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39 And Joseph hath been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, head of the executioners, an Egyptian man, buyeth him out of the hands of the Ishmaelites who have brought him thither.

And Jehovah is with Joseph, and he is a prosperous man, and he is in the house of his lord the Egyptian,

and his lord seeth that Jehovah is with him, and all that he is doing Jehovah is causing to prosper in his hand,

and Joseph findeth grace in his eyes and serveth him, and he appointeth him over his house, and all that he hath he hath given into his hand.

And it cometh to pass from the time that he hath appointed him over his house, and over all that he hath, that Jehovah blesseth the house of the Egyptian for Joseph's sake, and the blessing of Jehovah is on all that he hath, in the house, and in the field;

and he leaveth all that he hath in the hand of Joseph, and he hath not known anything that he hath, except the bread which he is eating. And Joseph is of a fair form, and of a fair appearance.

And it cometh to pass after these things, that his lord's wife lifteth up her eyes unto Joseph, and saith, `Lie with me;'

and he refuseth, and saith unto his lord's wife, `Lo, my lord hath not known what [is] with me in the house, and all that he hath he hath given into my hand;

none is greater in this house than I, and he hath not withheld from me anything, except thee, because thou [art] his wife; and how shall I do this great evil? -- then have I sinned against God.'

10 And it cometh to pass at her speaking unto Joseph day [by] day, that he hath not hearkened unto her, to lie near her, to be with her;

11 and it cometh to pass about this day, that he goeth into the house to do his work, and there is none of the men of the house there in the house,

12 and she catcheth him by his garment, saying, `Lie with me;' and he leaveth his garment in her hand, and fleeth, and goeth without.

13 And it cometh to pass when she seeth that he hath left his garment in her hand, and fleeth without,

14 that she calleth for the men of her house, and speaketh to them, saying, `See, he hath brought in to us a man, a Hebrew, to play with us; he hath come in unto me, to lie with me, and I call with a loud voice,

15 and it cometh to pass, when he heareth that I have lifted up my voice and call, that he leaveth his garment near me, and fleeth, and goeth without.'

16 And she placeth his garment near her, until the coming in of his lord unto his house.

17 And she speaketh unto him according to these words, saying, `The Hebrew servant whom thou hast brought unto us, hath come in unto me to play with me;

18 and it cometh to pass, when I lift my voice and call, that he leaveth his garment near me, and fleeth without.'

19 And it cometh to pass when his lord heareth the words of his wife, which she hath spoken unto him, saying, `According to these things hath thy servant done to me,' that his anger burneth;

20 and Joseph's lord taketh him, and putteth him unto the round-house, a place where the king's prisoners [are] bound; and he is there in the round-house.

21 And Jehovah is with Joseph, and stretcheth out kindness unto him, and putteth his grace in the eyes of the chief of the round-house;

22 and the chief of the round-house giveth into the hand of Joseph all the prisoners who [are] in the round-house, and of all that they are doing there, he hath been doer;

23 the chief of the round-house seeth not anything under his hand, because Jehovah [is] with him, and that which he is doing Jehovah is causing to prosper.

40 And it cometh to pass, after these things -- the butler of the king of Egypt and the baker have sinned against their lord, against the king of Egypt;

and Pharaoh is wroth against his two eunuchs, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers,

and giveth them in charge in the house of the chief of the executioners, unto the round-house, the place where Joseph [is] a prisoner,

and the chief of the executioners chargeth Joseph with them, and he serveth them; and they are days in charge.

And they dream a dream both of them, each his dream in one night, each according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker whom the king of Egypt hath, who [are] prisoners in the round-house.

And Joseph cometh in unto them in the morning, and seeth them, and lo, they [are] morose;

and he asketh Pharaoh's eunuchs who [are] with him in charge in the house of his lord, saying, `Wherefore [are] your faces sad to-day?'

And they say unto him, `A dream we have dreamed, and there is no interpreter of it;' and Joseph saith unto them, `Are not interpretations with God? recount, I pray you, to me.'

And the chief of the butlers recounteth his dream to Joseph, and saith to him, `In my dream, then lo, a vine [is] before me!

