Open English Translation GEN Chapter 39

39 Meanwhile, Yosef had been taken down to Egypt, and an Egyptian man named Potifar had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. Potifar was the chief of the guards for Far’oh (Pharaoh). 2 Yosef lived in the house of his Egyptian master, and Yahweh was with him and he was successful at his work.[ref] 3 His master noticed that Yahweh was with him and that Yahweh made everything that he did succeed, 4 so Yosef earned his favour as he served him. Then Potifar put him in charge of his entire household and everything that he owned. 5 From that time onwards, Yahweh blessed that Egyptian household because of Yosef, and Yahweh’s blessing even extended from everything in the home all the way out to their fields. 6 Potifar left all his belonging in Yosef’s charge, so much so that he didn’t have to think about anything else beyond what he wanted to eat.

Now Yosef had developed into a well-built and handsome young man, 7 and after a while, his master’s wife started to develop a crush on him and told him, “Come to bed with me.” 8 But he refused and told her, “Listen, with me here, my master doesn’t have to think about what’s in the house and he’s put me in charge of everything. 9 In this house, he doesn’t even have more authority than I do and he hasn’t kept anything back from me, except for you, his wife. How could I do this very wicked thing and sin against God. 10 But she kept persisting with Yosef day after, but he wouldn’t lie with her like she wanted.

11 Then one day when he went into the house to do his work and there were no other men of the house around, 12 Potifar’s wife grabbed Yosef’s cloak and demanded, “Come to bed with me.” But he pulled away and fled outside the house, leaving her there holding his cloak. 13 As soon as it registered that he’d fled outside leaving his cloak behind, 14 she yelled for the other male slaves and told them, “Look, he brought a Hebrew here man to mock at us. He tried to get me onto the bed, but I yelled out loudly. 15 When he grasped that I was screaming for help, he left his cloak here and just took off outside.”

16 Potifar’s wife kept the cloak beside her until her husband, Yosef’s master, got home, 17 then she told him the same story, “That Hebrew slave that you brought into our home came to me to mock me, 18 but when I yelled out, he left his cloak here and took off outside.”

19 When Yosef’s master heard his wife tell what his slave had tried to do to her, he became furious. 20 He took him and threw him into the prison built for the king’s prisoners. 21 But Yahweh was with Yosef and was kind to him and caused the prison warden to be pleased with him,[ref] 22 so the warden put him in charge of all the other prisoners and Yosef ended up being in charge of everything that happened inside. 23 Then the warden didn’t need to concern himself with anything that was going on because Yahweh was with Yosef and helped him succeed in everything he did.