Genesis 41
1 Now after two years had gone by, Pharaoh had a dream; and in his dream he was by the side of the Nile;
And it came to pass after two full years that Pharao had a dream. He thought he stood upon [the bank of] the river.
2 And out of the Nile came seven cows, good-looking and fat, and their food was the river-grass.
And lo, there came up as it were out of the river seven cows, fair in appearance, and choice of flesh, and they fed on the sedge.
3 And after them seven other cows came out of the Nile, poor-looking and thin; and they were by the side of the other cows.
And other seven cows came up after these out of the river, ill-favoured and lean-fleshed, and fed by the [other] cows on the bank of the river.
4 And the seven thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows. Then Pharaoh came out of his sleep.
And the seven ill-favoured and lean cows devoured the seven well-favoured and choice-fleshed cows; and Pharao awoke.
5 But he went to sleep again and had a second dream, in which he saw seven heads of grain, full and good, all on one stem.
And he dreamed again. And, behold, seven ears came up on one stalk, choice and good.
6 And after them came up seven other heads, thin and wasted by the east wind.
And, behold, seven ears thin and blasted with the wind, grew up after them.
7 And the seven thin heads made a meal of the good heads. And when Pharaoh was awake he saw it was a dream.
And the seven thin ears and blasted with the wind devoured the seven choice and full ears; and Pharao awoke, and it was a dream.
8 And in the morning his spirit was troubled; and he sent for all the wise men of Egypt and all the holy men, and put his dream before them, but no one was able to give him the sense of it.
And it was morning, and his soul was troubled; and he sent and called all the interpreters of Egypt, and all her wise men; and Pharao related to them his dream, and there was no one to interpret it to Pharao.
9 Then the chief wine-servant said to Pharaoh, The memory of my sin comes back to me now;
And the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharao, saying, I this day remember my fault:
10 Pharaoh had been angry with his servants, and had put me in prison in the house of the captain of the army, together with the chief bread-maker;
Pharao was angry with his servants, and put us in prison in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker.
11 And we had a dream on the same night, the two of us, and the dreams had a special sense.
And we had a dream both in one night, I and he; we saw, each according to his dream.
12 And there was with us a young Hebrew, the captain's servant, and when we put our dreams before him, he gave us the sense of them.
And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew servant of the captain of the guard; and we related to him [our dreams], and he interpreted [them] to us.
13 And it came about as he said: I was put back in my place, and the bread-maker was put to death by hanging.
And it came to pass, as he interpreted them to us, so also it happened, both that I was restored to my office, and that he was hanged.
14 Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they took him quickly out of prison; and when his hair had been cut and his dress changed, he came before Pharaoh.
And Pharao having sent, called Joseph; and they brought him out from the prison, and shaved him, and changed his dress, and he came to Pharao.
15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a dream, and no one is able to give me the sense of it; now it has come to my ears that you are able to give the sense of a dream when it is put before you.
And Pharao said to Joseph, I have seen a vision, and there is no one to interpret it; but I have heard say concerning thee that thou didst hear dreams and interpret them.
16 Then Joseph said, Without God there will be no answer of peace for Pharaoh.
And Joseph answered Pharao and said, Without God an answer of safety shall not be given to Pharao.
17 Then Pharaoh said, In my dream I was by the side of the Nile:
And Pharao spoke to Joseph, saying, In my dream methought I stood by the bank of the river;
18 And out of the Nile came seven cows, fat and good-looking, and their food was the river-grass;
and there came up as it were out of the river, seven cows well-favoured and choice-fleshed, and they fed on the sedge.
19 Then after them came seven other cows, very thin and poor-looking, worse than any I ever saw in the land of Egypt;
And behold seven other cows came up after them out of the river, evil and ill-favoured and lean-fleshed, such that I never saw worse in all the land of Egypt.
20 And the thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows who came up first;
And the seven ill-favoured and thin cows ate up the seven first good and choice cows.
21 And even with the fat cows inside them they seemed as bad as before. And so I came out of my sleep.
And they went into their bellies; and it was not perceptible that they had gone into their bellies, and their appearance was ill-favoured, as also at the beginning; and after I awoke I slept,
22 And again in a dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, coming up on one stem:
and saw again in my sleep, and as it were seven ears came up on one stem, full and good.
23 And then I saw seven other heads, dry, thin, and wasted by the east wind, coming up after them:
And other seven ears, thin and blasted with the wind, sprang up close to them.
24 And the seven thin heads made a meal of the seven good heads; and I put this dream before the wise men, but not one of them was able to give me the sense of it.
And the seven thin and blasted ears devoured the seven fine and full ears: so I spoke to the interpreters, and there was no one to explain it to me.
25 Then Joseph said, These two dreams have the same sense: God has made clear to Pharaoh what he is about to do.
And Joseph said to Pharao, The dream of Pharao is one; whatever God does, he has shewn to Pharao.
26 The seven fat cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years: the two have the same sense.
The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dream of Pharao is one.
27 The seven thin and poor-looking cows who came up after them are seven years; and the seven heads of grain, dry and wasted by the east wind, are seven years when there will be no food.
And the seven thin kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven thin and blasted ears are seven years; there shall be seven years of famine.
28 As I said to Pharaoh before, God has made clear to him what he is about to do.
And as for the word which I have told Pharao, whatsoever God intends to do, he has shewn to Pharao:
29 Seven years are coming in which there will be great wealth of grain in Egypt;
behold, for seven years there is coming great plenty in all the land of Egypt.
