Joseph and Potiphar's Wife

39 The Ishmaelites took Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, the king's^[a] official in charge of the palace guard. ^2-3 (A) So Joseph lived in the home of Potiphar, his Egyptian owner.

Soon Potiphar realized that the Lord was helping Joseph to be successful in whatever he did. ⁴ Potiphar liked Joseph and made him his personal assistant, putting him in charge of his house and all of his property. ⁵ Because of Joseph, the Lord began to bless Potiphar's family and fields. ⁶ Potiphar left everything up to Joseph, and with Joseph there, the only decision he had to make was what he wanted to eat.

Joseph was well-built and handsome, ^7 (B) and Potiphar's wife soon noticed him. She asked him to make love to her, ⁸ but he refused and said, “My master isn't worried about anything in his house, because he has placed me in charge of everything he owns. ⁹ No one in my master's house is more important than I am. The only thing he hasn't given me is you, and that's because you are his wife. I won't sin against God by doing such a terrible thing as this.” ¹⁰ She kept begging Joseph day after day, but he refused to do what she wanted or even to go near her.

¹¹ One day, Joseph went to Potiphar's house to do his work, and none of the other servants were there. ¹² Potiphar's wife grabbed hold of his coat and said, “Make love to me!” Joseph ran out of the house, leaving his coat there in her hands.

¹³ When this happened, ¹⁴ she called in her servants and said, “Look! This Hebrew has come just to make fools of us. He tried to rape me, but I screamed for help. ¹⁵ And when he heard me scream, he ran out of the house, leaving his coat with me.”

¹⁶ Potiphar's wife kept Joseph's coat until her husband came home. ¹⁷ Then she said, “That Hebrew slave of yours tried to rape me! ¹⁸ But when I screamed for help, he left his coat and ran out of the house.”

¹⁹ Potiphar became very angry ²⁰ and threw Joseph in the same prison where the king's prisoners were kept.

While Joseph was in prison, ^21 (C) the Lord helped him and was good to him. He even made the jailer like Joseph so much that ²² he put him in charge of the other prisoners and of everything that was done in the jail. ²³ The jailer did not worry about anything, because the Lord was with Joseph and made him successful in all that he did.

Joseph Tells the Meaning of the Prisoners' Dreams

40 ^1-3 While Joseph was in prison, both the king's^[a] personal servant^[b] and his chief cook made the king angry. So he had them thrown into the same prison with Joseph. ⁴ They spent a long time in prison, and the official in charge of the palace guard,^[c] made Joseph their servant.

⁵ One night each of the two men had a dream, but their dreams had different meanings. ⁶ The next morning, when Joseph went to see the men, he could tell they were upset, ⁷ and he asked, “Why are you so worried today?”

⁸ “We each had a dream last night,” they answered, “and there is no one to tell us what they mean.”

Joseph replied, “Doesn't God know the meaning of dreams? Now tell me what you dreamed.”

⁹ The king's personal servant told Joseph, “In my dream I saw a vine ¹⁰ with three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its grapes became ripe. ¹¹ I held the king's cup and squeezed the grapes into it, then I gave the cup to the king.”

¹² Joseph said:

This is the meaning of your dream. The three branches stand for three days, ¹³ and in three days the king will pardon you. He will make you his personal servant again, and you will serve him his wine, just as you used to do. ¹⁴ But when these good things happen, please don't forget to tell the king about me, so I can get out of this place. ¹⁵ I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here in Egypt I haven't done anything to deserve being thrown in jail.

¹⁶ When the chief cook saw that Joseph had given a good meaning to the dream, he told Joseph, “I also had a dream. In it I was carrying three breadbaskets stacked on top of my head. ¹⁷ The top basket was full of all kinds of baked things for the king, but birds were eating them.”

¹⁸ Joseph said:

This is the meaning of your dream. The three baskets are three days, ^19 (A) and in three days the king will cut off your head. He will hang your body on a pole, and birds will come and peck at it.

²⁰ Three days later, while the king was celebrating his birthday with a dinner for his officials, he sent for his personal servant and the chief cook. ²¹ He put the personal servant back in his old job ²² and had the cook put to death.