10 and in the vine [are] three branches, and it [is] as it were flourishing; gone up hath its blossom, its clusters have ripened grapes;

11 and Pharaoh's cup [is] in my hand, and I take the grapes and press them into the cup of Pharaoh, and I give the cup into the hand of Pharaoh.'

12 And Joseph saith to him, `This [is] its interpretation: the three branches are three days;

13 yet, within three days doth Pharaoh lift up thy head, and hath put thee back on thy station, and thou hast given the cup of Pharaoh into his hand, according to the former custom when thou wast his butler.

14 `Surely if thou hast remembered me with thee, when it is well with thee, and hast done (I pray thee) kindness with me, and hast made mention of me unto Pharaoh, then hast thou brought me out from this house,

15 for I was really stolen from the land of the Hebrews; and here also have I done nothing that they have put me in the pit.'

16 And the chief of the bakers seeth that he hath interpreted good, and he saith unto Joseph, `I also [am] in a dream, and lo, three baskets of white bread [are] on my head,

17 and in the uppermost basket [are] of all [kinds] of Pharaoh's food, work of a baker; and the birds are eating them out of the basket, from off my head.'

18 And Joseph answereth and saith, `This [is] its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;

19 yet, within three days doth Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and hath hanged thee on a tree, and the birds have eaten thy flesh from off thee.'

20 And it cometh to pass, on the third day, Pharaoh's birthday, that he maketh a banquet to all his servants, and lifteth up the head of the chief of the butlers, and the head of the chief of the bakers among his servants,

21 and he putteth back the chief of the butlers to his butlership, and he giveth the cup into the hand of Pharaoh;

22 and the chief of the bakers he hath hanged, as Joseph hath interpreted to them;

23 and the chief of the butlers hath not remembered Joseph, but forgetteth him.

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39 Now Joseph(A) had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard,(B) bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.(C)

The Lord was with Joseph(D) so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him(E) and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did,(F) Joseph found favor in his eyes(G) and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household,(H) and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.(I) From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household(J) of the Egyptian because of Joseph.(K) The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.(L) So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care;(M) with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,(N) and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”(O)

But he refused.(P) “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.(Q) No one is greater in this house than I am.(R) 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?”(S) 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused(T) to go to bed with her or even be with her.

11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties,(U) and none of the household servants(V) was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak(W) and said, “Come to bed with me!”(X) But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.(Y)

13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14 she called her household servants.(Z) “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew(AA) has been brought to us to make sport of us!(AB) He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.(AC) 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”(AD)

16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story:(AE) “That Hebrew(AF) slave(AG) you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger.(AH) 20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison,(AI) the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him;(AJ) he showed him kindness(AK) and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.(AL) 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.(AM) 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s(AN) care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.(AO)

The Cupbearer and the Baker

40 Some time later, the cupbearer(AP) and the baker(AQ) of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry(AR) with his two officials,(AS) the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard,(AT) in the same prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard(AU) assigned them to Joseph,(AV) and he attended them.

After they had been in custody(AW) for some time, each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream(AX) the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.(AY)

When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody(AZ) with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”(BA)

“We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.”(BB)

Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God?(BC) Tell me your dreams.”

So the chief cupbearer(BD) told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed,(BE) and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.”

12 “This is what it means,(BF)” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days.(BG) 13 Within three days(BH) Pharaoh will lift up your head(BI) and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.(BJ) 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me(BK) and show me kindness;(BL) mention me to Pharaoh(BM) and get me out of this prison. 15 I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews,(BN) and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”(BO)

16 When the chief baker(BP) saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation,(BQ) he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets(BR) of bread.[a] 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18 “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days.(BS) 19 Within three days(BT) Pharaoh will lift off your head(BU) and impale your body on a pole.(BV) And the birds will eat away your flesh.”(BW)

20 Now the third day(BX) was Pharaoh’s birthday,(BY) and he gave a feast for all his officials.(BZ) He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker(CA) in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the chief cupbearer(CB) to his position,(CC) so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand(CD) 22 but he impaled the chief baker,(CE) just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.(CF)

23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.(CG)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 40:16 Or three wicker baskets