1And Joseph was brought into Egypt; and Putiphar an eunuch of Pharao, chief captain of the army, an Egyptian, bought him of the Ismaelites, by whom he was brought.

2And the Lord was with him, and he was a prosperous man in all things: and he dwelt in his master's house,

3Who knew very well that the Lord was with him, and made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

4And Joseph found favour in the sight of his master, and ministered to him: and being set over all by him, he governed the house committed to him, and all things that were delivered to him:

5And the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian for Joseph's sake: and multiplied all his substance, both at home, and in the fields.

6Neither knew he any other thing, but the bread which he ate. And Joseph was of a beautiful countenance, and comely to behold.

7And after many days his mistress cast her eyes on Joseph, and said: Lie with me.

8But he, in no wise consenting to that wicked act, said to her: Behold, my master hath delivered all things to me, and knoweth not what he hath in his own house.

9Neither is there any thing which is not in my power, or that he hath not delivered to me, but thee, who art his wife: How then can I do this wicked thing, and sin against my God?

10With such words as these, day by day, both the woman was importunate with the young man, and he refused the adultery.

11Now it happened on it certain day, that Joseph went into the house, and was doing some business without any man with him:

12And she catching the skirt of his garment, said: Lie with me. But he leaving the garment in her hand fled, and went out.

13And when the woman saw the garment in her hands, and herself disregarded,

14She called to her the men of her house, and said to them: See, he hath brought in a Hebrew, to abuse us. He came in to me, to lie with me: and when I cried out,

15And he heard my voice, he left the garment that I held, and got him out.

16For a proof therefore of her fidelity, she kept the garment, and shewed it to her husband when he returned home:

17And said: The Hebrew servant, whom thou last brought, came to me to abuse me.

18And when he heard me cry, he left the garment which I held, and fled out.

19His master hearing these things, and giving too much credit to his wife's words, was very angry:

20And cast Joseph into the prison, where the king's prisoners were kept. And he was there shut up.

21But the Lord was with Joseph, and having mercy upon him gave him favour in the sight of the chief keeper of the prison:

22Who delivered into his hand all the prisoners that were kept in custody: and whatsoever was done was under him.

23Neither did he himself know any thing, having committed all things to him: for the Lord was with him, and made all that he did to prosper.

An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

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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