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39 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, a chamberlain of Pharaoh, the captain of the life-guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites who had brought him down thither.

And Jehovah was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

And his master saw that Jehovah was with him, and that Jehovah made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

And Joseph found favour in his eyes, and attended on him; and he set him over his house, and all that he had he gave into his hand.

And it came to pass from the time he had set him over his house and all that he had, that Jehovah blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of Jehovah was on all that he had in the house and in the field.

And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and took cognizance of nothing with him, save the bread that he ate. And Joseph was of a beautiful form and of a beautiful countenance.

And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph, and said, Lie with me!

But he refused, and said to his master's wife, Behold, my master takes cognizance of nothing with me: what is in the house, and all that he has, he has given into my hand.

There is none greater in this house than I; neither has he withheld anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife; and how should I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

10 And it came to pass as she spoke to Joseph day by day and he hearkened not to her, to lie with her [and] to be with her,

11 that on a certain day he went into the house to do his business, and there was none of the men of the house there in the house.

12 Then she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me! But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran out.

13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled forth,

14 that she called to the men of her house, and spoke to them, saying, See, he has brought in a Hebrew man to us, to mock us: he came in to me, to lie with me; and I cried with a loud voice;

15 and it came to pass when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went out.

16 And she laid his garment by her until his lord came home.

17 And she spoke to him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew bondman that thou hast brought to us came in to me to mock me;

18 and it came to pass as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled forth.

19 And it came to pass when his lord heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying, After this manner did thy bondman to me, that his wrath was kindled.

20 And Joseph's lord took him and put him into the tower-house, [the] place where the king's prisoners were confined; and he was there in the tower-house.

21 And Jehovah was with Joseph, and extended mercy to him, and gave him favour in the eyes of the chief of the tower-house.

22 And the chief of the tower-house committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the tower-house; and whatever they had to do there he did.

23 The chief of the tower-house looked not to anything under his hand, because Jehovah was with him; and what he did, Jehovah made it prosper.

Joseph in Potiphar’s House

39 Now Joseph had been taken to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guards, bought him from the Ishmaelites(A) who had brought him there. The Lord was with Joseph,(B) and he became a successful man, serving[a] in the household of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful,(C) Joseph found favor(D) with his master and became his personal attendant. Potiphar also put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority.[b] From the time that he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph.(E) The Lord’s blessing was on all that he owned, in his house and in his fields. He left all that he owned under Joseph’s authority;[c] he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.(F) After some time his master’s wife looked longingly at Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”

But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority.[d] No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God?” (G)

10 Although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her.[e] 11 Now one day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there.[f] 12 She grabbed him by his garment and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his garment in her hand, he escaped and ran outside. 13 When she saw that he had left his garment with her and had run outside, 14 she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “my husband brought a Hebrew man to make fools of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, and I screamed as loud as I could. 15 When he heard me screaming for help,[g] he left his garment beside me and ran outside.”

16 She put Joseph’s garment beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought to us came to make a fool of me, 18 but when I screamed for help,[h] he left his garment beside me and ran outside.”

19 When his master heard the story his wife told him—“These are the things your slave did to me”—he was furious 20 and had him thrown into prison,(H) where the king’s prisoners were confined. So Joseph was there in prison.

Joseph in Prison

21 But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him.(I) He granted him favor with the prison warden.(J) 22 The warden put all the prisoners who were in the prison under Joseph’s authority,[i] and he was responsible for everything that was done there. 23 The warden did not bother with anything under Joseph’s authority,[j] because the Lord was with him, and the Lord made everything that he did successful.(K)

Footnotes

  1. 39:2 Lit and he was
  2. 39:4 Lit owned in his hand
  3. 39:6 Lit owned in Joseph’s hand
  4. 39:8 Lit owns in my hand
  5. 39:10 Lit he did not listen to her to lie beside her, to be with her
  6. 39:11 Lit there in the house
  7. 39:15 Lit he heard that I raised my voice and I screamed
  8. 39:18 Lit I raised my voice and screamed
  9. 39:22 Lit prison in the hand of Joseph
  10. 39:23 Lit anything in his hand

Joseph a Slave in Egypt

39 Now Joseph had been taken (A)down to Egypt. And (B)Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, (C)bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. (D)The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord (E)made all he did [a]to prosper in his hand. So Joseph (F)found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him (G)overseer of his house, and all that he had he put [b]under his authority. So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that (H)the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s [c]hand, and he did not know what he had except for the [d]bread which he ate.

Now Joseph (I)was handsome in form and appearance.

And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife [e]cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, (J)“Lie with me.”

But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. (K)How then can I do this great wickedness, and (L)sin against God?”

10 So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he (M)did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.

11 But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, 12 that she (N)caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. 13 And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, 14 that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a (O)Hebrew to [f]mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”

16 So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. 17 Then she (P)spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; 18 so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”

19 So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his (Q)anger was aroused. 20 Then Joseph’s master took him and (R)put him into the (S)prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He (T)gave[g] him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison (U)committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. 23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under [h]Joseph’s authority, because (V)the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 39:3 to be a success
  2. Genesis 39:4 Lit. in his hand
  3. Genesis 39:6 Care
  4. Genesis 39:6 Food
  5. Genesis 39:7 Lit. lifted up her eyes toward
  6. Genesis 39:14 laugh at
  7. Genesis 39:21 Caused him to be viewed with favor by
  8. Genesis 39:23 Lit. his hand