Genesis 41
1 And it comes to pass, at the end of two years of days that Pharaoh is dreaming, and behold, he is standing by the River,
A full two years later, Pharaoh had a dream that he was standing beside the River Nile.
2 and behold, from the River coming up are seven cows, of beautiful appearance, and fat [in] flesh, and they feed among the reeds;
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 cows are coming up after them out of the River, of bad appearance, and lean [in] flesh, and they stand near the cows on the edge 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 cows of bad appearance and lean [in] flesh eat up the seven cows of beautiful appearance, and fat—and Pharaoh awakens.
Then the ugly, skinny cows ate the well-fed, healthy cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5 And he sleeps, and dreams a second time, and behold, seven ears are coming 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 blasted with an east wind, are springing up after them;
Then seven heads of grain grew up after them, thin and dried by the east wind.
7 and the thin ears swallow the seven fat and full ears—and Pharaoh awakens, and behold, 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 comes to pass in the morning, that his spirit is moved, and he sends and calls all the enchanters of Egypt, and all its wise men, and Pharaoh recounts to them his dream, and there is no interpreter of 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 And the chief of the butlers speaks with Pharaoh, saying, “I mention my sin this day:
But then the chief cupbearer spoke up. “Today I've just remembered a bad mistake I've made,” he explained.
10 Pharaoh has been angry against his servants, and puts me in confinement in the house of the chief of the executioners, 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 dream a dream in one night, I and he, each according to the interpretation of his dream we have dreamed.
We each had a dream. They were different dreams, each with its own meaning.
12 And there [is] with us a youth, a Hebrew, servant to the chief of the executioners, and we recount to him, and he interprets to us our dreams, [to] each according to his dream has he interpreted,
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 comes to pass, as he has interpreted to us so it has been, me he put back on my station, and him he hanged.”
Everything happened just as he said it would—I was given back my job and the baker was hanged.”
14 And Pharaoh sends and calls Joseph, and they cause him to run out of the pit, and he shaves, and changes his garments, and comes 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 says to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it, and I have heard concerning you, saying, You understand 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 answers Pharaoh, saying, “Without me—God answers Pharaoh with 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 speaks to Joseph: “In my dream, behold, I am standing by the edge of the River,
Pharaoh explained to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile.
18 and behold, out of the River coming up are seven cows, fat [in] flesh, and of beautiful form, and they feed among the reeds;
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 cows are coming up after them, thin, and of very bad form, and lean [in] flesh; I have not seen like these 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 the bad cows eat up the first seven fat cows,
These skinny, ugly cows ate the first seven healthy-looking cows.
21 and they come in to their midst, and it has not been known that they have come in to their midst, and their appearance [is] bad as at the commencement; and I awake.
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 see in my dream, and behold, seven ears are coming 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, blasted with an east wind, are springing 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 swallow the seven good ears; and I tell [it] to the enchanters, and there is none declaring [it] 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 says to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one: that which God is doing he has declared to Pharaoh;
“Pharaoh's dreams mean the same thing,” Joseph responded. “God is telling Pharaoh what he is going to do.
26 the seven good cows 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 thin and bad cows which are coming up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears, blasted with an east wind, are 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 thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is doing.
It's just as I told Your Majesty—God has shown Pharaoh what he is going to do.
29 Behold, seven years are coming of great abundance in all the land of Egypt,
There are going to be seven years with plenty of food produced throughout the whole country of Egypt.
30 and seven years of famine have arisen after them, and all the plenty is forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine has finished 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 is not known in the land because of that famine afterward, for it [is] very grievous.
The time of plenty will be completely forgotten because the famine that follows it will be so terrible.
32 And because of the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, surely the thing is established by God, and God is hurrying 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 provide a man, intelligent 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 make and appoint overseers over the land, and receive a fifth of the land of Egypt in 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 they gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and heap up grain under the hand of Pharaoh—food in the cities; and they have kept [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 the food has been for a store for the land, for the seven years of famine which are in the land of Egypt; and the land is cut off by 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 thing is good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants,
Pharaoh and all his officials thought Joseph's proposal was a good idea.
38 and Pharaoh says to his servants, “Do we find like 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 says to Joseph, “After God’s causing you to know all this, there is none intelligent and wise as you;
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 you are over my house, and at your mouth do all my people kiss; only in the throne I am greater than you.”
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 says to Joseph, “See, I have put you 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 turns aside his seal-ring from off his hand, and puts it on the hand of Joseph, and clothes him [with] garments of fine linen, and places a chain of gold 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 causes him to ride in the second chariot which he has, and they proclaim 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 says to Joseph, “I [am] Pharaoh, and without you a man does not lift up his hand and 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 calls Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah, and he gives to him Asenath daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, for a wife, and Joseph goes 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 [is] a son of thirty years in his standing before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and Joseph goes out from the presence of Pharaoh, and passes over through all the 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 the land makes in the seven years of plenty by handfuls.
During the seven years of good harvests, the land produced plenty of food.
48 And he gathers all the food of the seven years which have been in the land of Egypt, and puts food in the cities; the food of the field which [is] around [each] city has he put in its midst;
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 gathers grain as sand of the sea, multiplying exceedingly, until he has ceased to number, for there is no 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 comes, whom Asenath daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, has borne 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 calls the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me to forget all my labor, and all the house of my father”;
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 has 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 are completed which have been in the land of Egypt,
The seven years of plenty in Egypt came to an end,
54 and the seven years of famine begin to come, as Joseph said, and famine is in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt has been 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 is famished, and the people cry to Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh says to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; that which he says to you—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 has been over all the face of the land, and Joseph opens all [places] which have [grain] in them, and sells to the Egyptians; and the famine is severe 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 the earth has come to Egypt, to buy, to Joseph, for the famine was severe in all the earth.
in fact the famine was very bad everywhere, so people from other countries all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph.
