Genesis 39:1-41:16

Contemporary English Version

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife

39 The Ishmaelites took Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, the king's^[a] official in charge of the palace guard. ^2-3 (A) So Joseph lived in the home of Potiphar, his Egyptian owner.

Soon Potiphar realized that the Lord was helping Joseph to be successful in whatever he did. ⁴ Potiphar liked Joseph and made him his personal assistant, putting him in charge of his house and all of his property. ⁵ Because of Joseph, the Lord began to bless Potiphar's family and fields. ⁶ Potiphar left everything up to Joseph, and with Joseph there, the only decision he had to make was what he wanted to eat.

Joseph was well-built and handsome, ^7 (B) and Potiphar's wife soon noticed him. She asked him to make love to her, ⁸ but he refused and said, “My master isn't worried about anything in his house, because he has placed me in charge of everything he owns. ⁹ No one in my master's house is more important than I am. The only thing he hasn't given me is you, and that's because you are his wife. I won't sin against God by doing such a terrible thing as this.” ¹⁰ She kept begging Joseph day after day, but he refused to do what she wanted or even to go near her.

¹¹ One day, Joseph went to Potiphar's house to do his work, and none of the other servants were there. ¹² Potiphar's wife grabbed hold of his coat and said, “Make love to me!” Joseph ran out of the house, leaving his coat there in her hands.

¹³ When this happened, ¹⁴ she called in her servants and said, “Look! This Hebrew has come just to make fools of us. He tried to rape me, but I screamed for help. ¹⁵ And when he heard me scream, he ran out of the house, leaving his coat with me.”

¹⁶ Potiphar's wife kept Joseph's coat until her husband came home. ¹⁷ Then she said, “That Hebrew slave of yours tried to rape me! ¹⁸ But when I screamed for help, he left his coat and ran out of the house.”

¹⁹ Potiphar became very angry ²⁰ and threw Joseph in the same prison where the king's prisoners were kept.

While Joseph was in prison, ^21 (C) the Lord helped him and was good to him. He even made the jailer like Joseph so much that ²² he put him in charge of the other prisoners and of everything that was done in the jail. ²³ The jailer did not worry about anything, because the Lord was with Joseph and made him successful in all that he did.

Joseph Tells the Meaning of the Prisoners' Dreams

40 ^1-3 While Joseph was in prison, both the king's^[b] personal servant^[c] and his chief cook made the king angry. So he had them thrown into the same prison with Joseph. ⁴ They spent a long time in prison, and the official in charge of the palace guard,^[d] made Joseph their servant.

⁵ One night each of the two men had a dream, but their dreams had different meanings. ⁶ The next morning, when Joseph went to see the men, he could tell they were upset, ⁷ and he asked, “Why are you so worried today?”

⁸ “We each had a dream last night,” they answered, “and there is no one to tell us what they mean.”

Joseph replied, “Doesn't God know the meaning of dreams? Now tell me what you dreamed.”

⁹ The king's personal servant told Joseph, “In my dream I saw a vine ¹⁰ with three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its grapes became ripe. ¹¹ I held the king's cup and squeezed the grapes into it, then I gave the cup to the king.”

¹² Joseph said:

This is the meaning of your dream. The three branches stand for three days, ¹³ and in three days the king will pardon you. He will make you his personal servant again, and you will serve him his wine, just as you used to do. ¹⁴ But when these good things happen, please don't forget to tell the king about me, so I can get out of this place. ¹⁵ I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here in Egypt I haven't done anything to deserve being thrown in jail.

¹⁶ When the chief cook saw that Joseph had given a good meaning to the dream, he told Joseph, “I also had a dream. In it I was carrying three breadbaskets stacked on top of my head. ¹⁷ The top basket was full of all kinds of baked things for the king, but birds were eating them.”

¹⁸ Joseph said:

This is the meaning of your dream. The three baskets are three days, ^19 (D) and in three days the king will cut off your head. He will hang your body on a pole, and birds will come and peck at it.

²⁰ Three days later, while the king was celebrating his birthday with a dinner for his officials, he sent for his personal servant and the chief cook. ²¹ He put the personal servant back in his old job ²² and had the cook put to death.

Everything happened just as Joseph had said it would, ²³ but the king's personal servant completely forgot about Joseph.

Joseph Interprets the King's Dreams

41 Two years later the king^[e] of Egypt dreamed he was standing beside the Nile River. ² Suddenly, seven fat, healthy cows came up from the river and started eating grass along the bank. ³ Then seven ugly, skinny cows came up out of the river and ⁴ ate the fat, healthy cows. When this happened, the king woke up.

⁵ The king went back to sleep and had another dream. This time seven full heads of grain were growing on a single stalk. ⁶ Later, seven other heads of grain appeared, but they were thin and scorched by a wind from the desert. ⁷ The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven full heads. Again the king woke up, and it had only been a dream.

^8 (E) The next morning the king was upset. So he called in his magicians and wise men and told them what he had dreamed. None of them could tell him what the dreams meant.

⁹ The king's personal servant said:

Now I remember what I was supposed to do. ¹⁰ When you were angry with me and your chief cook, you threw us both in jail in the house of the captain of the guard. ¹¹ One night we both had dreams, and each dream had a different meaning. ¹² A young Hebrew, who was a servant of the captain of the guard, was there with us at the time. When we told him our dreams, he explained what each of them meant, ¹³ and everything happened just as he said it would. I got my job back, and the cook was put to death.

¹⁴ The king sent for Joseph, who was quickly brought out of jail. He shaved, changed his clothes, and went to the king.

¹⁵ The king said to him, “I had a dream, yet no one can explain what it means. I am told that you can interpret dreams.”

¹⁶ “Your Majesty,” Joseph answered, “I can't do it myself, but God can give a good meaning to your dreams.”