^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, ^39:14she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought³⁵ in a Hebrew man³⁶ to us to humiliate us.³⁷ He tried to have sex with me,³⁸ but I screamed loudly.³⁹^39:15When he heard me raise⁴⁰ my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”

^39:16So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. ^39:17This is what she said to him:⁴¹ “That Hebrew slave⁴² you brought to us tried to humiliate me,⁴³^39:18but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”

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Footnotes

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.
35 The verb has no expressed subject, and so it could be treated as a passive (“a Hebrew man was brought in”; cf. ). But it is clear from the context that her husband brought Joseph into the household, so Potiphar is the apparent referent here. Thus the translation supplies “my husband” as the referent of the unspecified pronominal subject of the verb (cf. , ).
36 A Hebrew man. Potiphar’s wife raises the ethnic issue when talking to her servants about what their boss had done.
37 Heb “to make fun of us.” The verb translated “to humiliate us” here means to hold something up for ridicule, or to toy with something harmfully. Attempted rape would be such an activity, for it would hold the victim in contempt.
38 Heb “he came to me to lie with me.” Here the expression “lie with” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
39 Heb “and I cried out with a loud voice.”
40 Heb “that I raised.”
41 Heb “and she spoke to him according to these words, saying.”
42 That Hebrew slave. Now, when speaking to her husband, Potiphar’s wife refers to Joseph as a Hebrew slave, a very demeaning description.
43 Heb “came to me to make fun of me.” The statement needs no explanation because of the connotations of “came to me” and “to make fun of me.” See the note on the expression “humiliate us” in v. .

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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, she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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, she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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, she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “my husband brought a Hebrew man to make fools of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, and I screamed as loud as I could. When he heard me screaming for help, he left his garment beside me and ran outside.”

She put Joseph’s garment beside her until his master came home. Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought to us came to make a fool of me, but when I screamed for help, he left his garment beside me and ran outside.”

NLTNew Living Translation

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, she called out to her servants. Soon all the men came running. “Look!” she said. “My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me.”

She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home. Then she told him her story. “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me,” she said. “But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

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, she called to the men of her house and said to them, “Look! He brought a Hebrew man to us to mock us! He came to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And when he heard me, that I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled, and he went outside.” Then she put his garment beside her until his master came to his house. Then she spoke to him according to these words, saying, “The Hebrew slave that you brought to us came to me to make fun of me. And it happened that as I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”

KJV 1900King James Version

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, That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out. And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.

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