ARKCODEX
Genesis
Ch. 39–40
Joseph and Potiphar's Wife
1Now the Ishmaelites had taken Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, one of the king's officers, who was the captain of the palace guard.
2The Lord was with Joseph and made him successful. He lived in the house of his Egyptian master,
3who saw that the Lord was with Joseph and had made him successful in everything he did.
4Potiphar was pleased with him and made him his personal servant; so he put him in charge of his house and everything he owned.
5From then on, because of Joseph the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian and everything that he had in his house and in his fields.
6Potiphar turned over everything he had to the care of Joseph and did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Joseph was well-built and good-looking,
7and after a while his master's wife began to desire Joseph and asked him to go to bed with her.
8He refused and said to her, “Look, my master does not have to concern himself with anything in the house, because I am here. He has put me in charge of everything he has.
9I have as much authority in this house as he has, and he has not kept back anything from me except you. How then could I do such an immoral thing and sin against God?”
10Although she asked Joseph day after day, he would not go to bed with her.
11But one day when Joseph went into the house to do his work, none of the house servants was there.
12She caught him by his robe and said, “Come to bed with me.” But he escaped and ran outside, leaving his robe in her hand.
13When she saw that he had left his robe and had run out of the house,
14she called to her house servants and said, “Look at this! This Hebrew that my husband brought to the house is insulting us. He came into my room and tried to rape me, but I screamed as loud as I could.
15When he heard me scream, he ran outside, leaving his robe beside me.”
16She kept his robe with her until Joseph's master came home.
17Then she told him the same story: “That Hebrew slave that you brought here came into my room and insulted me.
18But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his robe beside me.”
19Joseph's master was furious
20and had Joseph arrested and put in the prison where the king's prisoners were kept, and there he stayed.
21But the Lord was with Joseph and blessed him, so that the jailer was pleased with him.
22He put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and made him responsible for everything that was done in the prison.
23The jailer did not have to look after anything for which Joseph was responsible, because the Lord was with Joseph and made him succeed in everything he did.
Genesis 40
Joseph Interprets the Prisoners' Dreams
1Some time later the king of Egypt's wine steward and his chief baker offended the king.
2He was angry with these two officials
3and put them in prison in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same place where Joseph was being kept.
4They spent a long time in prison, and the captain assigned Joseph as their servant.
5One night there in prison the wine steward and the chief baker each had a dream, and the dreams had different meanings.
6When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were upset.
7He asked them, “Why do you look so worried today?”
8They answered, “Each of us had a dream, and there is no one here to explain what the dreams mean.” “It is God who gives the ability to interpret dreams,” Joseph said. “Tell me your dreams.”
9So the wine steward said, “In my dream there was a grapevine in front of me
10with three branches on it. As soon as the leaves came out, the blossoms appeared, and the grapes ripened.
11I was holding the king's cup; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into the cup and gave it to him.”
12Joseph said, “This is what it means: the three branches are three days.
13In three days the king will release you, pardon you, and restore you to your position. You will give him his cup as you did before when you were his wine steward.
14But please remember me when everything is going well for you, and please be kind enough to mention me to the king and help me get out of this prison.
15After all, I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here in Egypt I didn't do anything to deserve being put in prison.”
16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the wine steward's dream was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I had a dream too; I was carrying three breadbaskets on my head.
17In the top basket there were all kinds of baked goods for the king, and the birds were eating them.”
18Joseph answered, “This is what it means: the three baskets are three days.
19In three days the king will release you—and have your head cut off! Then he will hang your body on a pole, and the birds will eat your flesh.”
20On his birthday three days later the king gave a banquet for all his officials; he released his wine steward and his chief baker and brought them before his officials.
21He restored the wine steward to his former position,
22but he executed the chief baker. It all happened just as Joseph had said.
23But the wine steward never gave Joseph another thought—he forgot all about him.
Job
Ch. 31–32
1I have made a solemn promise never to look with lust at a woman.
2What does Almighty God do to us? How does he repay human deeds?
3He sends disaster and ruin to those who do wrong.
4God knows everything I do; he sees every step I take.
