Genesis 32-40

New International Version

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

32 ^[a]Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God^(A) met him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!”^(B) So he named that place Mahanaim.^[b](C)

³ Jacob sent messengers^(D) ahead of him to his brother Esau^(E) in the land of Seir,^(F) the country of Edom.^{(G) 4} He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord^(H) Esau: ‘Your servant^(I) Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban^(J) and have remained there till now. ⁵ I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants.^(K) Now I am sending this message to my lord,^(L) that I may find favor in your eyes.^(M)’”

⁶ When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”^(N)

⁷ In great fear^(O) and distress^(P) Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups,^[c](Q) and the flocks and herds and camels as well. ⁸ He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group,^[d] the group^[e] that is left may escape.”

⁹ Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham,^(R) God of my father Isaac,^(S) Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’^{(T) 10} I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness^(U) you have shown your servant. I had only my staff^(V) when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps.^{(W) 11} Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid^(X) he will come and attack me,^(Y) and also the mothers with their children.^{(Z) 12} But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand^(AA) of the sea, which cannot be counted.^(AB)’”

¹³ He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift^(AC) for his brother Esau: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,^{(AD) 15} thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.^{(AE) 16} He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.”^(AF)

¹⁷ He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant^(AG) Jacob. They are a gift^(AH) sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’”

¹⁹ He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ²⁰ And be sure to say, ‘Your servant^(AI) Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts^(AJ) I am sending on ahead;^(AK) later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.”^{(AL) 21} So Jacob’s gifts^(AM) went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles With God

²² That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons^(AN) and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.^{(AO) 23} After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.^{(AP) 24} So Jacob was left alone,^(AQ) and a man^(AR) wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip^(AS) so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”^(AT)

²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,”^(AU) he answered.

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name^(AV) will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,^[f](AW) because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”^(AX)

²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”^(AY)

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?”^(AZ) Then he blessed^(BA) him there.

³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel,^[g] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face,^(BB) and yet my life was spared.”

³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,^[h](BC) and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip,^(BD) because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

Jacob Meets Esau

33 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men;^(BE) so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants.^{(BF) 2} He put the female servants and their children^(BG) in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph^(BH) in the rear. ³ He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground^(BI) seven times^(BJ) as he approached his brother.

⁴ But Esau^(BK) ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.^(BL) And they wept.^{(BM) 5} Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked.

Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.^(BN)”

⁶ Then the female servants and their children^(BO) approached and bowed down.^{(BP) 7} Next, Leah and her children^(BQ) came and bowed down.^(BR) Last of all came Joseph and Rachel,^(BS) and they too bowed down.

⁸ Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?”^(BT)

“To find favor in your eyes, my lord,”^(BU) he said.

⁹ But Esau said, “I already have plenty,^(BV) my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”

¹⁰ “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes,^(BW) accept this gift^(BX) from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God,^(BY) now that you have received me favorably.^{(BZ) 11} Please accept the present^(CA) that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me^(CB) and I have all I need.”^(CC) And because Jacob insisted,^(CD) Esau accepted it.

¹² Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.”

¹³ But Jacob said to him, “My lord^(CE) knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young.^(CF) If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. ¹⁴ So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds^(CG) before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.^(CH)”

¹⁵ Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.”

“But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.”^(CI)

¹⁶ So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.^{(CJ) 17} Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth,^(CK) where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth.^[i]

¹⁸ After Jacob came from Paddan Aram,^[j](CL) he arrived safely at the city of Shechem^(CM) in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. ¹⁹ For a hundred pieces of silver,^[k] he bought from the sons of Hamor,^(CN) the father of Shechem,^(CO) the plot of ground^(CP) where he pitched his tent.^{(CQ) 20} There he set up an altar^(CR) and called it El Elohe Israel.^[l]

Dinah and the Shechemites

34 Now Dinah,^(CS) the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. ² When Shechem^(CT) son of Hamor^(CU) the Hivite,^(CV) the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her.^{(CW) 3} His heart was drawn to Dinah^(CX) daughter of Jacob;^(CY) he loved^(CZ) the young woman and spoke tenderly^(DA) to her. ⁴ And Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as my wife.”^(DB)

⁵ When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled,^(DC) his sons were in the fields with his livestock; so he did nothing about it until they came home.

