Joseph and the Wife of Potiphar
1Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar had bought him from the Ishmaelite traders who had taken him there. Potiphar was one of Pharaoh’s officials. He was the captain of the palace guard.
2The Lord was with Joseph. He gave him great success. Joseph lived in Potiphar’s house. 3Joseph’s master saw that the Lord was with him. He saw that the Lord made Joseph successful in everything he did. 4So Potiphar was pleased with Joseph and made him his attendant. He put Joseph in charge of his house. He trusted Joseph to take care of everything he owned. 5From that time on, the Lord blessed Potiphar’s family and servants because of Joseph. He blessed everything Potiphar had in his house and field. 6So Joseph took good care of everything Potiphar owned. With Joseph in charge, Potiphar didn’t have to worry about anything except the food he ate.
Joseph was strong and handsome. 7After a while, his master’s wife noticed Joseph. She said to him, “Come to bed with me!”
8But he refused. “My master has put me in charge,” he told her. “Now he doesn’t have to worry about anything in the house. He trusts me to take care of everything he owns. 9No one in this house is in a higher position than I am. My master hasn’t held anything back from me, except you. You are his wife. So how could I do an evil thing like that? How could I sin against God?” 10She spoke to Joseph day after day. But he told her he wouldn’t go to bed with her. He didn’t even want to be with her.
11One day Joseph went into the house to take care of his duties. None of the family servants was inside. 12Potiphar’s wife grabbed him by his coat. “Come to bed with me!” she said. But he left his coat in her hand. And he ran out of the house.
13She saw that he had left his coat in her hand and had run out of the house. 14So she called her servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew slave has been brought here to make fun of us! He came in here to force me to have sex with him. But I screamed for help. 15He heard my scream. So he left his coat beside me and ran out of the house.”
16She kept Joseph’s coat with her until Potiphar came home. 17Then she told him her story. She said, “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to rape me. 18But I screamed for help. So he left his coat beside me and ran out of the house.”
19Potiphar’s wife told him, “That’s how your slave treated me.” When Joseph’s master heard her story, he became very angry. 20So he put Joseph in prison. It was the place where the king’s prisoners were kept.
While Joseph was there in the prison, 21the Lord was with him. He was kind to him. So the man running the prison was pleased with Joseph. 22He put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. He made him responsible for everything done there. 23The man who ran the prison didn’t pay attention to anything in Joseph’s care. That’s because the Lord was with Joseph. He gave Joseph success in everything he did.
約瑟遭陷害
1約瑟被以實瑪利商人帶到埃及，賣給了法老的內臣護衛長波提乏。 2約瑟住在他的埃及主人家中，耶和華與他同在，使他凡事亨通。 3他主人看出耶和華與他同在，使他凡事亨通， 4就賞識他，讓他服侍自己，派他管理自己家中一切事務。 5自從埃及人波提乏派約瑟管理自己家中一切事務以後，耶和華因為約瑟的緣故而賜福他主人家，使他主人家裡和田間的一切都蒙福。 6於是，波提乏把一切事都交給約瑟管理，除了自己要吃的食物以外，什麼也不管。
約瑟體格健壯，相貌英俊。 7後來，波提乏的妻子看中了約瑟，向他眉目傳情，要引誘他上床。 8約瑟拒絕了她，說：「我主人信任我，把家裡一切事都交給我管理。 9在這家裡，沒有人比我權力更大了，我主人把一切都交給了我，唯獨你除外，因為你是他的妻子。我怎能做這種醜事得罪上帝呢？」 10但她還是每天勾引約瑟，約瑟不從，並儘量避開她。
11一天，約瑟進屋裡辦事，那時屋裡沒有其他人。 12波提乏的妻子抓住約瑟的外衣，硬要與他上床。約瑟丟下外衣擺脫她逃了出去。 13她見約瑟丟下外衣逃了出去， 14就叫來家裡的人，對他們說：「你們看，我丈夫帶回家的這個希伯來人戲弄我們！他進來要與我上床，我就大聲呼喊， 15他聽見我大聲喊叫，就把衣服丟在我這裡，逃了出去。」 16她把約瑟的外衣留在身邊，等她丈夫回來後， 17就對他說：「你帶回來的那個希伯來人進來要戲弄我， 18我大聲喊叫，他就把衣服丟在我這裡，逃了出去。」
19波提乏聽了妻子講述約瑟如何對待她之後，勃然大怒， 20把約瑟關進王囚禁犯人的監牢。 21約瑟坐牢的時候，耶和華與他同在，恩待他，使監獄長賞識他。 22監獄長把獄中所有囚犯及一切事務都交給約瑟管理。 23凡交到約瑟手中的事情，監獄長都很放心，因為耶和華與約瑟同在，使他凡事亨通。
