^39:8But he refused, saying²³ to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought²⁴ to his household with me here,²⁵ and everything that he owns he has put into my care.²⁶^39:9There 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 do²⁷ such a great evil and sin against God?” ^39:10Even though she continued to speak²⁸ to Joseph day after day, he did not respond²⁹ to her invitation to have sex with her.³⁰

^39:11One day³¹ he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants³² were there in the house. ^39:12She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran³³ outside.³⁴^39:13When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside,

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Footnotes

23 Heb “and he said.”
24 Heb “know.”
25 The word “here” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
26 Heb “hand.” This is a metonymy for being under the control or care of Joseph.
27 The nuance of potential imperfect fits this context.
28 The verse begins with the temporal indicator, followed by the infinitive construct with the preposition ךְּ (ké). This clause could therefore be taken as temporal.
29 Heb “listen to.”
30 Heb “to lie beside her to be with her.” Here the expression “to lie beside” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
31 Heb “and it was about this day.”
32 Heb “the men of the house.”
33 Heb “he fled and he went out.” The construction emphasizes the point that Joseph got out of there quickly.
34 For discussion of this episode, see A. M. Honeyman, “The Occasion of Joseph’s Temptation,” 2 (1952): 85–87.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.

But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house,

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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. 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?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

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

When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,

CSBChristian Standard Bible

But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority. No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do this immense evil, and how could I sin against God?”

Although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her. Now one day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there. She grabbed him by his garment and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his garment in her hand, he escaped and ran outside. When she saw that he had left his garment with her and had run outside,

NLTNew Living Translation

But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”

She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible. One day, however, no one else was around when he went in to do his work. She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.

When she saw that she was holding his cloak and he had fled,

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not worry about what is in the house, and everything he owns he has put in my hand. He has no greater authority in this house than me, and he has not withheld anything from me except you, since you are his wife. Now how could I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” And it happened that as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not heed her to lie beside her or to be with her. But one particular day he came into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house were there in the house, she seized him by his garment and said, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and he went outside. And it happened that when she saw that he left his garment in her hand and fled outside,

KJV 1900King James Version

But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,

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