Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
1Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
2The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”
8But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
11One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
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 to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
16She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18But as soon as 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 how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Josef hos Potifar
1Efter at Josef var bragt til Egypten af ishmaelitterne, blev han som nævnt købt af Potifar, der var chef for egypterkongens livvagt. 2Herren velsignede Josef og hans arbejde i hans egyptiske herres hus. Alting lykkedes for ham. 3Selv Potifar indså, at Josef var under Herrens særlige velsignelse, da alting åbenbart lykkedes for ham. 4Derfor valgte Potifar hurtigt Josef som sin personlige tjener, lod ham bestyre hele sin ejendom og gav ham ansvaret for alle sine forretningsforetagender. 5Straks begyndte Herren for Josefs skyld at velsigne Potifar og alt, hvad han ejede, både hans landbrug og hans husholdning. 6Til sidst overlod Potifar hele ansvaret for sin ejendom til Josef og bekymrede sig ikke om noget som helst—udover den mad, han spiste.
Josef var velbygget og så godt ud, 7og det varede ikke længe, før hans herres kone sendte ham lange blikke. En dag sagde hun: „Kom og gå i seng med mig!” 8Men Josef afviste hendes tilnærmelser. „Min herre har fuld tillid til mig og har givet mig ansvar for alt, hvad han ejer, 9og samme autoritet, som han selv har,” sagde han til hende. „Jeg har adgang til alt, hvad han har—bortset fra dig, for du er hans kone. Hvordan skulle jeg da kunne gøre noget så usselt? Det ville være en stor synd mod Gud!”
10Dag efter dag blev hun ved med at friste ham, men han nægtede at gå i seng med hende og i det hele taget at have noget med hende at gøre. 11Men en dag, da han som sædvanlig kom ind i huset for at arbejde, og der ingen andre tjenestefolk var i nærheden, 12greb hun fat i hans kjortel. „Kom og lig med mig!” beordrede hun. Men Josef rev sig løs og flygtede ud af huset, og hun stod tilbage med hans kjortel i hånden. 13Da hun så, at hun havde hans kjortel, fik hun en idé: 14-15Hun begyndte at skrige! Og tjenestefolkene kom straks løbende for at se, hvad der var på færde. „Har min mand bragt den elendige hebræer hertil for at vanære mig?” hulkede hun. „Han forsøgte at voldtage mig—men da jeg begyndte at skrige, flygtede han. Se, her er hans kjortel!”
16Hun beholdt kjortlen, og da hendes mand om aftenen kom hjem, 17fortalte hun ham samme historie. „Den hebræiske slave, som du har bragt hertil, trængte ind til mig og forsøgte at voldtage mig! 18Men jeg skreg, og han flygtede så hurtigt, at han ikke nåede at få sin kjortel med.”
Josef kommer i fængsel
19Da Potifar hørte, hvad hun fortalte, blev han rasende. 20Han arresterede Josef og kastede ham i det fængsel, hvor kongens fanger sad. 21Men også der var Herren med Josef, så han hurtigt blev ven med fængselsinspektøren. 22Inden længe fik han ansvaret for de andre fanger og for alle aktiviteterne i fængslet. 23Fængselsinspektøren havde ikke længere noget at bekymre sig om, for Josef tog sig af det hele. Herren var med Josef, og alting lykkedes for ham.
