Genesis 39

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

1 Now 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.

2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph 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. 5 From 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. 6 So 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, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!"

8 But 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. 9 No 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?" 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She 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.

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. "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. 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house."

16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave 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. 20 Joseph’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, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 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. 23 The 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 e a mulher de Potifar

1 José 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.

2 O Senhor estava com José, de modo que ele foi um homem próspero na casa do seu senhor egípcio. 3 Este percebeu que o Senhor estava com José e que o fazia prosperar em tudo o que ele realizava. 4 O senhor de José se agradou dele, e José lhe serviu. Potifar o encarregou da sua casa e lhe confiou todas as suas posses. 5 Desde que o encarregou da 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. 6 Assim, deixou aos cuidados de José tudo o que tinha e não se preocupava com coisa alguma, exceto com a própria comida.

José era atraente e de boa aparência; 7 depois de certo tempo, a mulher do seu senhor começou a olhar para ele com desejo e o convidou:

— Deite-se comigo!

8 Ele, porém, recusou e lhe disse:

— O meu senhor não se preocupa com coisa alguma da sua casa e deixou tudo o que tem aos meus cuidados. 9 Não há ninguém nesta casa maior do que eu. 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?

10 Assim, embora ela insistisse com José dia após dia, ele se recusava a deitar-se com ela e evitava ficar perto dela.

11 Certo dia, ele entrou na casa para fazer as suas tarefas, e nenhum dos empregados se encontrava ali. 12 Ela o agarrou pelo manto, dizendo:

— Deite-se comigo!

Ele, porém, fugiu da casa, deixando o manto na mão dela.

13 Quando ela viu que, ao fugir, ele tinha deixado o manto na sua mão, 14 chamou os empregados da casa e lhes disse:

— Vejam, este hebreu nos foi trazido para nos insultar! Ele se aproximou para abusar de mim, mas eu gritei. 15 Quando me ouviu gritar por socorro, largou o seu manto ao meu lado e fugiu da casa.

16 Ela conservou o manto consigo até que o senhor de José voltasse para casa. 17 Então, repetiu-lhe a história:

— Aquele escravo hebreu que você nos trouxe aproximou-se de mim para me insultar. 18 Quando, porém, gritei por socorro, ele largou o seu manto ao meu lado e fugiu da casa.

19 Quando o senhor de José ouviu o que a sua mulher lhe disse: "Foi assim que o seu escravo me tratou", ficou enfurecido. 20 Mandou buscar José e lançou-o na prisão em que eram postos os prisioneiros do rei.

Enquanto José esteve na prisão, 21 o Senhor estava com ele e o tratou com amor leal, fazendo que o carcereiro se agradasse de José. 22 Por isso, o carcereiro o encarregou de todos os que estavam na prisão, e José se tornou responsável por tudo o que lá sucedia. 23 O carcereiro não se preocupava com nada do que estava a cargo de José, porque o Senhor estava com José e o fazia prosperar em tudo o que ele realizava.