⁶ Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob.^{(DD) 7} Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked^(DE) and furious,^(DF) because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in^[m] Israel^(DG) by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.^(DH)

⁸ But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.^{(DI) 9} Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves.^{(DJ) 10} You can settle among us;^(DK) the land is open to you.^(DL) Live in it, trade^[n] in it,^(DM) and acquire property in it.^(DN)”

¹¹ Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes,^(DO) and I will give you whatever you ask. ¹² Make the price for the bride^(DP) and the gift I am to bring as great as you like, and I’ll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife.”

¹³ Because their sister Dinah had been defiled,^(DQ) Jacob’s sons replied deceitfully^(DR) as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. ¹⁴ They said to them, “We can’t do such a thing; we can’t give our sister to a man who is not circumcised.^(DS) That would be a disgrace to us. ¹⁵ We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition^(DT) only: that you become like us by circumcising all your males.^{(DU) 16} Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves.^(DV) We’ll settle among you and become one people with you.^{(DW) 17} But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our sister and go.”

¹⁸ Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. ¹⁹ The young man, who was the most honored^(DX) of all his father’s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.^{(DY) 20} So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city^(DZ) to speak to the men of their city. ²¹ “These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land and trade in it;^(EA) the land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours.^{(EB) 22} But the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised,^(EC) as they themselves are. ²³ Won’t their livestock, their property and all their other animals become ours?^(ED) So let us agree to their terms, and they will settle among us.^(EE)”

²⁴ All the men who went out of the city gate^(EF) agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.

²⁵ Three days later, while all of them were still in pain,^(EG) two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon^(EH) and Levi,^(EI) Dinah’s brothers, took their swords^(EJ) and attacked the unsuspecting city,^(EK) killing every male.^{(EL) 26} They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword^(EM) and took Dinah^(EN) from Shechem’s house and left. ²⁷ The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city^(EO) where^[o] their sister had been defiled.^{(EP) 28} They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys^(EQ) and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields.^{(ER) 29} They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children,^(ES) taking as plunder^(ET) everything in the houses.^(EU)

³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble^(EV) on me by making me obnoxious^(EW) to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land.^(EX) We are few in number,^(EY) and if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”

³¹ But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?^(EZ)”

Jacob Returns to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel^(FA) and settle there, and build an altar^(FB) there to God,^(FC) who appeared to you^(FD) when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”^(FE)

² So Jacob said to his household^(FF) and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods^(FG) you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.^{(FH) 3} Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God,^(FI) who answered me in the day of my distress^(FJ) and who has been with me wherever I have gone.^(FK)” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears,^(FL) and Jacob buried them under the oak^(FM) at Shechem.^{(FN) 5} Then they set out, and the terror of God^(FO) fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.^(FP)

⁶ Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz^(FQ) (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.^{(FR) 7} There he built an altar,^(FS) and he called the place El Bethel,^[p](FT) because it was there that God revealed himself to him^(FU) when he was fleeing from his brother.^(FV)

⁸ Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse,^(FW) died and was buried under the oak^(FX) outside Bethel.^(FY) So it was named Allon Bakuth.^[q]

⁹ After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram,^[r](FZ) God appeared to him again and blessed him.^{(GA) 10} God said to him, “Your name is Jacob,^[s] but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.^[t]”^(GB) So he named him Israel.

¹¹ And God said to him, “I am God Almighty^[u];^(GC) be fruitful and increase in number.^(GD) A nation^(GE) and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants.^{(GF) 12} The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.^(GG)”^{(GH) 13} Then God went up from him^(GI) at the place where he had talked with him.

