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.
José é Assediado pela Mulher de Potifar
1José havia sido levado para o Egito, onde o egípcio Potifar, oficial do faraó e capitão da guarda, comprou-o dos ismaelitas que o tinham levado para lá.
2O Senhor estava com José, de modo que este prosperou e passou a morar na casa do seu senhor egípcio. 3Quando este percebeu que o Senhor estava com ele e que o fazia prosperar em tudo o que realizava, 4agradou-se de José e tornou-o administrador de seus bens. Potifar deixou a seu cuidado a sua casa e lhe confiou tudo o que possuía. 5Desde que o deixou cuidando de sua casa e de todos os seus bens, o Senhor abençoou a casa do egípcio por causa de José. A bênção do Senhor estava sobre tudo o que Potifar possuía, tanto em casa como no campo. 6Assim, deixou ele aos cuidados de José tudo o que tinha, e não se preocupava com coisa alguma, exceto com sua própria comida.
José era atraente e de boa aparência, 7e, depois de certo tempo, a mulher do seu senhor começou a cobiçá-lo e o convidou: “Venha, deite-se comigo!” 8Mas ele se recusou e lhe disse: “Meu senhor não se preocupa com coisa alguma de sua casa, e tudo o que tem deixou aos meus cuidados. 9Ninguém desta casa está acima de mim. Ele nada me negou, a não ser a senhora, porque é a mulher dele. Como poderia eu, então, cometer algo tão perverso e pecar contra Deus?” 10Assim, embora ela insistisse com José dia após dia, ele se recusava a deitar-se com ela e evitava ficar perto dela.
11Um dia ele entrou na casa para fazer suas tarefas, e nenhum dos empregados ali se encontrava. 12Ela o agarrou pelo manto e voltou a convidá-lo: “Vamos, deite-se comigo!” Mas ele fugiu da casa, deixando o manto na mão dela.
13Quando ela viu que, ao fugir, ele tinha deixado o manto em sua mão, 14chamou os empregados e lhes disse: “Vejam, este hebreu nos foi trazido para nos insultar! Ele entrou aqui e tentou abusar de mim, mas eu gritei. 15Quando me ouviu gritar por socorro, largou seu manto ao meu lado e fugiu da casa”.
16Ela conservou o manto consigo até que o senhor de José chegasse à casa. 17Então repetiu-lhe a história: “Aquele escravo hebreu que você nos trouxe aproximou-se de mim para me insultar. 18Mas, quando gritei por socorro, ele largou seu manto ao meu lado e fugiu”.
19Quando o seu senhor ouviu o que a sua mulher lhe disse: “Foi assim que o seu escravo me tratou”, ficou indignado. 20Mandou buscar José e lançou-o na prisão em que eram postos os prisioneiros do rei.
José ficou na prisão, 21mas o Senhor estava com ele e o tratou com bondade, concedendo-lhe a simpatia do carcereiro. 22Por isso o carcereiro encarregou José de todos os que estavam na prisão, e ele se tornou responsável por tudo o que lá sucedia. 23O carcereiro não se preocupava com nada do que estava a cargo de José, porque o Senhor estava com José e lhe concedia bom êxito em tudo o que realizava.
