Genesis 41
1 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river.
A full two years later, Pharaoh had a dream that he was standing beside the River Nile.
2 And behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fine-looking and fat-fleshed, and they fed in the reed-grass.
He saw seven cows coming up from the river. They looked well-fed and healthy as they grazed among the reeds.
3 And behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, bad-looking and lean-fleshed, and stood by the kine on the bank of the river.
Then he saw another seven cows that came up behind them. They looked ugly and skinny as they stood beside the other cows on the bank of the Nile.
4 And the kine that were bad-looking and lean-fleshed ate up the seven kine that were fine-looking and fat. And Pharaoh awoke.
Then the ugly, skinny cows ate the well-fed, healthy cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5 And he slept and dreamed the second time; and behold, seven ears of corn grew up on one stalk, fat and good.
Pharaoh fell asleep again and had a second dream. Seven heads of grain were growing on one stalk, ripe and healthy.
6 And behold, seven ears, thin and parched with the east wind, sprung up after them.
Then seven heads of grain grew up after them, thin and dried by the east wind.
7 And the thin ears devoured the seven fat and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke; and behold, it was a dream.
The seven thin and dried heads of grain swallowed up the ripe and healthy ones. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized he'd been dreaming.
8 And it came to pass in the morning, that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the scribes of Egypt, and all the sages who were therein, and Pharaoh told them his dream; but [there was] none to interpret them to Pharaoh.
The next morning Pharaoh was worried by his dreams, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men in Egypt. Pharaoh told them about his dreams, but no one could interpret their meaning for him.
9 Then spoke the chief of the cup-bearers to Pharaoh, saying, I remember mine offences this day.
But then the chief cupbearer spoke up. “Today I've just remembered a bad mistake I've made,” he explained.
10 Pharaoh was wroth with his bondmen, and put me in custody into the captain of the life-guard's house, me and the chief of the bakers.
“Your Majesty was angry with some of your officials and you imprisoned me in the house of the commander of the guard, along with the chief baker.
11 And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each according to the interpretation of his dream.
We each had a dream. They were different dreams, each with its own meaning.
12 And there was there with us a Hebrew youth, a bondman of the captain of the life-guard, to whom we told [them], and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each he interpreted according to his dream.
A young Hebrew was there with us, a slave of the commander of the guard. When we told him our dreams, he interpreted for us the meaning of our different dreams.
13 And it came to pass, just as he interpreted to us, so it came about: me has he restored to my office, and him he hanged.
Everything happened just as he said it would—I was given back my job and the baker was hanged.”
14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph; and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. And he shaved [himself], and changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh.
Pharaoh summoned Joseph, and they quickly brought him from the prison. After he'd shaved and changed his clothes, he was presented to Pharaoh.
15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have dreamt a dream, and there is none to interpret it. And I have heard say of thee, thou understandest a dream to interpret it.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, but no one can interpret its meaning. But I've heard that when someone tells you a dream you know how to interpret it.”
16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
“It's not me who can do this,” Joseph replied. “But God will explain its meaning to set Your Majesty's mind at rest.”
17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood on the bank of the river.
Pharaoh explained to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile.
18 And behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat-fleshed and of fine form, and they fed in the reed-grass.
I saw seven cows coming up from the river. They looked well-fed and healthy as they grazed among the reeds.
19 And behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor, and very ill-formed, and lean-fleshed — such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness.
Then I saw another seven cows that came up behind them. They looked sickly and ugly and skinny—I've never seen such ugly cows in the whole of Egypt!
20 And the lean and bad kine ate up the seven first fat kine;
These skinny, ugly cows ate the first seven healthy-looking cows.
21 and they came into their belly, and it could not be known that they had come into their belly; and their look was bad, as at the beginning. And I awoke.
But afterwards you couldn't tell they'd eaten them because they looked just as skinny and ugly as before. Then I woke up.
22 And I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears came up on one stalk, full and good.
Then I fell asleep again. In my second dream I saw seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, ripe and healthy.
23 And behold, seven ears, withered, thin, parched with the east wind, sprung up after them;
Then seven heads of grain grew up after them, withered and thin and dried by the east wind.
24 and the thin ears devoured the seven good ears. And I told it to the scribes; but there was none to make it known to me.
The seven thin heads of grain swallowed up the healthy ones. I told all this to the magicians, but none of them could explain its meaning to me.”
25 And Joseph said to Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God will do he has made known to Pharaoh.
“Pharaoh's dreams mean the same thing,” Joseph responded. “God is telling Pharaoh what he is going to do.
26 The seven fine kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.
The seven good cows and the seven good heads of grain represent seven good years of harvest. The dreams mean the same thing.
27 And the seven lean and bad kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears, parched with the east wind, will be seven years of famine.
