Beginning

Judah and Tamar

38 At that time, Judah^(A) left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam^(B) named Hirah.^{(C) 2} There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua.^(D) He married her and made love to her; ³ she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er.^{(E) 4} She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan.^{(F) 5} She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah.^(G) It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.

⁶ Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.^{(H) 7} But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight;^(I) so the Lord put him to death.^(J)

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.”^{(K) 9} But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. ¹⁰ What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.^(L)

¹¹ Judah then said to his daughter-in-law^(M) Tamar,^(N) “Live as a widow in your father’s household^(O) until my son Shelah^(P) grows up.”^(Q) For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.

¹² After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua,^(R) died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah,^(S) to the men who were shearing his sheep,^(T) and his friend Hirah the Adullamite^(U) went with him.

¹³ When Tamar^(V) was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,”^{(W) 14} she took off her widow’s clothes,^(X) covered herself with a veil^(Y) to disguise herself, and then sat down^(Z) at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah.^(AA) For she saw that, though Shelah^(AB) had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute,^(AC) for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ Not realizing^(AD) that she was his daughter-in-law,^(AE) he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”^(AF)

“And what will you give me to sleep with you?”^(AG) she asked.

¹⁷ “I’ll send you a young goat^(AH) from my flock,” he said.

“Will you give me something as a pledge^(AI) until you send it?” she asked.

¹⁸ He said, “What pledge should I give you?”

“Your seal^(AJ) and its cord, and the staff^(AK) in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.^{(AL) 19} After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes^(AM) again.

²⁰ Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite^(AN) in order to get his pledge^(AO) back from the woman, but he did not find her. ²¹ He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute^(AP) who was beside the road at Enaim?”

“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.

²² So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’”

²³ Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has,^(AQ) or we will become a laughingstock.^(AR) After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”

²⁴ About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”

Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”^(AS)

²⁵ As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”^(AT)

²⁶ Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I,^(AU) since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.^(AV)” And he did not sleep with her again.

²⁷ When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.^{(AW) 28} As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife^(AX) took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist^(AY) and said, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out,^(AZ) and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez.^{[a](BA) 30} Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist,^(BB) came out. And he was named Zerah.^[b](BC)

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

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

² The Lord was with Joseph^(BG) 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^(BH) and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did,^{(BI) 4} Joseph found favor in his eyes^(BJ) and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household,^(BK) and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.^{(BL) 5} From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household^(BM) of the Egyptian because of Joseph.^(BN) The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.^{(BO) 6} So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care;^(BP) with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,^{(BQ) 7} and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”^(BR)

⁸ But he refused.^(BS) “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.^{(BT) 9} No one is greater in this house than I am.^(BU) 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?”^{(BV) 10} And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused^(BW) to go to bed with her or even be with her.

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

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.^(CC) “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew^(CD) has been brought to us to make sport of us!^(CE) He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.^{(CF) 15} When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”^(CG)

¹⁶ She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she told him this story:^(CH) “That Hebrew^(CI) slave^(CJ) 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.^{(CK) 20} Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison,^(CL) the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹ the Lord was with him;^(CM) he showed him kindness^(CN) and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.^{(CO) 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.^{(CP) 23} The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s^(CQ) care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.^(CR)

The Cupbearer and the Baker

40 Some time later, the cupbearer^(CS) and the baker^(CT) of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh was angry^(CU) with his two officials,^(CV) the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, ³ and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard,^(CW) in the same prison where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The captain of the guard^(CX) assigned them to Joseph,^(CY) and he attended them.

After they had been in custody^(CZ) for some time, ⁵ each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream^(DA) the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.^(DB)

⁶ When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. ⁷ So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody^(DC) with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”^(DD)

⁸ “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.”^(DE)

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

⁹ So the chief cupbearer^(DG) 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,^(DH) 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,^(DI)” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days.^{(DJ) 13} Within three days^(DK) Pharaoh will lift up your head^(DL) 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.^{(DM) 14} But when all goes well with you, remember me^(DN) and show me kindness;^(DO) mention me to Pharaoh^(DP) and get me out of this prison. ¹⁵ I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews,^(DQ) and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”^(DR)

¹⁶ When the chief baker^(DS) saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation,^(DT) he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets^(DU) of bread.^{[c] 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.^{(DV) 19} Within three days^(DW) Pharaoh will lift off your head^(DX) and impale your body on a pole.^(DY) And the birds will eat away your flesh.”^(DZ)

²⁰ Now the third day^(EA) was Pharaoh’s birthday,^(EB) and he gave a feast for all his officials.^(EC) He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker^(ED) in the presence of his officials: ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer^(EE) to his position,^(EF) so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand^(EG)— ²² but he impaled the chief baker,^(EH) just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.^(EI)

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