The Daily Audio Bible

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39 Now Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.

² The Lord was with Joseph, so that he became a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. ³ His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper. ⁴ Joseph found favor in his sight and served him. So he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put under his charge. ⁵ From the time that he had made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph. So the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. ⁶ So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and he had no concerns regarding anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was handsome and well-built. ⁷ After a time, his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Lie with me.”

⁸ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “My master does not concern himself with anything concerning me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my charge. ⁹ There is none greater in this house than I. He has kept nothing back from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” ¹⁰ She spoke to Joseph every day, but he did not listen to her about lying with her or being with her.

¹¹ But it happened one day that Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was there. ¹² She caught him by his clothing, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his clothing in her hand and fled and got outside.

¹³ When she saw that he had left his clothing in her hand and had fled outside, ¹⁴ she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew among us to humiliate us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. ¹⁵ When he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his clothing with me, fled, and got outside.”

¹⁶ She laid up his clothing next to her until his master came home. ¹⁷ She spoke to him using these words, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought to us, came in to me to mock me. ¹⁸ When I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his clothing with me and fled outside.”

¹⁹ When his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your servant did to me,” he became enraged. ²⁰ Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

So he was there in the prison. ²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²² The keeper of the prison committed all the prisoners that were in the prison to the charge of Joseph. So whatever they did there, he was the one responsible for it. ²³ The keeper of the prison did not concern himself with anything that was under Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it to prosper.

Joseph Interprets Dreams

40 Sometime after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord, the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, with the chief of the cupbearers and with the chief of the bakers. ³ So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he attended to them.

They continued to be in confinement for some time. ⁵ Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation.

⁶ Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them and realized they were sad. ⁷ So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in the care of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”

⁸ And they said to him, “We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter for it.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

⁹ The chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream, a vine was in front of me. ¹⁰ And in the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms shot forth and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. ¹¹ Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”

¹² Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it. The three branches are three days. ¹³ Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand in the same way you did before when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ But remember me when it is well with you, and show kindness, I pray you, to me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. ¹⁵ For I was indeed kidnapped out of the land of the Hebrews, and I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon.”

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and I had three white baskets on my head. ¹⁷ In the uppermost basket there was all manner of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸ Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ Within three days Pharaoh will lift your head from off you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

²⁰ It happened on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker among his servants. ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer to his position again, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. ²² However, he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.

²³ Yet, the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Pharaoh’s Dreams

41 After two whole years, Pharaoh had a dream that he was standing by the Nile. ² Seven fine-looking and fattened cows suddenly came up out of the river, and they grazed in the meadow. ³ Then seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the riverbank. ⁴ The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine-looking and fattened cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.

⁵ He slept and dreamed a second time. Seven ears of grain suddenly came up on one stalk, plump and good. ⁶ Then seven thin ears, scorched by the east wind, sprang up after them. ⁷ The seven thin ears devoured the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke and realized it was a dream.

⁸ In the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “Today I remember my offenses. ¹⁰ Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me in confinement in the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the chief baker. ¹¹ And we had a dream in the same night, he and I. We, each of us, dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. ¹² A young Hebrew man was with us there, a servant to the captain of the guard. We told him and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each man he interpreted according to his own dream. ¹³ It happened just as he interpreted. He restored me to my position, and the baker was hanged.”

¹⁴ So Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came to Pharaoh.

¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream to interpret it.”

¹⁶ Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me. God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

The Mother and Brothers of Jesus^(A)

⁴⁶ While He was still speaking to the people, right then His mother and His brothers stood outside asking to speak with Him. ⁴⁷ Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside asking to speak with You.”

⁴⁸ But He answered the man who told him, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹ He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother.”

The Parable of the Sower^(B)

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. ² Great crowds assembled around Him, so that He went into a boat and sat there. And the whole assembly stood on the shore. ³ Then He told them many things in parables, saying, “Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴ While he sowed, some seeds fell beside the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ But other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up because they did not have deep soil. ⁶ But when the sun rose, they were scorched. And because they did not take root, they withered away. ⁷ Some seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ But other seeds fell into good ground and produced grain: a hundred, sixty, or thirty times as much. ⁹ Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables^(C)

¹⁰ The disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

¹¹ He answered them, “It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. ¹² For to him who has, will more be given, and he will have abundance. But from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables:

¹⁴ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says:

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them.

The Parable of the Sower Explained^(D)

¹⁸ “Therefore listen to the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one who received seed beside the path. ²⁰ But he who received the seed on rocky ground is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, eventually he falls away. ²² He also who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. ²³ But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit. Some produce a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”

Psalm 17

A Prayer of David.