Genesis 41
1 Two complete years later, the king of Egypt had a dream. In the dream, he was standing alongside the Nile [River].
After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,
2 Suddenly seven healthy fat cows come up out of the river. They started eating the grass that was on the riverbank.
when seven cows, sleek and well-fed, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.
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.
After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside the well-fed cows on the bank of the river.
4 Then the unhealthy thin cows ate the seven healthy fat cows. And then the king woke up.
And the cows that were sickly and thin devoured the seven sleek, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up,
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.
but he fell back asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, came up on one stalk.
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.
After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the east wind.
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.
And the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, ripe ones. Then Pharaoh awoke and realized it was a dream.
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.
In the morning his spirit was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
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.
Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures.
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.
Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the captain of the guard.
11 While we were there, one night each of us had a dream, and the dreams had different meanings.
One night both the chief baker and I had dreams, and each dream had its own meaning.
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.
Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he interpreted them for us individually.
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].”
And it happened to us just as he had interpreted: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged.”
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.
So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, who was quickly brought out of the dungeon. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he went in before Pharaoh.
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.”
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
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.”
“I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”
17 The king said to Joseph, “In my first dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile [River].
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,
18 Suddenly seven healthy fat cows came up out of the river, and they started eating the grass that was on the riverbank.
when seven cows, well-fed and sleek, came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds.
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!
After them, seven other cows—sickly, ugly, and thin—came up. I have never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt!
20 The thin ugly cows ate the seven fat cows that came up first.
Then the thin, ugly cows devoured the seven well-fed cows that were there first.
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.
When they had devoured them, however, no one could tell that they had done so; their appearance was as ugly as it had been before. Then I awoke.
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.
In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, growing on a single stalk.
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.
After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind.
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.”
And the thin heads of grain swallowed the seven plump ones. I told this dream to the magicians, but no one could explain it to me.”
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.
At this, Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do.
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.
The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads of grain are seven years. The dreams have the same meaning.
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).
Moreover, the seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind—they are seven years of famine.
28 It will happen just as I have told you, because God has revealed to you what he is about to do.
It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.
29 There will be seven years in which there will be plenty of food throughout the land of Egypt,
Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt,
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.
but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will devastate the land.
31 The people will forget how plentiful food was previously, because the famine will be very terrible.
The abundance in the land will not be remembered, since the famine that follows it will be so severe.
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.
Moreover, because the dream was given to Pharaoh in two versions, the matter has been decreed by God, and He will carry it out shortly.
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.
Now, therefore, Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.
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.
Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.
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.
Under the authority of Pharaoh, let them collect all the excess food from these good years, that they may come and lay up the grain to be preserved as food in the cities.
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.”
This food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine to come upon the land of Egypt. Then the country will not perish in the famine.”
37 The king and his officials thought that this would be a good plan.
This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his officials.
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]
So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?”
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.
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.
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.”
You shall be in charge of my house, and all my people are to obey your commands. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”
41 Then the king said to Joseph, “I am now putting you in charge of the whole country of Egypt.”
Pharaoh also told Joseph, “I hereby place you over all the land of Egypt.”
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.
Then Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his finger, put it on Joseph’s finger, clothed him in garments of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck.
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.
He had Joseph ride in his second chariot, with men calling out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt.
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.”
And Pharaoh declared to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission, no one in all the land of Egypt shall lift his hand or foot.”
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.
Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt.
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.
Now Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.
47 During the next seven years, the land produced abundant crops, so there was plenty of food.
During the seven years of abundance, the land brought forth bountifully.
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.
During those seven years, Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities. In every city he laid up the food from the fields around it.
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.
So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance, like the sand of the sea, that he stopped keeping track of it; for it was beyond measure.
50 Before the seven years of famine started, Joseph’s wife Asenath gave birth to two sons.
Before the years of famine arrived, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
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.”
Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.”
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.”
And the second son he named Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
53 Finally the seven years in which there was plenty of food ended.
When the seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end,
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.
the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. And although there was famine in every country, there was food throughout the land of Egypt.
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.”
When extreme hunger came to all the land of Egypt and the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”
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.
When the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened up all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.
57 And people from many [HYP] nearby countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was very severe everywhere [HYP].
And every nation came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.