Everything happened just as Joseph had said it would, ²³ but the king's personal servant completely forgot about Joseph.

The Sermon on the Mount

5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the side of a mountain and sat down.^[a]

Blessings

(Luke 6.20-23)

Jesus' disciples gathered around him, ² and he taught them:

^11 (F) God will bless you when people insult you, mistreat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me. ^12 (G) Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven. People did these same things to the prophets who lived long ago.

Salt and Light

(Mark 9.50; Luke 14.34,35)

^13 (H) You are the salt for everyone on earth. But if salt no longer tastes like salt, how can it make food salty? All it is good for is to be thrown out and walked on.

^14 (I) You are the light for the whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, ^15 (J) and no one lights a lamp and puts it under a clay pot. Instead, it is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. ^16 (K) Make your light shine, so others will see the good you do and will praise your Father in heaven.

The Law of Moses

¹⁷ Don't suppose I came to do away with the Law and the Prophets.^[e] I did not come to do away with them, but to give them their full meaning. ^18 (L) Heaven and earth may disappear. But I promise you not even a period or comma will ever disappear from the Law. Everything written in it must happen.

¹⁹ If you reject even the least important command in the Law and teach others to do the same, you will be the least important person in the kingdom of heaven. But if you obey and teach others its commands, you will have an important place in the kingdom. ²⁰ You must obey God's commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them. If you don't, I promise you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

Anger

^21 (M) You know our ancestors were told, “Do not murder” and “A murderer must be brought to trial.” ²² But I promise you if you are angry with someone,^[f] you will have to stand trial. If you call someone a fool, you will be taken to court. And if you say that someone is worthless, you will be in danger of the fires of hell.

²³ So if you are about to place your gift on the altar and remember that someone is angry with you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. Make peace with that person, then come back and offer your gift to God.

²⁵ Before you are dragged into court, make friends with the person who has accused you of doing wrong. If you don't, you will be handed over to the judge and then to the officer who will put you in jail. ²⁶ I promise you will not get out until you have paid the last cent you owe.

Marriage

^27 (N) You know the commandment which says, “Be faithful in marriage.” ²⁸ But I tell you if you look at another woman and want her, you are already unfaithful in your thoughts. ^29 (O) If your right eye causes you to sin, poke it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body, than for your whole body to end up in hell. ^30 (P) If your right hand causes you to sin, chop it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one part of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Divorce

(Matthew 19.9; Mark 10.11,12; Luke 16.18)

^31 (Q) You have been taught that a man who divorces his wife must write out divorce papers for her.^{[g] 32 (R)} But I tell you not to divorce your wife unless she has committed some terrible sexual sin.^[h] If you divorce her, you will cause her to be unfaithful, just as any man who marries her is guilty of taking another man's wife.

Promises

^33 (S) You know our ancestors were told, “Don't use the Lord's name to make a promise unless you are going to keep it.” ^34 (T) But I tell you not to swear by anything when you make a promise! Heaven is God's throne, so don't swear by heaven. ^35 (U) The earth is God's footstool, so don't swear by the earth. Jerusalem is the city of the great king, so don't swear by it. ³⁶ Don't swear by your own head. You cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ When you make a promise, say only “Yes” or “No.” Anything else comes from the devil.

Revenge

(Luke 6.29,30)

^38 (V) You know you have been taught, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” ³⁹ But I tell you not to try to get even with a person who has done something to you. When someone slaps your right cheek,^[i] turn and let that person slap your other cheek. ⁴⁰ If someone sues you for your shirt, give up your coat as well. ⁴¹ If a soldier forces you to carry his pack one kilometer, carry it two kilometers.^{[j] 42} When people ask you for something, give it to them. When they want to borrow money, lend it to them.

Love

(Luke 6.27,28,32-36)

^43 (W) You have heard people say, “Love your neighbors and hate your enemies.” ⁴⁴ But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. ^45 (X) Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong. ⁴⁶ If you love only those people who love you, will God reward you for this? Even tax collectors^[k] love their friends. ⁴⁷ If you greet only your friends, what's so great about this? Don't even unbelievers do that? ^48 (Y) But you must always act like your Father in heaven.