Genesis 39-40

New Life Version

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt by the Ishmaelites. And Potiphar, an Egyptian leader, the head of the soldiers of Pharaoh’s house, bought him from the Ishmaelites. ² The Lord was with Joseph, and all went well with him. He was in the house of his boss the Egyptian. ³ Now his boss saw that the Lord was with him. He saw how the Lord made all that Joseph did go well. ⁴ So Joseph found favor in his eyes, and worked only for him. Potiphar made him the one to watch over his house and take care of all that he owned. ⁵ And from the time that he watched over his house and all he owned, the Lord brought good to the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph. The Lord brought good upon all that he owned in the house and in the field. ⁶ So he put all he owned in Joseph’s care. Having Joseph near, he did not need to think about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was strong and good-looking. ⁷ The time came when his boss’s wife saw him, and she said, “Lie with me.” ⁸ But he would not do it. He said to his boss’s wife, “See, with me near, my boss does not worry about anything in the house. He has put all he owns in my care. ⁹ There is no one more important in this house than I. And he has held nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this sinful thing, and sin against God?”

¹⁰ She spoke to Joseph day after day. But he did not listen to her. He would not lie with her or be with her. ¹¹ Then one day Joseph went into the house to do his work. None of the men of the house were inside. ¹² She caught him by his coat, saying, “Lie with me!” But he ran out of the house leaving the coat in her hand. ¹³ When she saw that he had left his coat in her hand and had run out of the house, ¹⁴ she called the men of her house. And she said to them, “See, this Hebrew has been brought to us to make fun of us. He came in to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. ¹⁵ When he heard my loud cry, he left his coat with me and ran outside.”

¹⁶ She kept his coat with her until his boss came home. ¹⁷ Then she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came to me to lie with me. ¹⁸ But when I called out in a loud voice, he left his coat with me and ran outside.” ¹⁹ When his boss heard his wife’s story and her words, “This is what your servant did to me,” he became very angry. ²⁰ So Joseph’s boss took him and put him in prison, the place where the men who did wrong against the king were put in chains. So there he was in prison.

²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him kindness. He gave him favor in the eyes of the man who watched over the prison. ²² The head of the prison put all the men who were in prison into Joseph’s care. So whatever was done there was because of Joseph. ²³ The head of the prison did not worry about anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with him. The Lord made all go well with whatever Joseph did.

Joseph Tells about Two Dreams

40 Some time later, the man who carried the king’s cup and the man who made the king’s bread did wrong against the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh was angry with these two important men, the head cup-carrier and the head bread-maker. ³ So he put them in prison under the care of the head of the soldiers, the same place where Joseph was in prison. ⁴ The head of the soldiers had Joseph watch over them. He took care of them, and they were in prison for a long time. ⁵ One night both the cup-carrier and the bread-maker of the king of Egypt had a dream while they were in prison. Each man had his own dream, and each dream had its own meaning. ⁶ When Joseph came in and looked at them in the morning, he saw that they were sad. ⁷ So he asked these men who had worked for Pharaoh and who were with him in prison in his boss’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?” ⁸ They said to him, “We have had a dream and there is no one to tell us what it means.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not the meanings of dreams belong to God? Tell them to me.”

⁹ So the head cup-carrier told his dream to Joseph. He said, “In my dream, there was a vine in front of me. ¹⁰ And there were three branches on the vine. Then its flowers grew out. From the many flowers came grapes ready to eat. ¹¹ Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand. So I took the grapes and made wine from them and poured it into Pharaoh’s cup. And I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”

¹² Then Joseph said to him, “This is the meaning of it: The three branches are three days. ¹³ Before three days are over, Pharaoh will give you honor and return you to your place of work. You will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand just like you did before when you were his cup-carrier. ¹⁴ But remember me when it is well with you, and show me kindness. Say a good word about me to Pharaoh. Get me out of this prison. ¹⁵ For I was stolen from the land of the Hebrews. And here also I have done nothing for which they should put me in prison.”

¹⁶ The head bread-maker saw that the meaning of the dream was good. He said to Joseph, “I had a dream also. There were three baskets of white bread on my head. ¹⁷ All kinds of food for Pharaoh were in the top basket. But the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸ Then Joseph answered, “This is the meaning of it: The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ Within three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and put your body up on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you.”

²⁰ On the third day, Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a special supper for his servants. He gave honor to the head cup-carrier and the head bread-maker among his servants. ²¹ He returned the head cup-carrier to his place of work and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. ²² But he killed the head bread-maker on a tree, just like Joseph had told them it would happen. ²³ Yet the head cup-carrier did not remember Joseph. He forgot him.