Joseph’s Temptation. 1When Joseph was taken down to Egypt, an Egyptian, Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and his chief steward, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 2#1 Sm 3:19; 10:7; 18:14; 2 Sm 5:10; 2 Kgs 18:7; Acts 7:9. The Lord was with Joseph and he enjoyed great success and was assigned to the household of his Egyptian master. 3When his master saw that the Lord was with him and brought him success in whatever he did, 4he favored Joseph and made him his personal attendant; he put him in charge of his household and entrusted to him all his possessions.#Dn 1:9. 5From the moment that he put him in charge of his household and all his possessions, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the Lord’s blessing was on everything he owned, both inside the house and out. 6Having left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge, he gave no thought, with Joseph there, to anything but the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome. 7After a time, his master’s wife looked at him with longing and said, “Lie with me.” 8But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, as long as I am here, my master does not give a thought to anything in the house, but has entrusted to me all he owns. 9He has no more authority in this house than I do. He has withheld from me nothing but you, since you are his wife. How, then, could I do this great wrong and sin against God?” 10Although she spoke to him day after day, he would not agree to lie with her, or even be near her.#1 Mc 2:53.

11One such day, when Joseph came into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were then in the house, 12she laid hold of him by his cloak, saying, “Lie with me!” But leaving the cloak in her hand, he escaped and ran outside. 13When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand as he escaped outside, 14she cried out to her household servants and told them, “Look! My husband has brought us a Hebrew man to mock us! He came in here to lie with me, but I cried out loudly. 15When he heard me scream, he left his cloak beside me and escaped and ran outside.”

16She kept the cloak with her until his master came home. 17Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave whom you brought us came to me to amuse himself at my expense. 18But when I screamed, he left his cloak beside me and escaped outside.” 19When the master heard his wife’s story in which she reported, “Thus and so your servant did to me,” he became enraged. 20Joseph’s master seized him and put him into the jail where the king’s prisoners were confined.#Ps 105:18. And there he sat, in jail.

21But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him kindness by making the chief jailer well-disposed toward him.#Acts 7:9–10. 22The chief jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners in the jail. Everything that had to be done there, he was the one to do it. 23The chief jailer did not have to look after anything that was in Joseph’s charge, since the Lord was with him and was bringing success to whatever he was doing.

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Genesis 39

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

1Meanwhile, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, where an Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. 2And the Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.

3When his master saw that the Lord was with him and made him prosper in all he did, 4Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant.

Potiphar put him in charge of his household and entrusted him with everything he owned. 5From the time that he put Joseph in charge of his household and all he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s household on account of him. The Lord’s blessing was on everything he owned, both in his house and in his field. 6So Potiphar left all that he owned in Joseph’s care; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7and after some time his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”

8But 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 entrusted everything he owns to my care. 9No 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 such a great evil and sin against God?”

10Although Potiphar’s wife spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be near her. 11One day, however, Joseph went into the house to attend to his work, and not a single household servant was inside. 12She grabbed Joseph by his cloak and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his cloak in her hand, he escaped and ran outside.

Joseph Falsely Imprisoned

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, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, but I screamed as loud as I could. 15When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

16So Potiphar’s wife kept Joseph’s cloak beside her until his master came home. 17Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me, 18but when 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 what your slave did to me,” he burned with anger. 20So Joseph’s master took him and had him thrown into the prison where the king’s prisoners were confined.

While Joseph was there in the prison, 21the Lord was with him and extended kindness to him, granting him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22And the warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care, so that he was responsible for all that was done in the prison. 23The warden did not concern himself with anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

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Genesis 39

Genesis 39