Genesis 41
1 Two complete years later, the king of Egypt had a dream. In the dream, he was standing alongside the Nile [River].
過了兩年，法郎作了一夢，夢見自己站在尼羅河畔。
2 Suddenly seven healthy fat cows come up out of the river. They started eating the grass that was on the riverbank.
看見從尼羅河中上來了七隻母牛，色美體肥，在蘆葦中吃草。
3 Soon seven other cows, unhealthy-looking and thin, came up behind them from the Nile [River]. They stood alongside the fat cows that were on the riverbank.
隨後，從尼羅河中，又上來了七隻色醜體瘦的母牛，站在尼羅河岸上靠近那些母牛身旁。
4 Then the unhealthy thin cows ate the seven healthy fat cows. And then the king woke up.
這些色醜體瘦的母牛，竟將那七隻色美體肥的母牛吞了下去；法郎便驚醒了。
5 The king went to sleep again, and he had another dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain that were full of kernels of grain and ripe, and all growing on one stalk.
他又睡下，作了一個夢，夢見一根麥莖上，生出了七枝又肥又美的麥穗；
6 After that, the king saw that seven other heads of grain sprouted on that (OR, on another) stalk. They were thin and had been dried up by the hot east wind.
隨後，又發出了七枝又細弱，而又為東風吹焦了的麥穗。
7 Then the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven ripe full heads. Then the king woke up. He realized that he had been dreaming.
這些細弱的麥穗竟將那七枝又肥又實的麥穗吞了下去。法郎驚醒了，原是一場夢。
8 But the next morning he was worried about the meaning of the dream. So he summoned all the magicians and wise men who lived in Egypt. He told them what he had dreamed, but none of them could tell him the meaning of the two dreams.
到了早晨，他心煩意亂，遂遣人將埃及所有的術士和賢士召來，給他們講述了自己的夢，卻沒有人能給法郎解釋。
9 Then the chief drink-server said to the king, “Now I remember something that I should have told you! I made a mistake by forgetting to tell it to you.
那時司酒長向法郎說：「我今天想起了我的過犯。
10 One time you were angry with two of us. So you put me and the chief baker in the prison in the house of the captain of the palace guards.
有一次陛下對自己的臣僕發怒，將我和司廚長關在衛隊長府內的拘留所內。
11 While we were there, one night each of us had a dream, and the dreams had different meanings.
我和他在同一夜裏，各作了一夢，我們每人的夢都有它的意義。
12 There was a young Hebrew man there with us. He was a servant of the captain of the palace guards. We told him what we had dreamed, and he told us what our dreams meant. He told each of us the meaning of our dreams.
在那裏有個希伯來少年人與我們在一起，他是衛隊長的僕人；當我們把夢告訴了他，他就給我們加以解釋，給每個人的夢都說明了它的意義。
13 And what happened was exactly the same as the meanings that he told us: You said I could have my previous job again, but the other man was killed by being hanged. [The Hebrew man’s name was Joseph].”
果然都照他給我們所解釋的應驗了：我恢復了原職，他卻被吊死了。」
14 When the king heard that, he told some servants to bring Joseph to him, and they quickly brought Joseph out of the prison. Joseph shaved and put on better clothes, and then he went and stood in front of the king.
法郎於是遣人去召若瑟，人就快把他從地牢裏提出來；他剃了頭，刮了臉，換了衣服，來到法郎跟前。
15 The king said to Joseph, “I had two dreams, and no one can tell me what they mean. But someone told me that when you hear someone tell about a dream he has had, you can tell that person what the dream means.”
法郎對若瑟說：「我作了一夢，沒有人能夠解釋。我聽見人說，你聽了夢就能解釋。」
16 But Joseph replied to the king, “No, I cannot do that. It is God who knows the meaning of dreams, but he will enable me to tell you their meaning, and they will mean something good.”
若瑟回答法郎說：「這不是我所能的，只有天主能給陛下一個吉祥的解答。」
17 The king said to Joseph, “In my first dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile [River].
法郎遂向若瑟說：「我夢見我站在尼羅河上，
18 Suddenly seven healthy fat cows came up out of the river, and they started eating the grass that was on the riverbank.
看見從河中上來了七隻母牛，體肥色美，在蘆葦叢中吃草。
19 Soon seven other cows, ugly and thin ones, came up behind them from the river. I never saw such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt!
