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Genesis 41:14-36
/RSS FeedGenesis 41:14-36
14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, who was quickly brought out of the dungeon. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he went in before Pharaoh.
15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
16 “I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”
17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,
18 when seven cows, well-fed and sleek, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.
19 After them, seven other cows—sickly, ugly, and thin—came up. I have never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt!
20 Then the thin, ugly cows devoured the seven well-fed cows that were there first.
21 When they had devoured them, however, no one could tell that they had done so; their appearance was as ugly as it had been before. Then I awoke.
22 In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, growing on a single stalk.
23 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind.
24 And the thin heads of grain swallowed the seven plump ones. I told this dream to the magicians, but no one could explain it to me.”
25 At this, Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do.
26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads of grain are seven years. The dreams have the same meaning.
27 Moreover, the seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind—they are seven years of famine.
28 It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.
29 Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt,
30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will devastate the land.
31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, since the famine that follows it will be so severe.
32 Moreover, because the dream was given to Pharaoh in two versions, the matter has been decreed by God, and He will carry it out shortly.
33 Now, therefore, Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.
34 Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.
35 Under the authority of Pharaoh, let them collect all the excess food from these good years, that they may come and lay up the grain to be preserved as food in the cities.
36 This food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine to come upon the land of Egypt. Then the country will not perish in the famine.” -
Genesis 41:1-13
/RSS FeedGenesis 41:1-13
1 After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,
2 when seven cows, sleek and well-fed, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.
3 After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the well-fed cows on the bank of the river.
4 And the cows that were sickly and thin devoured the seven sleek, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up,
5 but he fell back asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, came up on one stalk.
6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the east wind.
7 And the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, ripe ones. Then Pharaoh awoke and realized it was a dream.
8 In the morning his spirit was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures.
10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the captain of the guard.
11 One night both the chief baker and I had dreams, and each dream had its own meaning.
12 Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he interpreted them for us individually.
13 And it happened to us just as he had interpreted: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged.” -
Genesis 40:1-23
/RSS FeedGenesis 40:1-23
1 Some time later, the king’s cupbearer and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt.
2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,
3 and imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard, the same prison where Joseph was confined.
4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he became their personal attendant. After they had been in custody for some time,
5 both of these men—the Egyptian king’s cupbearer and baker, who were being held in the prison—had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning.
6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were distraught.
7 So he asked the officials of Pharaoh who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so downcast today?”
8 “We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream: “In my dream there was a vine before me,
10 and on the vine were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes.
11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into his cup, and placed the cup in his hand.”
12 Joseph replied, “This is the interpretation: The three branches are three days.
13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did when you were his cupbearer.
14 But when it goes well for you, please remember me and show me kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh, that he might bring me out of this prison.
15 For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which they should have put me in this dungeon.”
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: There were three baskets of white bread on my head.
17 In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
18 Joseph replied, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days.
19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. Then the birds will eat the flesh of your body.”
20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he held a feast for all his officials, and in their presence he lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.
21 Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.
22 But Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had described to them in his interpretation.
23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot all about him.