5I swear I have never acted wickedly and never tried to deceive others.
6Let God weigh me on honest scales, and he will see how innocent I am.
7If I have turned from the right path or let myself be attracted to evil, if my hands are stained with sin,
8then let my crops be destroyed, or let others eat the food I grow.
9If I have been attracted to my neighbor's wife, and waited, hidden, outside her door,
10then let my wife cook another man's food and sleep in another man's bed.
11Such wickedness should be punished by death.
12It would be like a destructive, hellish fire, consuming everything I have.
13When any of my servants complained against me, I would listen and treat them fairly.
14If I did not, how could I then face God? What could I say when God came to judge me?
15The same God who created me created my servants also.
16I have never refused to help the poor; never have I let widows live in despair
17or let orphans go hungry while I ate.
18All my life I have taken care of them.
19When I found someone in need, too poor to buy clothes,
20I would give him clothing made of wool that had come from my own flock of sheep. Then he would praise me with all his heart.
21If I have ever cheated an orphan, knowing I could win in court,
22then may my arms be broken; may they be torn from my shoulders.
23Because I fear God's punishment, I could never do such a thing.
24I have never trusted in riches
25or taken pride in my wealth.
26I have never worshiped the sun in its brightness or the moon in all its beauty.
27I have not been led astray to honor them by kissing my hand in reverence to them.
28Such a sin should be punished by death; it denies Almighty God.
29I have never been glad when my enemies suffered, or pleased when they met with disaster;
30I never sinned by praying for their death.
31All those who work for me know that I have always welcomed strangers.
32I invited travelers into my home and never let them sleep in the streets.
33Others try to hide their sins, but I have never concealed mine.
34I have never feared what people would say; I have never kept quiet or stayed indoors because I feared their scorn.
35Will no one listen to what I am saying? I swear that every word is true. Let Almighty God answer me. If the charges my opponent brings against me were written down so that I could see them,
36I would wear them proudly on my shoulder and place them on my head like a crown.
37I would tell God everything I have done, and hold my head high in his presence.
38If I have stolen the land I farm and taken it from its rightful owners—
39if I have eaten the food that grew there but let the farmers that grew it starve—
40then instead of wheat and barley, may weeds and thistles grow. The words of Job are ended.
Job 32
The Speeches of Elihu
1Because Job was convinced of his own innocence, the three men gave up trying to answer him.
2But a bystander named Elihu could not control his anger any longer, because Job was justifying himself and blaming God. (Elihu was the son of Barakel, a descendant of Buz, and belonged to the clan of Ram.)
3He was also angry with Job's three friends. They could not find any way to answer Job, and this made it appear that God was in the wrong.
4Because Elihu was the youngest one there, he had waited until everyone finished speaking.
5When he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he was angry
Elihu
6and began to speak. I am young, and you are old, so I was afraid to tell you what I think.
7I told myself that you ought to speak, that you older men should share your wisdom.
8But it is the spirit of Almighty God that comes to us and gives us wisdom.
9It is not growing old that makes us wise or helps us to know what is right.
10So now I want you to listen to me; let me tell you what I think.
11I listened patiently while you were speaking and waited while you searched for wise phrases.
12I paid close attention and heard you fail; you have not disproved what Job has said.
13How can you claim you have discovered wisdom? God must answer Job, for you have failed.
14Job was speaking to you, not to me, but I would never answer the way you did.
15Words have failed them, Job; they have no answer for you.
16Shall I go on waiting when they are silent? They stand there with nothing more to say.
17No, I will give my own answer now and tell you what I think.
18I can hardly wait to speak. I can't hold back the words.
19If I don't get a chance to speak, I will burst like a wineskin full of new wine.
20I can't stand it; I have to speak.
21I will not take sides in this debate; I am not going to flatter anyone.
22I don't know how to flatter, and God would quickly punish me if I did.
Proverbs
Ch. 3
33The Lord puts a curse on the homes of the wicked, but blesses the homes of the righteous.
34He has no use for conceited people, but shows favor to those who are humble.
35Wise people will gain an honorable reputation, but stupid people will only add to their own disgrace.