Genesis41

¹Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.

²And behold, from the Nile seven cows came up, fine-looking and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass.

³Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and thin, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.

⁴Then the ugly and thin cows ate the seven fine-looking and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.

⁵But he fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good.

⁶Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them.

⁷And the thin ears swallowed the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.

⁸Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, so he sent messengers and called for all the soothsayer priests of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

⁹Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would make mention today of my own offenses.

¹⁰Pharaoh was furious with his servants, and he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker.

¹¹Then we had a dream one night, he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.

¹²Now a Hebrew youth was there with us, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we told him the dreams, and he interpreted our dreams for us. For each man he interpreted according to his own dream.

¹³And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened; Pharaoh restored me in my office, but he hanged the chief baker.”

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent word and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh.

¹⁵Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

¹⁶Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “It has nothing to do with me; God will give Pharaoh an answer for his own good.”

¹⁷So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, there I was, standing on the bank of the Nile;

¹⁸and behold, seven cows, fat and fine-looking came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass.

¹⁹Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I had never seen for ugliness in all the land of Egypt;

²⁰and the thin and ugly cows ate the first seven fat cows.

²¹Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had devoured them, for they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke.

²²I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears of grain, full and good, came up on a single stalk;

²³and behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind sprouted up after them;

²⁴and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. Then I told it to the soothsayer priests, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵And Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do.

²⁶The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one and the same.

²⁷The seven thin and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind will be seven years of famine.

²⁸It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.

²⁹Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt;

³⁰and after them seven years of famine will come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ravage the land.

³¹So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe.

³²Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is confirmed by God, and God will quickly bring it about.

³³So now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and appoint him over the land of Egypt.

³⁴Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him take a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt as a tax in the seven years of abundance.

³⁵Then have them collect all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and have them guard it.

³⁶Let the food be used as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish during the famine.”

³⁷Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.

³⁸Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom there is a divine spirit?”

³⁹So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you are.

⁴⁰You shall be in charge of my house, and all my people shall be obedient to you; only regarding the throne will I be greater than you.”

⁴¹Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “See, I have placed you over all the land of Egypt.”

⁴²Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and put the gold necklace around his neck.

⁴³And he had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed ahead of him, “Bow the knee!” And he placed him over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁴Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

⁴⁵Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁷During the seven years of plenty the land produced abundantly.

⁴⁸So he collected all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and put the food in the cities; he put in every city the food from its own surrounding fields.

⁴⁹Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.

⁵⁰Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.

⁵¹Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh; “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all of my father’s household.”

⁵²And he named the second Ephraim; “For,” he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³When the seven years of plenty which had taken place in the land of Egypt came to an end,

⁵⁴and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

⁵⁵So when all the land of Egypt suffered famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do.”

⁵⁶When the famine was spread over the entire face of the earth, then Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

⁵⁷Then the people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.