The seven skinny and ugly cows that came after them and the seven thin heads of grain dried by the east wind represent seven years of famine.
28 This is the word which I have spoken to Pharaoh: what God is about to do he has let Pharaoh see.
It's just as I told Your Majesty—God has shown Pharaoh what he is going to do.
29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout the land of Egypt.
There are going to be seven years with plenty of food produced throughout the whole country of Egypt.
30 And there will arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will waste away the land.
But after them will come seven years of famine. People will forget the time when there was plenty of food throughout Egypt. Famine will ruin the country.
31 And the plenty will not be known afterwards in the land by reason of that famine; for it will be very grievous.
The time of plenty will be completely forgotten because the famine that follows it will be so terrible.
32 And as regards the double repetition of the dream to Pharaoh, it is that the thing is established by God, and God will hasten to do it.
The fact that the dream was repeated twice means that it has definitely been decided by God, and that God is going to do this soon.
33 And now let Pharaoh look himself out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
So Your Majesty should choose a man with insight and wisdom, and put him in charge of the whole country of Egypt.
34 Let Pharaoh do [this]: let him appoint overseers over the land, and take the fifth part of the land of Egypt during the seven years of plenty,
Your Majesty should also appoint officials to be in charge of the land, and have them collect one-fifth of the produce of the country during the seven years of plenty.
35 and let them gather all the food of these coming good years, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, for food in the cities, and keep [it].
They should collect all the food during the good years that are soon coming, and store the grain under Pharaoh's authority, keeping it under guard to provide food for the towns.
36 And let the food be as store for the land for the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt, that the land perish not through the famine.
This will be a food reserve for the country during the seven years of famine so that the people won't die of starvation.”
37 And the word was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his bondmen.
Pharaoh and all his officials thought Joseph's proposal was a good idea.
38 And Pharaoh said to his bondmen, Shall we find [one] as this, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
So Pharaoh asked them, “Where can we find a man like this who has the spirit of God in him?”
39 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has made all this known to thee, there is none [so] discreet and wise as thou.
Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, telling him, “Since God has revealed to you all this, and there's no one like you with such insight and wisdom,
40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according to thy commandment shall all my people regulate themselves; only concerning the throne will I be greater than thou.
you will be in charge of all my affairs, and all my people will obey your orders. Only I with my status as king will be greater than you.”
41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Look, I'm putting you in charge of the whole country of Egypt.”
42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in clothes of byssus, and put a gold chain on his neck.
Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothes and placed a golden chain around his neck.
43 And he caused him to ride in the second chariot that he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee! and he set him over all the land of Egypt.
He had Joseph ride in the chariot designated for his second-in-command while his attendants went ahead, shouting, “Bow down!” This is how Pharaoh gave Joseph authority over all of Egypt.
44 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh told Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission nobody will lift a hand or a foot anywhere in the whole country.”
45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah, and gave him as wife Asnath the daughter of Potipherah the priest in On. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and arranged for him to marry Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. This is how Joseph rose to power over the whole of Egypt.
46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh, and passed through the whole land of Egypt.
Joseph was thirty when he started working for Pharaoh, king of Egypt. After he had left Pharaoh, Joseph traveled on an inspection tour throughout Egypt.
47 And in the seven years of plenty the land brought forth by handfuls.
During the seven years of good harvests, the land produced plenty of food.
48 And he gathered up all the food of the seven years that was in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities; the food of the fields of the city, which were round about it, he laid up in it.
He collected all the food during the seven good years, and he stored the grain produced in the local fields in each town.
49 And Joseph laid up corn as sand of the sea exceeding much, until they left off numbering; for it was without number.
Joseph piled up so much grain that it was like the sand of the seashore. Eventually he stopped keeping records because there was just so much!
50 And to Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asnath the daughter of Potipherah the priest in On bore to him.
It was during this time, before the years of famine came, that Joseph had two sons by Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh — For God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.
Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh, because he said, “The Lord has made me forget all my troubles and all my father's family.”
52 And the name of the second he called Ephraim — For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
His second son he named Ephraim, because he said, “God has made me fruitful in the country of my misery.”
53 And the seven years of plenty that were in the land of Egypt were ended;
The seven years of plenty in Egypt came to an end,
54 and the seven years of the dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said. And there was dearth in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other countries but the whole of Egypt had food.
55 And all the land of Egypt suffered from the dearth. And the people cried to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, Go to Joseph: what he says to you, that do.
When all of Egypt was hungry, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, and he told everyone, “Go and see Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”
56 And the famine was on all the earth. And Joseph opened every place in which there was [provision], and sold grain to the Egyptians; and the famine was grievous in the land of Egypt.
The famine had spread all over the country so Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the people of Egypt. The famine was very bad in Egypt,
57 And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph, to buy [grain], because the famine was grievous on the whole earth.
in fact the famine was very bad everywhere, so people from other countries all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph.
