39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. 1 An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, 2 purchased him from 3 the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful 4 and lived 5 in the household of his Egyptian master. 39:3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful. 6 39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. 7 Potiphar appointed Joseph 8 overseer of his household and put him in charge 9 of everything he owned. 39:5 From the time 10 Potiphar 11 appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed 12 the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both 13 in his house and in his fields. 14 39:6 So Potiphar 15 left 16 everything he had in Joseph’s care; 17 he gave no thought 18 to anything except the food he ate. 19
Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. 20 39:7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of 21 Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.” 22 39:8 But he refused, saying 23 to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought 24 to his household with me here, 25 and everything that he owns he has put into my care. 26 39:9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do 27 such a great evil and sin against God?” 39:10 Even though she continued to speak 28 to Joseph day after day, he did not respond 29 to her invitation to have sex with her. 30
39:11 One day 31 he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants 32 were there in the house. 39:12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran 33 outside. 34 39:13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, 39:14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought 35 in a Hebrew man 36 to us to humiliate us. 37 He tried to have sex with me, 38 but I screamed loudly. 39 39:15 When he heard me raise 40 my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”
39:16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. 39:17 This is what she said to him: 41 “That Hebrew slave 42 you brought to us tried to humiliate me, 43 39:18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”
39:19 When his master heard his wife say, 44 “This is the way 45 your slave treated me,” 46 he became furious. 47 39:20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, 48 the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. 49
39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. 50 He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. 51 39:22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. 52 39:23 The warden did not concern himself 53 with anything that was in Joseph’s 54 care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.
40:1 After these things happened, the cupbearer 55 to the king of Egypt and the royal baker 56 offended 57 their master, the king of Egypt. 40:2 Pharaoh was enraged with his two officials, 58 the cupbearer and the baker, 40:3 so he imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard in the same facility where Joseph was confined. 40:4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be their attendant, and he served them. 59
They spent some time in custody. 60 40:5 Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream 61 the same night. 62 Each man’s dream had its own meaning. 63 40:6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were looking depressed. 64 40:7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?” 65 40:8 They told him, “We both had dreams, 66 but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph responded, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell them 67 to me.”
40:9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: 68 “In my dream, there was a vine in front of me. 40:10 On the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes. 40:11 Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes, squeezed them into his 69 cup, and put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” 70
40:12 “This is its meaning,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches represent 71 three days. 40:13 In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you 72 and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did before 73 when you were cupbearer. 40:14 But remember me 74 when it goes well for you, and show 75 me kindness. 76 Make mention 77 of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison, 78 40:15 for I really was kidnapped 79 from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”
40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, 80 he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread 81 on my head. 40:17 In the top basket there were baked goods of every kind for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them from the basket that was on my head.”
40:18 Joseph replied, “This is its meaning: The three baskets represent 82 three days. 40:19 In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you 83 and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you.”
40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” 84 the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants. 40:21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his former position 85 so that he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand, 40:22 but the chief baker he impaled, just as Joseph had predicted. 86 40:23 But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph – he forgot him. 87