Genesis 39:6-20

International Children’s Bible

⁶ So Potiphar put Joseph in charge of everything he owned. Potiphar was not concerned about anything, except the food he ate.

Joseph Is Put into Prison

Now Joseph was well built and handsome. ⁷ After some time the wife of Joseph’s master began to desire Joseph. One day she said to him, “Have physical relations with me.”

⁸ But Joseph refused. He said to her, “My master trusts me with everything in his house. He has put me in charge of everything he owns. ⁹ There is no one in his house greater than I. He has not kept anything from me, except you. And that is because you are his wife. How can I do such an evil thing? It is a sin against God.”

¹⁰ The woman talked to Joseph every day, but he refused to have physical relations with her or even spend time with her.

¹¹ One day Joseph went into the house to do his work as usual. He was the only man in the house at that time. ¹² His master’s wife grabbed his coat. She said to him, “Come and have physical relations with me.” But Joseph left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house.

¹³ She saw what Joseph had done. He had left his coat in her hands and had run outside. ¹⁴ So she called to the servants in her house. She said, “Look! This Hebrew slave was brought here to shame us. He came in and tried to have physical relations with me. But I screamed. ¹⁵ My scream scared him, and he ran away. But he left his coat with me.” ¹⁶ She kept his coat until her husband came home. ¹⁷ And she told her husband the same story. She said, “This Hebrew slave you brought here came in to shame me! ¹⁸ When he came near me, I screamed. He ran away, but he left his coat.”

¹⁹ When Joseph’s master heard what his wife said Joseph had done, he became very angry. ²⁰ So Potiphar arrested Joseph and put him into prison. This prison was where the king’s prisoners were put. And Joseph stayed there in the prison.