30 And after that will come seven years when there will not be enough food; and the memory of the good years will go from men's minds; and the land will be made waste by the bad years;
But there shall come seven years of famine after these, and they shall forget the plenty that shall be in all Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land.
31 And men will have no memory of the good time because of the need which will come after, for it will be very bitter.
And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of the famine that shall be after this, for it shall be very grievous.
32 And this dream came to Pharaoh twice, because this thing is certain, and God will quickly make it come about.
And concerning the repetition of the dream to Pharao twice, [it is] because the saying which is from God shall be true, and God will hasten to accomplish it.
33 And now let Pharaoh make search for a man of wisdom and good sense, and put him in authority over the land of Egypt.
Now then, look out a wise and prudent man, and set him over the land of Egypt.
34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him put overseers over the land of Egypt to put in store a fifth part of the produce of the land in the good years.
And let Pharao make and appoint local governors over the land; and let them take up a fifth part of all the produce of the land of Egypt for the seven years of the plenty.
35 And let them get together all the food in those good years and make a store of grain under Pharaoh's control for the use of the towns, and let them keep it.
And let them gather all the food of these seven good years that are coming, and let the corn be gathered under the hand of Pharao; let food be kept in the cities.
36 And let that food be kept in store for the land till the seven bad years which are to come in Egypt; so that the land may not come to destruction through need of food.
And the stored food shall be for the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; and the land shall not be utterly destroyed by the famine.
37 And this seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.
And the word was pleasing in the sight of Pharao, and in the sight of all his servants.
38 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, Where may we get such a man as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God?
And Pharao said to all his servants, Shall we find such a man as this, who has the Spirit of God in him?
39 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Seeing that God has made all this clear to you, there is no other man of such wisdom and good sense as you:
And Pharao said to Joseph, Since God has shewed thee all these things, there is not a wiser or more prudent man than thou.
40 You, then, are to be over my house, and all my people will be ruled by your word: only as king will I be greater than you.
Thou shalt be over my house, and all my people shall be obedient to thy word; only in the throne will I excel thee.
41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt.
And Pharao said to Joseph, Behold, I set thee this day over all the land of Egypt.
42 Then Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and he had him clothed with the best linen, and put a chain of gold round his neck;
And Pharao took his ring off his hand, and put it on the hand of Joseph, and put on him a robe of fine linen, and put a necklace of gold about his neck.
43 And he made him take his seat in the second of his carriages; and they went before him crying, Make way! So he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
And he mounted him on the second of his chariots, and a herald made proclamation before him; and he set him over all the land of Egypt.
44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without your order no man may do anything in all the land of Egypt.
And Pharao said to Joseph, I am Pharao; without thee no one shall lift up his hand on all the land of Egypt.
45 And Pharaoh gave Joseph the name of Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, the priest of On, to be his wife. So Joseph went through all the land of Egypt.
And Pharao called the name of Joseph, Psonthomphanech; and he gave him Aseneth, the daughter of Petephres, priest of Heliopolis, to wife.
46 Now Joseph was thirty years old when he came before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from before the face of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.
And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharao, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharao, and went through all the land of Egypt.
47 Now in the seven good years the earth gave fruit in masses.
And the land produced, in the seven years of plenty, [whole] handfuls [of corn].
48 And Joseph got together all the food of those seven years, and made a store of food in the towns: the produce of the fields round every town was stored up in the town.
And he gathered all the food of the seven years, in which was the plenty in the land of Egypt; and he laid up the food in the cities; the food of the fields of a city round about it he laid up in it.
49 So he got together a store of grain like the sand of the sea; so great a store that after a time he gave up measuring it, for it might not be measured.
And Joseph gathered very much corn as the sand of the sea, until it could not be numbered, for there was no number [of it].
50 And before the time of need, Joseph had two sons, to whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, gave birth.
And to Joseph were born two sons, before the seven years of famine came, which Aseneth, the daughter of Petephres, priest of Heliopolis, bore to him.
51 And to the first he gave the name Manasseh, for he said, God has taken away from me all memory of my hard life and of my father's house.
And Joseph called the name of the first-born, Manasse; for God, [said he], has made me forget all my toils, and all my father's house.
52 And to the second he gave the name Ephraim, for he said, God has given me fruit in the land of my sorrow.
And he called the name of the second, Ephraim; for God, [said he], has increased me in the land of my humiliation.
53 And so the seven good years in Egypt came to an end.
And the seven years of plenty passed away, which were in the land of Egypt.
54 Then came the first of the seven years of need as Joseph had said: and in every other land they were short of food; but in the land of Egypt there was bread.
And the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph said; and there was a famine in all the land; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
55 And when all the land of Egypt was in need of food, the people came crying to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to the people, Go to Joseph, and whatever he says to you, do it.
And all the land of Egypt was hungry; and the people cried to Pharao for bread. And Pharao said to all the Egyptians, Go to Joseph, and do whatsoever he shall tell you.
56 And everywhere on the earth they were short of food; then Joseph, opening all his store-houses, gave the people of Egypt grain for money; so great was the need of food in the land of Egypt.
And the famine was on the face of all the earth; and Joseph opened all the granaries, and sold to all the Egyptians.
57 And all lands sent to Egypt, to Joseph, to get grain, for the need was great over all the earth.
And all countries came to Egypt to buy of Joseph, for the famine prevailed in all the earth.
