Genesis 41
1 Aftir twei yeer Farao seiy a dreem; he gesside that he stood on a flood,
Now after two years had gone by, Pharaoh had a dream; and in his dream he was by the side of the Nile;
2 fro which seuene faire kiyn and ful fatte stieden, and weren fed in the places of mareis;
And out of the Nile came seven cows, good-looking and fat, and their food was the river-grass.
3 and othere seuene, foule and leene, camen out of the flood, and weren fed in thilk brenke of the watir, in grene places;
And after them seven other cows came out of the Nile, poor-looking and thin; and they were by the side of the other cows.
4 and tho deuoureden thilke kien of whiche the fairnesse and comelynesse of bodies was wondurful.
And the seven thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows. Then Pharaoh came out of his sleep.
5 Farao wakide, and slepte eft, and seiy another dreem; seuen eeris of corn ful and faire camen forth in o stalke,
But he went to sleep again and had a second dream, in which he saw seven heads of grain, full and good, all on one stem.
6 and othere as many eeris of corn, thinne and smytun with corrupcioun of brennynge wynd,
And after them came up seven other heads, thin and wasted by the east wind.
7 camen forth, deuourynge al the fairenesse of the firste. Farao wakide aftir reste,
And the seven thin heads made a meal of the good heads. And when Pharaoh was awake he saw it was a dream.
8 and whanne morewtid was maad, he was aferd bi inward drede, and he sente to alle the expowneris of Egipt, and to alle wise men; and whanne thei weren clepid, he telde the dreem, and noon was that expownede.
And in the morning his spirit was troubled; and he sent for all the wise men of Egypt and all the holy men, and put his dream before them, but no one was able to give him the sense of it.
9 Thanne at the laste the maistir `of boteleris bithouyte, and seide, Y knowleche my synne;
Then the chief wine-servant said to Pharaoh, The memory of my sin comes back to me now;
10 the kyng was wrooth to hise seruauntis, and comaundide me and the maister `of bakeris to be cast doun in to the prisoun of the prince of knyytis,
Pharaoh had been angry with his servants, and had put me in prison in the house of the captain of the army, together with the chief bread-maker;
11 where we bothe saien a dreem in o nyyt, biforeschewynge of thingis to comynge.
And we had a dream on the same night, the two of us, and the dreams had a special sense.
12 An Ebrew child, seruaunt of the same duk of knyytis was there, to whom we telden the dremes,
And there was with us a young Hebrew, the captain's servant, and when we put our dreams before him, he gave us the sense of them.
13 and herden what euer thing the bifallyng of thing preuede afterward; for Y am restorid to myn office, and he was hangid in a cros.
And it came about as he said: I was put back in my place, and the bread-maker was put to death by hanging.
14 Anoon at the comaundement of the kyng thei polliden Joseph led out of prisoun, and whanne `the clooth was chaungid, thei brouyten Joseph to the kyng.
Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they took him quickly out of prison; and when his hair had been cut and his dress changed, he came before Pharaoh.
15 To whom the kyng seide, Y seiye dremes, and noon is that expowneth tho thingis that Y seiy, I haue herd that thou expownest moost prudentli.
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a dream, and no one is able to give me the sense of it; now it has come to my ears that you are able to give the sense of a dream when it is put before you.
16 Joseph answerde, With out me, God schal answere prosperitees to Farao.
Then Joseph said, Without God there will be no answer of peace for Pharaoh.
17 Therfor Farao telde that that he seiy; Y gesside that Y stood on the brenke of the flood,
Then Pharaoh said, In my dream I was by the side of the Nile:
18 and seuene kiyn, ful faire and with fleischis able to etyng, stieden fro the watir, whiche kiyn gaderiden grene seggis in the pasture of the marreis;
And out of the Nile came seven cows, fat and good-looking, and their food was the river-grass;
19 and lo! seuene othere kiyn, so foule and leene, sueden these, that Y seiy neuere siche in the lond of Egipt;
Then after them came seven other cows, very thin and poor-looking, worse than any I ever saw in the land of Egypt;
20 and whanne the formere kien weren deuourid and wastid, tho secounde yauen no steppe of fulnesse,
And the thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows who came up first;
21 but weren slowe bi lijk leenesse and palenesse. I wakide, and eft Y was oppressid bi sleep, and Y seiy a dreem;
And even with the fat cows inside them they seemed as bad as before. And so I came out of my sleep.
