Caesarea

²³ Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen^[a] to go to Caesarea^(A) at nine tonight.^{(B) 24} Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”^(C)

²⁵ He wrote a letter as follows:

³¹ So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. ³² The next day they let the cavalry^(O) go on with him, while they returned to the barracks.^{(P) 33} When the cavalry^(Q) arrived in Caesarea,^(R) they delivered the letter to the governor^(S) and handed Paul over to him. ³⁴ The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,^{(T) 35} he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers^(U) get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard^(V) in Herod’s palace.