隨後，又上來了七隻母牛，軟弱無力，色醜體瘦，那種醜陋，我在埃及全國從未見過。
20 The thin ugly cows ate the seven fat cows that came up first.
這些又瘦又醜的母牛，竟將先上來的那七隻肥母牛吞了下去。
21 But afterwards, no one would have known that the thin cows ate them, because they were just as ugly as they were before. Then I woke up.
牠們吞下去之後，竟看不出來牠們吞了下去，因為牠們醜陋的樣子和先前一樣，我就驚醒了。
22 Then I had another dream. I saw seven heads of grain. They were full of kernels of grain and ripe, and they were all growing on one stalk.
以後我又夢見在一根麥莖上，生出了七枝粗大美麗的麥穗。
23 Then [to my surprise] I saw seven other heads of grain that sprouted. They were thin and had been dried up by the hot east wind.
隨後，又發出了七枝枯萎細弱而又被東風吹焦了的麥穗。
24 The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good heads. I told these dreams to the magicians, but none of them could explain to me what they meant.”
這些細弱的麥穗竟將那七枝美麗的麥穗吞了。我講給了術士們聽，但沒有人能給我解說。」
25 Then Joseph said to the king, “Both your dreams have the same meaning. God is revealing to you in your dreams what he is about to do.
若瑟遂對法郎說：「陛下的夢只是一個。天主已將所要作的告訴陛下：
26 The seven healthy cows represent seven years. The seven good heads of grain also represent seven years. The two dreams both have the same meaning.
七隻美好的母牛表示七年，七枝美好的麥穗也表示七年。這原是一個夢。
27 The seven thin ugly cows that came up behind them and the seven worthless heads of grain that were dried up by the hot east wind each represent seven years (of famine/when food will be very scarce).
隨後上來的那七隻又瘦又弱的母牛，和那七枝空虛而又被東風吹焦了的麥穗，都表示將有七個荒年。
28 It will happen just as I have told you, because God has revealed to you what he is about to do.
這即是我對陛下所說：天主已將他要作的顯示給陛下了。
29 There will be seven years in which there will be plenty of food throughout the land of Egypt,
看埃及全國將有七年大豐收。
30 but after that there will be seven years (of famine/when food will be very scarce). Then people will forget all the years when there was plenty of food, because the famine that will come afterward will ruin the country.
繼之而來的是七個荒年，那時人都忘記了埃及國曾有過豐收。當飢荒蹂躪此地時，
31 The people will forget how plentiful food was previously, because the famine will be very terrible.
誰也覺不到此地曾有過豐收，因為相繼而來的飢荒實在太嚴重了。
32 The reason God gave to you two dreams is that he [wants you to know] that this will happen, and he will cause it to happen very soon.
至於陛下的夢重複了兩次，是表示這事已由天主命定，天主就快要實行。
33 “Now I suggest that you should choose a man who is wise and can make good decisions. I suggest that you appoint him to direct the affairs of the whole country.
所以陛下現在應當尋找一個聰明，有智慧的人，派他管理埃及國。
34 You should also appoint supervisors over the country, in order that they can arrange to collect one-fifth of all the grain that is harvested during the seven years when food is plentiful.
陛下應設法在地方上派定督辦，在七個豐年內，徵收埃及國所出產的五分之一；
35 They should collect this amount of grain during those seven years that are coming, when there will be plenty of food. You should supervise them as they store it in the cities.
使他們將未來豐年內的一切食糧，聚斂起來，將五穀都儲藏在陛下手下，貯在城內備作食糧，妥為保管。
36 This grain should be stored so that it can be eaten during the seven years when there will be a famine here in Egypt, so that the people in this country will not die from hunger.”
這些食糧應作為本地的存糧，以應付那在埃及國要出現的七個荒年，免得全國因飢荒而滅亡。
37 The king and his officials thought that this would be a good plan.
這番話使法郎和他的群臣十分贊成，
38 So the king said to them, “(Can we find any other man like Joseph, a man to whom God has given his Spirit?/It is not likely that we will find another man like this man, one to whom God has given his Spirit!)” [RHQ]
於是法郎對他的臣僕說：「像他這樣的人，有天主的神住在他內，我們豈能找著另一個﹖」
39 Then the king said to Joseph, “Because God has revealed all this to you, it seems to me that there is no one who is as wise as you and who can decide wisely about things.
法郎遂對若瑟說：「天主既使你知道這一切，就再沒有像你這樣聰敏富有智慧的人了。
40 So I will put you in charge of everything in my palace. All the people here in Egypt must obey what you command. Only because I am king [MTY] will I have more authority than you.”
你要掌管我的朝廷，我的人民都要聽從你的號令；只在寶座上我比你大。」
41 Then the king said to Joseph, “I am now putting you in charge of the whole country of Egypt.”
法郎又對若瑟說：「看，我立你統治全埃及國。」
42 The king took from his finger the ring that had his seal on it, and he put it on Joseph’s finger. He put robes made of fine linen on him, and he put a gold chain around his neck.
遂由自己手上取下打印的戒指，戴在若瑟手上，給他穿上細麻長袍，將金鏈戴在他的頸項上；
43 Then he arranged for Joseph to ride around in the chariot [that showed that he was] the second-most important man in the country. When Joseph rode in the chariot, men shouted to the people who were on the road in front of him, “Get off the road!” So the king put Joseph in charge of everything in the country.
又使他坐在自己的第二部御車上，人們在他前面喊說：「跪下! 」法郎就這樣立他管理全埃及國。
44 The king said to Joseph, “I am the king, but no one in the whole land of Egypt will do anything [IDM] if you do not permit them to do it.”
法郎又對若瑟說：「我是法郎，沒有你的同意，全埃及國，任何人不得做任何事。」
45 The king gave Joseph a new name, Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave him Asenath to be his wife. She was the daughter of Potiphera, who was a priest in a temple in On [city]. Then Joseph became known (OR, traveled) through all the land of Egypt.
法郎給若瑟起名叫匝斐納特帕乃亞，又將翁城的司祭頗提斐辣的女兒阿斯納特給他為妻。若瑟便出去巡行埃及全國。
46 Joseph was 30 years old when he started to work for the king of Egypt. To do his work, he left the king’s palace and traveled throughout Egypt.
若瑟立於埃及王法郎前時，年三十歲。他由法郎面前出去巡行了埃及全國。
47 During the next seven years, the land produced abundant crops, so there was plenty of food.
七個豐年內，土地出產極其豐富。
48 As Joseph supervised them, his helpers collected one-fifth of all the grain that was produced during those years, and stored it in the cities. In each city, he had his helpers store up the grain that was grown in the fields that surrounded that city.
若瑟聚斂了埃及國七個豐年內所有的糧食，積蓄在城內；每城城郊田間所出的糧食，也都儲藏在本城內。
49 Joseph had them store up a huge amount of grain. It looked as plentiful as the sand on the seashore. There was so much grain that after a while they stopped keeping records of how much grain was stored, because there was more grain than they could measure.
這樣若瑟聚斂了大量的五穀，多得有如海沙，無法計算，無法勝數。
50 Before the seven years of famine started, Joseph’s wife Asenath gave birth to two sons.
在荒年未來以前，若瑟已有了兩個兒子，是翁城的司祭頗提斐辣的女兒阿斯納特給他生的。
51 Joseph named the first one Manasseh, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘forget]’, because, he said, “God has caused me to forget all my troubles and all my father’s family.”
若瑟給長子起名叫默納協，說：「天主使我忘盡了我的一切困苦和我父的全家。
52 He named his second son Ephraim, [which means ‘to have children]’, because, he said, “God has given me children here in this land where I have suffered.”
給次子起名叫厄弗辣因，說：「天主使我在我受苦的地方有了子息。」
53 Finally the seven years in which there was plenty of food ended.
埃及國的七個豐年一過，
54 Then the seven years of famine started, just as Joseph had predicted. There was also a famine in all the other nearby lands, but although the crops did not grow, there was food everywhere in Egypt, because of the grain they had stored up in the cities.
七個荒年隨著就來了，恰如若瑟所預言的；各地都發生了飢荒，唯獨全埃及國還有食糧。
55 When all the people of [MTY] Egypt had eaten all of their own food and were still hungry, they begged the king for food. So the king told all the people of Egypt, “Go to Joseph, and do what he tells you to do.”
及至埃及全國鬧飢荒時，人民便向法郎呼求糧食；法郎對埃及民眾說：「你們到若瑟那裏去，照他對你們所說的做。」
56 When the famine was very bad throughout the whole country, Joseph ordered his helpers to open the storehouses. Then they sold the grain in the storehouses to the people of Egypt, because the famine was very severe all over Egypt.
當時飢荒彌漫天下，若瑟便開了國內所有的糧倉，將糧食賣給埃及人，因為埃及的飢荒很嚴重。
57 And people from many [HYP] nearby countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was very severe everywhere [HYP].
天下的人都來到埃及，向若瑟購買食糧，因為天下各地都大鬧飢荒。