¹⁴ Jacob set up a stone pillar^(GJ) at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering^(GK) on it; he also poured oil on it.^{(GL) 15} Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel.^[v](GM)

The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac^(GN)

¹⁶ Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath,^(GO) Rachel^(GP) began to give birth and had great difficulty. ¹⁷ And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife^(GQ) said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.”^{(GR) 18} As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni.^[w](GS) But his father named him Benjamin.^[x](GT)

¹⁹ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath^(GU) (that is, Bethlehem^(GV)). ²⁰ Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day^(GW) that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.^(GX)

²¹ Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.^{(GY) 22} While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine^(GZ) Bilhah,^(HA) and Israel heard of it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

These were the sons of Jacob,^(HM) who were born to him in Paddan Aram.^(HN)

²⁷ Jacob came home to his father Isaac^(HO) in Mamre,^(HP) near Kiriath Arba^(HQ) (that is, Hebron),^(HR) where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.^{(HS) 28} Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years.^{(HT) 29} Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people,^(HU) old and full of years.^(HV) And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.^(HW)

Esau’s Descendants^(HX)(HY)

36 This is the account^(HZ) of the family line of Esau (that is, Edom).^(IA)

⁹ This is the account^(IQ) of the family line of Esau the father of the Edomites^(IR) in the hill country of Seir.

¹⁵ These were the chiefs^(JC) among Esau’s descendants:

¹⁹ These were the sons of Esau^(JM) (that is, Edom),^(JN) and these were their chiefs.^(JO)

²⁰ These were the sons of Seir the Horite,^(JP) who were living in the region:

The Rulers of Edom^(JZ)

³¹ These were the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king^(KA) reigned:

⁴⁰ These were the chiefs^(KG) descended from Esau, by name, according to their clans and regions:

This is the family line of Esau, the father of the Edomites.^(KH)

Joseph’s Dreams

37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed,^(KI) the land of Canaan.^(KJ)

² This is the account^(KK) of Jacob’s family line.

Joseph,^(KL) a young man of seventeen,^(KM) was tending the flocks^(KN) with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah^(KO) and the sons of Zilpah,^(KP) his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report^(KQ) about them.

³ Now Israel^(KR) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons,^(KS) because he had been born to him in his old age;^(KT) and he made an ornate^[ad] robe^(KU) for him.^{(KV) 4} When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him^(KW) and could not speak a kind word to him.

⁵ Joseph had a dream,^(KX) and when he told it to his brothers,^(KY) they hated him all the more.^{(KZ) 6} He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷ We were binding sheaves^(LA) of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”^(LB)

⁸ His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?”^(LC) And they hated him all the more^(LD) because of his dream and what he had said.

⁹ Then he had another dream,^(LE) and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars^(LF) were bowing down to me.”^(LG)

¹⁰ When he told his father as well as his brothers,^(LH) his father rebuked^(LI) him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”^{(LJ) 11} His brothers were jealous of him,^(LK) but his father kept the matter in mind.^(LL)

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹² Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,^{(LM) 13} and Israel^(LN) said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.^(LO) Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied.

¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers^(LP) and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.^(LQ)

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

¹⁷ “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.^(LR)’”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.^(LS)

¹⁹ “Here comes that dreamer!^(LT)” they said to each other. ²⁰ “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns^(LU) and say that a ferocious animal^(LV) devoured him.^(LW) Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”^(LX)

²¹ When Reuben^(LY) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.^{(LZ) 22} “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern^(MA) here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.^(MB)

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe^(MC) he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern.^(MD) The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites^(ME) coming from Gilead.^(MF) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm^(MG) and myrrh,^(MH) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.^(MI)

²⁶ Judah^(MJ) said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?^{(MK) 27} Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother,^(ML) our own flesh and blood.^(MM)” His brothers agreed.

²⁸ So when the Midianite^(MN) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern^(MO) and sold^(MP) him for twenty shekels^[ae] of silver^(MQ) to the Ishmaelites,^(MR) who took him to Egypt.^(MS)

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.^{(MT) 30} He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”^(MU)

³¹ Then they got Joseph’s robe,^(MV) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.^{(MW) 32} They took the ornate robe^(MX) back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

³³ He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal^(MY) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”^(MZ)

³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes,^(NA) put on sackcloth^(NB) and mourned for his son many days.^{(NC) 35} All his sons and daughters came to comfort him,^(ND) but he refused to be comforted.^(NE) “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son^(NF) in the grave.^(NG)” So his father wept for him.