22 seuene eeris of corn, ful and faireste, camen forth in o stalke,
And again in a dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, coming up on one stem:
23 and othere seuene, thinne and smytun with `corrupcioun of brennynge wynd, camen forth of the stobil,
And then I saw seven other heads, dry, thin, and wasted by the east wind, coming up after them:
24 whiche deuouriden the fairenesse of the formere;
And the seven thin heads made a meal of the seven good heads; and I put this dream before the wise men, but not one of them was able to give me the sense of it.
25 Y telde the dreem to expowneris, and no man is that expowneth. Joseph answerde, The dreem of the king is oon; God schewide to Farao what thingis he schal do.
Then Joseph said, These two dreams have the same sense: God has made clear to Pharaoh what he is about to do.
26 Seuene faire kiyn, and seuene ful eeris of corn, ben seuene yeeris of plentee, and tho comprehenden the same strengthe of dreem;
The seven fat cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years: the two have the same sense.
27 and seuene kiyn thinne and leene, that stieden aftir tho, and seuene thinne eeris of corn and smytun with brennynge wynd, ben seuene yeer of hungur to comynge,
The seven thin and poor-looking cows who came up after them are seven years; and the seven heads of grain, dry and wasted by the east wind, are seven years when there will be no food.
28 whiche schulen be fillid bi this ordre.
As I said to Pharaoh before, God has made clear to him what he is about to do.
29 Lo! seuene yeer of greet plentee in al the lond of Egipt schulen come,
Seven years are coming in which there will be great wealth of grain in Egypt;
30 and seuene othre yeer of so greet bareynesse schulen sue tho, that al the abundaunce bifore be youun to foryetyng; for the hungur schal waste al the lond,
And after that will come seven years when there will not be enough food; and the memory of the good years will go from men's minds; and the land will be made waste by the bad years;
31 and the greetnesse of pouert schal leese the greetnesse of plentee.
And men will have no memory of the good time because of the need which will come after, for it will be very bitter.
32 Forsothe this that thou siyest the secunde tyme a dreem, perteynynge to the same thing, is a `schewyng of sadnesse, for the word of God schal be doon, and schal be fillid ful swiftli.
And this dream came to Pharaoh twice, because this thing is certain, and God will quickly make it come about.
33 Now therfor puruey the kyng a wijs man and a redi, and make the kyng hym souereyn to the lond of Egipt,
And now let Pharaoh make search for a man of wisdom and good sense, and put him in authority over the land of Egypt.
34 which man ordeyne gouernouris bi alle cuntreis, and gadere he in to bernys the fyuethe part of fruytis bi seuene yeer of plentee,
Let Pharaoh do this, and let him put overseers over the land of Egypt to put in store a fifth part of the produce of the land in the good years.
35 that schulen come now; and al the wheete be kept vndur the power of Farao, and be it kept in citees,
And let them get together all the food in those good years and make a store of grain under Pharaoh's control for the use of the towns, and let them keep it.
36 and be it maad redi to the hungur to comynge of seuene yeer that schal oppresse Egipt, and the lond be not wastid bi pouert.
And let that food be kept in store for the land till the seven bad years which are to come in Egypt; so that the land may not come to destruction through need of food.
37 The counsel pleside Farao,
And this seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.
38 and alle his mynystris, and he spak to hem, Wher we moun fynde sich a man which is ful of Goddis spirit?
Then Pharaoh said to his servants, Where may we get such a man as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God?
39 Therfor Farao seide to Joseph, For God hath schewid to thee alle thingis whiche thou hast spoke, wher Y mai fynde a wisere man and lijk thee?
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Seeing that God has made all this clear to you, there is no other man of such wisdom and good sense as you:
40 Therfor thou schalt be ouer myn hous, and al the puple schal obeie to the comaundement of thi mouth; Y schal passe thee onely by o trone of the rewme.
