Genesis 41

¹After two whole years , Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile ,

²and behold , there came up out of the Nile seven cows attractive and plump , and they fed in the reed grass .

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

⁴And the ugly , thin cows ate up the seven attractive , plump cows . And Pharaoh awoke .

⁵And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time . And behold , seven ears of grain , plump and good , were growing on one stalk .

⁶And behold , after them sprouted seven ears , thin and blighted by the east wind .

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

⁸So in the morning his spirit was troubled , and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men . Pharaoh told them his dreams , but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh .

⁹Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh , I remember my offenses today .

¹⁰When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard ,

¹¹we dreamed on the same night , he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation .

¹²A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard . When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream .

¹³And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office , and the baker was hanged .

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph , and they quickly brought him out of the pit . And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes , he came in before Pharaoh .

¹⁵And Pharaoh said to Joseph , I have had a dream , and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.

¹⁶Joseph answered Pharaoh , It is not in me ; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer .

¹⁷Then Pharaoh said to Joseph , Behold , in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile .

¹⁸Seven cows , plump and attractive , came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass .

¹⁹Seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin , such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt .

²⁰And the thin , ugly cows ate up the first seven plump cows ,

²¹but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had eaten them , for they were still as ugly as at the beginning . Then I awoke .

²²I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk , full and good .

²³Seven ears , withered , thin , and blighted by the east wind , sprouted after them ,

²⁴and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears . And I told it to the magicians , but there was no one who could explain it to me.

²⁵Then Joseph said to Pharaoh , The dreams of Pharaoh are one ; God has revealed 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 .

²⁷The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years , and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine .

²⁸It is as I told Pharaoh ; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do .

²⁹There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt ,

³⁰but after them there will arise seven years of famine , and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt . The famine will consume the land ,

³¹and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow , for it will be very severe .

³²And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God , and God will shortly bring it about .

³³Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man , and set him over the land of Egypt .

³⁴Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years .

³⁵And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities , and let them keep it.

³⁶That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt , so that the land may not perish through the famine .

³⁷This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants .

³⁸And Pharaoh said to his servants , Can we find a man like this , in whom is the Spirit of God ?

³⁹Then Pharaoh said to Joseph , Since God has shown you all this , there is none so discerning and wise as you are.

⁴⁰You shall be over my house , and all my people shall order themselves as you command . Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.

⁴¹And Pharaoh said to Joseph , See , I have set you over all the land of Egypt .

⁴²Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand , and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck .

⁴³And he made him ride in his second chariot . And they called out before him , Bow the knee ! Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt .

⁴⁴Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph , I am Pharaoh , and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt .

⁴⁵And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah . And he gave him in marriage Asenath , the daughter of Potiphera priest of On . So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt .

⁴⁶Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service 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 plentiful years the earth produced abundantly ,

⁴⁸and he gathered up 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 the fields around it.

⁴⁹And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance , like the sand of the sea , until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured .

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

⁵¹Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh . For , he said, God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house .

⁵²The name of the second he called Ephraim , For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction .

⁵³The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end ,

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

⁵⁵When all the land of Egypt was famished , the people cried to Pharaoh for bread . Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians , Go to Joseph . What he says to you, do .

⁵⁶So when the famine had spread over all the land , Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians , for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt .

⁵⁷Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth .