Genesis 40

1 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt, and the baker, had sinned against their lord the king of Egypt.

Later on the cupbearer and the baker committed some offense against their master, the king of Egypt.

2 Then fell the wroth of Pharaoh upon his two courtiers, upon the chief of the butlers, and upon the chief of the bakers;

Pharaoh was angry with these two royal officials—the chief cupbearer and chief baker—

3 so he delivered them up into the ward of the house of the chief of the royal executioners, into the prison, —the place where Joseph was imprisoned.

and imprisoned them in the house of the commander of the guard, the same prison where Joseph was.

4 And the chief of the royal executioners charged Joseph with them and he waited upon them, and they were some days in ward.

The commander of the guard assigned Joseph to them as their personal attendant. They were kept in prison for some time.

5 And they dreamed a dream they two, each man, his dream in one night, each man, according to the interpretation of his dream, —the butler and the baker who belonged to the king of Egypt, who were imprisoned in the prison.

One night while they were in prison the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt each had a dream. They were different dreams, each with its own meaning.

6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, —and looked at them, and lo! they were sad.

When Joseph arrived the next morning he noticed they both looked depressed.

7 So he asked Pharaoh’s courtiers who were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Why are your faces troubled to-day!

So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were imprisoned with him in his master's house, “Why are you looking so depressed?”

8 And they said unto him, A dream, have we dreamed, but there is none, to interpret, it. Then said Joseph unto them—Is it not unto God, that interpretations belong? Relate it. I pray you, to me.

“We've both had dreams but can't find anyone to explain what they mean,” they said. So Joseph told them, “Isn't God the one who can interpret the meaning of dreams? Tell me your dreams.”

9 And the chief of the butlers related his dream to Joseph, —and said to him, In my dream, then lo! a vine, before me;

So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. “In my dream there was a vine right in front of me,” he explained.

10 and, in the vine, three shoots, —and the same at sprouting time, had shot up her blossom, and her clusters had brought to perfection ripe grapes.

“The vine had three branches. As soon as it budded, it flowered, and produced clusters of ripe grapes.

11 Now, the cup of Pharaoh, being in my hand, I took the ripe grapes and pressed them out into the cup of Pharaoh, and set the cup upon Pharaoh’s palm.

I was holding Pharaoh's wine cup, so I picked the grapes and squeezed them into the cup and gave it to Pharaoh.”

12 And Joseph said to him, This, is the interpretation thereof, —The three shoots are three days:

“This is the meaning,” Joseph told him. “The three branches represent three days.

13 In three days more, will Pharaoh lift up thy head, and restore thee to thine office, and thou shalt set the cup of Pharaoh in his hand, according to the former custom when thou wast his butler.

In three days' time Pharaoh will take you out of prison and give you back your job, and you will hand Pharaoh his cup as you used to.

14 But if thou remember how I was with thee when it shall go well with thee, then wilt thou I pray thee do me a lovingkindness, —and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me forth out of this house;

But when things go well for you, please remember me with kindness and speak to Pharaoh on my behalf, and please get me out of this prison.

15 For I was, stolen, out of the land of the Hebrews, —and, even here, had I done nothing, that they should have put me in the dungeon,

I was cruelly kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and now I'm here in this pit even though I've done nothing wrong.”

16 Then the chief of the bakers, seeing that he had well interpreted, said unto Joseph, I, too, was in my dream, when lo! three wicker baskets of fine bread were on my head;

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was positive, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream. I had three baskets of cakes on my head.

17 and, in the uppermost basket, was some of every kind of food for Pharaoh that a baker could make, —but, the birds, kept eating them out of the basket from off my head.

In the top basket were all the cakes and pastries for Pharaoh to eat, and the birds were eating them from the basket on my head.”

18 And Joseph responded and said, This, is the interpretation thereof, The three baskets, are, three days:

“This is the meaning,” Joseph told him. “The three baskets represent three days.

19 In three days more, will Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and hang thee upon a tree, and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.

In three days' time Pharaoh will take you out of prison and hang you on a pole, and birds will eat your flesh.”

20 And it came to pass on the third day the birthday of Pharaoh, that he made a banquet for all his servants, and uplifted the head of the chief of the butlers and the head of the chief of the bakers in the midst of his servants;

Three days later it happened to be Pharaoh's birthday, and he arranged a banquet for all his officials. He had the chief cupbearer and the chief baker released from prison and brought there before his officials.

21 and restored the chief of the butlers to his butlership, so that he set the cup upon the palm of Pharaoh;

He gave the chief cupbearer his job back, and he returned to his duties of handing Pharaoh his cup.

22 but, the chief of the bakers, he hanged, —as, Joseph, had interpreted unto them.

But he hanged the chief baker just as Joseph had said when he interpreted their dreams.

23 Yet the chief of the butlers made no mention of Joseph but did forget him.

But the chief cupbearer didn't remember to say anything about Joseph—in fact he forgot all about him.