You, then, are to be over my house, and all my people will be ruled by your word: only as king will I be greater than you.
41 And eft Farao seide to Joseph, Lo! Y haue ordeyned thee on al the lond of Egipt.
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt.
42 And Farao took the ryng fro his hond, and yaf it in the hond of Joseph, and he clothide Joseph with a stoole of bijs, and puttide a goldun wrethe aboute the necke;
Then Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and he had him clothed with the best linen, and put a chain of gold round his neck;
43 and Farao made Joseph to `stie on his secounde chare, while a bidele criede, that alle men schulden knele bifore hym, and schulden knowe that he was souereyn of al the lond of Egipt.
And he made him take his seat in the second of his carriages; and they went before him crying, Make way! So he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
44 And the kyng seide to Joseph, Y am Farao, without thi comaundement no man shal stire hond ether foot in al the lond of Egipt.
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without your order no man may do anything in all the land of Egypt.
45 And he turnede the name of Joseph, and clepide him bi Egipcian langage, the sauyour of the world; and he yaf to Joseph a wijf, Asenech, the douyter of Potifar, preest of Heliopoleos. And so Joseph yede out to the lond of Egipt.
And Pharaoh gave Joseph the name of Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, the priest of On, to be his wife. So Joseph went through all the land of Egypt.
46 Forsothe Joseph was of thretti yeer, whanne he stood in the siyt of kyng Farao, and cumpasside alle the cuntreis of Egipt.
Now Joseph was thirty years old when he came before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from before the face of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.
47 And the plente of seuene yeer cam, and ripe corn weren bounden into handfuls, and weren gaderid into the bernys of Egipt,
Now in the seven good years the earth gave fruit in masses.
48 also al the aboundaunce of cornes weren kept in alle citeis,
And Joseph got together all the food of those seven years, and made a store of food in the towns: the produce of the fields round every town was stored up in the town.
49 and so greet aboundaunce was of wheete, that it was maad euene to the grauel of the see, and the plente passide mesure.
So he got together a store of grain like the sand of the sea; so great a store that after a time he gave up measuring it, for it might not be measured.
50 Sotheli twei sones were born to Joseph bifor that the hungur came, whiche Asenech, douytir of Putifar, preest of Heliopoleos, childide to hym.
And before the time of need, Joseph had two sons, to whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, gave birth.
51 And he clepide the name of the firste gendrid sone, Manasses, and seide, God hath maad me to foryete alle my traueilis, and the hous of my fadir;
And to the first he gave the name Manasseh, for he said, God has taken away from me all memory of my hard life and of my father's house.
52 and he clepide the name of the secunde sone Effraym, and seide, God hath maad me to encreesse in the lond of my pouert.
And to the second he gave the name Ephraim, for he said, God has given me fruit in the land of my sorrow.
53 Therfor whanne seuene yeer of plentee that weren in Egipt weren passid,
And so the seven good years in Egypt came to an end.
54 seuene yeer of pouert bigunnen to come, whiche Joseph bifore seide, and hungur hadde the maistri in al the world; also hungur was in al the lond of Egipt;
Then came the first of the seven years of need as Joseph had said: and in every other land they were short of food; but in the land of Egypt there was bread.
55 and whanne that lond hungride, the puple criede to Farao, and axide metis; to whiche he answeride, Go ye to Joseph, and do ye what euer thing he seith to you.
And when all the land of Egypt was in need of food, the people came crying to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to the people, Go to Joseph, and whatever he says to you, do it.
56 Forsothe hungur encreesside ech dai in al the lond, and Joseph openyde alle the bernys, and seelde to Egipcians, for also hungur oppresside hem;
And everywhere on the earth they were short of food; then Joseph, opening all his store-houses, gave the people of Egypt grain for money; so great was the need of food in the land of Egypt.
57 and alle prouynces camen in to Egipt to bie metis, and to abate the yuel of nedynesse.
And all lands sent to Egypt, to Joseph, to get grain, for the need was great over all the earth.