³⁶ Meanwhile, the Midianites^[af](NH) sold Joseph^(NI) in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.^(NJ)

Judah and Tamar

38 At that time, Judah^(NK) left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam^(NL) named Hirah.^{(NM) 2} There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua.^(NN) He married her and made love to her; ³ she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er.^{(NO) 4} She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan.^{(NP) 5} She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah.^(NQ) It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.

⁶ Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.^{(NR) 7} But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight;^(NS) so the Lord put him to death.^(NT)

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.”^{(NU) 9} But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. ¹⁰ What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.^(NV)

¹¹ Judah then said to his daughter-in-law^(NW) Tamar,^(NX) “Live as a widow in your father’s household^(NY) until my son Shelah^(NZ) grows up.”^(OA) For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.

¹² After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua,^(OB) died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah,^(OC) to the men who were shearing his sheep,^(OD) and his friend Hirah the Adullamite^(OE) went with him.

¹³ When Tamar^(OF) was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,”^{(OG) 14} she took off her widow’s clothes,^(OH) covered herself with a veil^(OI) to disguise herself, and then sat down^(OJ) at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah.^(OK) For she saw that, though Shelah^(OL) had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute,^(OM) for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ Not realizing^(ON) that she was his daughter-in-law,^(OO) he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”^(OP)

“And what will you give me to sleep with you?”^(OQ) she asked.

¹⁷ “I’ll send you a young goat^(OR) from my flock,” he said.

“Will you give me something as a pledge^(OS) until you send it?” she asked.

¹⁸ He said, “What pledge should I give you?”

“Your seal^(OT) and its cord, and the staff^(OU) in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.^{(OV) 19} After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes^(OW) again.

²⁰ Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite^(OX) in order to get his pledge^(OY) back from the woman, but he did not find her. ²¹ He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute^(OZ) who was beside the road at Enaim?”

“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.

²² So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’”

²³ Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has,^(PA) or we will become a laughingstock.^(PB) After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”

²⁴ About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”

Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”^(PC)

²⁵ As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”^(PD)

²⁶ Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I,^(PE) since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.^(PF)” And he did not sleep with her again.

²⁷ When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.^{(PG) 28} As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife^(PH) took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist^(PI) and said, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out,^(PJ) and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez.^{[ag](PK) 30} Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist,^(PL) came out. And he was named Zerah.^[ah](PM)

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

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

² The Lord was with Joseph^(PQ) 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^(PR) and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did,^{(PS) 4} Joseph found favor in his eyes^(PT) and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household,^(PU) and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.^{(PV) 5} From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household^(PW) of the Egyptian because of Joseph.^(PX) The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.^{(PY) 6} So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care;^(PZ) with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

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

⁸ But he refused.^(QC) “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.^{(QD) 9} No one is greater in this house than I am.^(QE) 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?”^{(QF) 10} And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused^(QG) to go to bed with her or even be with her.

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

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.^(QM) “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew^(QN) has been brought to us to make sport of us!^(QO) He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.^{(QP) 15} When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”^(QQ)

¹⁶ She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she told him this story:^(QR) “That Hebrew^(QS) slave^(QT) 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.^{(QU) 20} Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison,^(QV) the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹ the Lord was with him;^(QW) he showed him kindness^(QX) and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.^{(QY) 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.^{(QZ) 23} The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s^(RA) care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.^(RB)

The Cupbearer and the Baker

40 Some time later, the cupbearer^(RC) and the baker^(RD) of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh was angry^(RE) with his two officials,^(RF) the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, ³ and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard,^(RG) in the same prison where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The captain of the guard^(RH) assigned them to Joseph,^(RI) and he attended them.

After they had been in custody^(RJ) for some time, ⁵ each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream^(RK) the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.^(RL)

⁶ When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected.