Genesis 39

¹ Now Joseph had been taken down into Egypt. Potiphar the Egyptian, one of Pharaoh's officials andcommander of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.

² Yahweh was with Joseph, and everything he undertook was successful. He lodged in the house of hisEgyptian master,

³ and when his master saw how Yahweh was with him and how Yahweh made everything he undertooksuccessful,

⁴ he was pleased with Joseph and made him his personal attendant; and his master put him in chargeof his household, entrusting him with al his possessions.

⁵ And from the time he put him in charge of his household and al his possessions, Yahweh blessed theEgyptian's household out of consideration for Joseph; Yahweh's blessing extended to al his possessions, bothhousehold and estate.

⁶ So he left Joseph to handle al his possessions, and with him there, concerned himself with nothingbeyond the food he ate. Now Joseph was wel built and handsome,

⁷ and it happened some time later that his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, 'Sleep withme.'

⁸ But he refused. 'Look,' he said to his master's wife, 'with me here, my master does not concernhimself with what happens in the house, having entrusted al his possessions to me.

⁹ He himself wields no more authority in this house than I do. He has exempted nothing from me exceptyourself, because you are his wife. How could I do anything so wicked, and sin against God?'

¹⁰ Although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not agree to sleep with her or be with her.

¹¹ But one day when Joseph came into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the householdhappened to be indoors,

¹² she caught hold of him by his tunic and said, 'Sleep with me.' But he left the tunic in her hand, took tohis heels and got out.

¹³ When she saw that he had left the tunic in her hands as he ran out,

¹⁴ she cal ed her servants and said to them, 'Look at this! My husband brought in a Hebrew to make afool of me! He burst in on me, but I screamed,

¹⁵ and when he heard me scream, he left his tunic beside me and ran out of the house.'

¹⁶ She kept his tunic by her until his master came home.

¹⁷ Then she told him the same tale, 'The Hebrew slave you brought to us burst in on me to make a foolof me.

¹⁸ But when I screamed, he left his tunic beside me and ran away.'

¹⁹ When his master heard his wife say, 'This was how your slave treated me,' he became furious.

²⁰ Joseph's master had him arrested and committed to the gaol where the king's prisoners were kept.And there in gaol he stayed.

²¹ But Yahweh was with Joseph. He showed him faithful love and made him popular with the chiefgaoler.

²² The chief gaoler put Joseph in charge of al the prisoners in the gaol, making him responsible foreverything done there.

²³ The chief gaoler did not bother about anything put in his charge, since Yahweh was with him, andYahweh made everything he undertook successful.