1Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.2The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.3When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did,4Joseph found favour in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.5From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.6So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,7and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’8But he refused. ‘With me in charge,’ he told her, ‘my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.9No-one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?’10And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even to be with her.11One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside.12She caught him by his cloak and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.13When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,14she called her household servants. ‘Look,’ she said to them, ‘this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.15When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.’16She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home.17Then she told him this story: ‘That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me.18But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.’19When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, ‘This is how your slave treated me,’ he burned with anger.20Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison,21the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favour in the eyes of the prison warder.22So the warder put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.23The warder paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Genesis 39
English Standard Version
Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
1Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. (Ge 37:25; Ge 37:28; Ge 37:36)2The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. (Ge 21:22; Ge 26:24; Ge 26:28; Ge 28:15; Ge 39:21; 1Sa 16:18; 1Sa 18:14; 1Sa 18:28; Ac 7:9)3His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. (2Ch 26:5; Ps 1:3)4So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. (Ge 19:19; Ge 33:10; Ge 39:8; Ge 39:21)5From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. (Ge 30:27)6So 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 handsome in form and appearance. (Ge 29:17; 1Sa 16:12)7And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.”8But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. (Ge 39:4)9He 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 sin against God?” (2Sa 12:13; Ps 51:4)10And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her. (Pr 1:10)11But 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,12she 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. (Pr 7:13; Pr 7:18)13And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house,14she 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.15And 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.”16Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home,17and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me.18But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”19As 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.20And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. (Ge 40:3; Ge 40:5; Ge 40:15; Ge 41:14; Ps 105:18)21But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. (Ge 39:2; Ex 3:21; Ex 11:3; Ex 12:36; Ac 7:9)22And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. (Ge 40:4)23The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed. (Ge 39:2)