Joseph and Potiphar's Wife

39 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and (A)Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, (B)had bought him from the (C)Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. (D)The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord (E)caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph (F)found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house (G)and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house (H)for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.

Now Joseph was (I)handsome in form and appearance. And after a time 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, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and (J)he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and (K)sin against God?” 10 And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he (L)would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.

11 But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, 12 (M)she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. 13 And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” 16 Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18 But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”

19 As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20 And Joseph's master took him and (N)put him into the (O)prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But (P)the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love (Q)and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison (R)put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because (S)the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.

Joseph in Potiphar’s House

39 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, a court official of Pharaoh, commander of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. And Yahweh was with Joseph, and he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. And his master observed that Yahweh was with him, and everything that was in his hand to do Yahweh made successful. And Joseph found favor in his eyes and he served him. Then he appointed him[a] over his house and all that he owned he put into his hand. And it happened that from the time he appointed him over his house and over all that he had, Yahweh blessed the house of the Egyptian on account of Joseph. And the blessing of Yahweh was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. And he left all that he had in the hand of Joseph, and he did not worry about anything[b] except the food that he ate. Now Joseph was well built and handsome.[c] And it happened that after these things his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not worry about[d] what is in the house, and everything he owns he has put in my hand. He has no greater authority in this house than me, and he has not withheld anything from me except you, since you are his wife. Now how could I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” 10 And it happened that as she spoke to Joseph day after day,[e] he did not heed her to lie beside her or to be with her. 11 But one particular day[f] he came into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house were there in the house, 12 she seized him by his garment and said, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and he went outside. 13 And it happened that when she saw that he left his garment in her hand and fled outside, 14 she called to the men of her house and said to them, “Look! He[g] brought a Hebrew man to us to mock us! He came to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And when he heard me, that I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled, and he went outside.” 16 Then she put his garment beside her until his master came to his house. 17 Then she spoke to him according to these words, saying, “The Hebrew slave that you brought to us came to me to make fun of me. 18 And it happened that as I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” 19 And when his master heard the words of his wife that she spoke to him, “This is what your servant did to me,”[h] he became very angry.[i] 20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into prison, the place that the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in prison. 21 And Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed loyal love to him, and gave him favor in the eyes of the chief of the prison. 22 And the chief of the prison put all the prisoners that were in the prison into the hand of Joseph. And everything that was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The chief of the prison did not worry about[j] anything in his[k] hand, since Yahweh was with him. And whatever he did Yahweh made it successful.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 39:4 That is, Joseph
  2. Genesis 39:6 Literally “he did not know with him anything”
  3. Genesis 39:6 Literally “beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance”
  4. Genesis 39:8 Literally “does not know with me”
  5. Genesis 39:10 Literally “day, day”
  6. Genesis 39:11 Literally “and it happened as this day”
  7. Genesis 39:14 That is, Potiphar
  8. Genesis 39:19 Literally “according to these words your servant did to me”
  9. Genesis 39:19 Literally “his nostrils became hot”
  10. Genesis 39:23 Literally “did not pay heed to”
  11. Genesis 39:23 That is, Joseph’s

Joseph’s Success in Egypt

39 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him [a]from the (A)Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. (B)The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a [b]successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Now his master (C)saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord (D)caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph (E)found favor in his sight and [c]became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and (F)all that he owned he put in his [d]charge. It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the Lord (G)blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus (H)the Lord’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field. So he left everything he owned in Joseph’s [e]charge; and with him there he did not [f]concern himself with anything except the [g]food which he [h]ate.

Now Joseph was (I)handsome in form and appearance. It came about after these events (J)that his master’s wife [i]looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, “(K)Lie with me.” But (L)he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, my master [j]does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my [k]charge. [l](M)There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and (N)sin against God?” 10 As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. 11 Now it happened [m]one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. 12 She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. 13 [n]When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought in a [o]Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I [p]screamed. 15 When he heard that I raised my voice and [q]screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.” 16 So she [r]left his garment beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she (O)spoke to him [s]with these words, “[t]The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me; 18 and as I raised my voice and [u]screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”

Joseph Imprisoned

19 Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “[v]This is what your slave did to me,” (P)his anger burned. 20 So Joseph’s master took him and (Q)put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. 21 But (R)the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and (S)gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. 22 The chief jailer (T)committed to Joseph’s [w]charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was [x]responsible for it. 23 (U)The chief jailer did not supervise anything under [y]Joseph’s charge because (V)the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, (W)the Lord made to prosper.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 39:1 Lit from the hand of
  2. Genesis 39:2 Or prosperous
  3. Genesis 39:4 Or ministered to him
  4. Genesis 39:4 Lit hand
  5. Genesis 39:6 Lit hand
  6. Genesis 39:6 Lit know
  7. Genesis 39:6 Lit bread
  8. Genesis 39:6 Or used to eat
  9. Genesis 39:7 Lit lifted up her eyes at
  10. Genesis 39:8 Lit does not know what is in the house
  11. Genesis 39:8 Lit hand
  12. Genesis 39:9 Or He is not greater
  13. Genesis 39:11 Lit about this day
  14. Genesis 39:13 Lit And it came about when
  15. Genesis 39:14 Lit Hebrew man
  16. Genesis 39:14 Lit called with a great voice
  17. Genesis 39:15 Lit called out
  18. Genesis 39:16 Lit let...lie beside
  19. Genesis 39:17 Lit according to
  20. Genesis 39:17 Lit saying, “The
  21. Genesis 39:18 Lit called out
  22. Genesis 39:19 Lit According to these things your slave
  23. Genesis 39:22 Lit hand
  24. Genesis 39:22 Lit the doer
  25. Genesis 39:23 Lit his hand