< Genesis 41 >

1 And it cometh to pass, at the end of two years of days that Pharaoh is dreaming, and lo, he is standing by the River,
After two years, Pharaoh saw a dream. He thought himself to be standing above a river,
2 and lo, from the River coming up are seven kine, of fair appearance, and fat [in] flesh, and they feed among the reeds;
from which ascended seven cows, exceedingly beautiful and stout. And they pastured in marshy places.
3 and lo, seven other kine are coming up after them out of the River, of bad appearance, and lean [in] flesh, and they stand near the kine on the edge of the River,
Likewise, another seven emerged from the river, filthy and thoroughly emaciated. And they pastured on the same bank of the river, in green places.
4 and the kine of bad appearance and lean [in] flesh eat up the seven kine of fair appearance, and fat — and Pharaoh awaketh.
And they devoured those whose appearance and condition of body was so wonderful. Pharaoh, having been awakened,
5 And he sleepeth, and dreameth a second time, and lo, seven ears are coming up on one stalk, fat and good,
slept again, and he saw another dream. Seven ears of grain sprung up on one stalk, full and well-formed.
6 and lo, seven ears, thin, and blasted with an east wind, are springing up after them;
Likewise, other ears of grain, of the same number, rose up, thin and struck with blight,
7 and the thin ears swallow the seven fat and full ears — and Pharaoh awaketh, and lo, a dream.
devouring all the beauty of the first. Pharaoh, when he awakened after his rest,
8 And it cometh to pass in the morning, that his spirit is moved, and he sendeth and calleth all the scribes of Egypt, and all its wise men, and Pharaoh recounteth to them his dream, and there is no interpreter of them to Pharaoh.
and when morning arrived, being terrified with fear, sent to all the interpreters of Egypt and to all of the wise men. And when they were summoned, he explained to them his dream; but there was no one who could interpret it.
9 And the chief of the butlers speaketh with Pharaoh, saying, 'My sin I mention this day:
Then at last the chief cupbearer, remembering, said, “I confess my sin.
10 Pharaoh hath been wroth against his servants, and giveth me into charge in the house of the chief of the executioners, me and the chief of the bakers;
The king, being angry with his servants, ordered me and the chief miller of grain to be forced into the prison of the leader of the military.
11 and we dream a dream in one night, I and he, each according to the interpretation of his dream we have dreamed.
There, in one night, both of us saw a dream presaging the future.
12 And there [is] with us a youth, a Hebrew, servant to the chief of the executioners, and we recount to him, and he interpreteth to us our dreams, [to] each according to his dream hath he interpreted,
In that place, there was a Hebrew, a servant of the same commander of the military, to whom we explained our dreams.
13 and it cometh to pass, as he hath interpreted to us so it hath been, me he put back on my station, and him he hanged.'
Whatever we heard was proven afterwards by the event of the matter. For I was restored to my office, and he was suspended on a cross.”
14 And Pharaoh sendeth and calleth Joseph, and they cause him to run out of the pit, and he shaveth, and changeth his garments, and cometh in unto Pharaoh.
Immediately, by the king’s authority, Joseph was led out of prison, and they shaved him. And changing his apparel, they presented him to him.
15 And Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, 'A dream I have dreamed, and there is no interpreter of it, and I — I have heard concerning thee, saying, Thou understandest a dream to interpret it,'
And he said to him, “I have seen dreams, and there is no one who can unfold them. I have heard that you are very wise at interpreting these.”
16 and Joseph answereth Pharaoh, saying, 'Without me — God doth answer Pharaoh with peace.'
Joseph responded, “Apart from me, God will respond favorably to Pharaoh.”
17 And Pharaoh speaketh unto Joseph: 'In my dream, lo, I am standing by the edge of the River,
Therefore, Pharaoh explained what he had seen: “I thought myself to be standing on the bank of a river,
18 and lo, out of the River coming up are seven kine, fat [in] flesh, and of fair form, and they feed among the reeds;
and seven cows climbed up from the river, exceedingly beautiful and full of flesh. And they grazed in a pasture of a marshy greenery.
19 and lo, seven other kine 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.
And behold, there followed after these, another seven cows, with such deformity and emaciation as I had never seen in the land of Egypt.
20 'And the lean and the bad kine eat up the first seven fat kine,
These devoured and consumed the first,
21 and they come in unto their midst, and it hath not been known that they have come in unto their midst, and their appearance [is] bad as at the commencement; and I awake.
giving no indication of being full. But they remained in the same state of emaciation and squalor. Awakening, but being weighed down into sleep again,
22 'And I see in my dream, and lo, seven ears are coming up on one stalk, full and good;
I saw a dream. Seven ears of grain sprang up on one stalk, full and very beautiful.
23 and lo, seven ears, withered, thin, blasted with an east wind, are springing up after them;
Likewise, another seven, thin and struck with blight, rose up from the stalk.
24 and the thin ears swallow the seven good ears; and I tell unto the scribes, and there is none declaring to me.'
And they devoured the beauty of the first. I explained this dream to the interpreters, and there is no one who can unfold it.”
25 And Joseph saith unto Pharaoh, 'The dream of Pharaoh is one: that which God is doing he hath declared to Pharaoh;
Joseph responded: “The dream of the king is one. What God will do, he has revealed to Pharaoh.
26 the seven good kine are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years, the dream is one;
The seven beautiful cows, and the seven full ears of grain, are seven years of abundance. And so the force of the dreams is understood to be the same.
27 and the seven thin and bad kine which are coming up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears, blasted with an east wind, are seven years of famine;
Likewise, the seven thin and emaciated cows, which ascended after them, and the seven thin ears of grain, which were struck with the burning wind, are seven approaching years of famine.
28 this [is] the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: That which God is doing, he hath shewn Pharaoh.
These will be fulfilled in this order.
29 'Lo, seven years are coming of great abundance in all the land of Egypt,
Behold, there will arrive seven years of great fertility throughout the entire land 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 hath finished the land,
After this, there will follow another seven years, of such great barrenness that all the former abundance will be delivered into oblivion. For the famine will consume all the land,
31 and the plenty is not known in the land because of that famine afterwards, for it [is] very grievous.
and the greatness of this destitution will cause the greatness of the abundance to be lost.
32 'And because of the repeating of the dream unto Pharaoh twice, surely the thing is established by God, and God is hastening to do it.
Now, as to what you saw the second time, it is a dream pertaining to the same thing. It is an indication of its firmness, because the word of God shall be done, and it shall be completed swiftly.
33 'And now, let Pharaoh provide a man, intelligent and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt;
Now therefore, let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and place him over the land 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,
so that he may appoint overseers throughout all the regions. And let a fifth part of the fruits, throughout the seven fertile years
35 and they gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and heap up corn under the hand of Pharaoh — food in the cities; and they have kept [it],
that now have already begun to occur, be gathered into storehouses. And let all the grain be stored away, under the power of Pharaoh, and let it be kept in the cities.
36 and the food hath 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.'
And let it be prepared for the future famine of seven years, which will oppress Egypt, and then the land will not be consumed by destitution.”
37 And the thing is good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants,
The counsel pleased Pharaoh and all his ministers.
38 and Pharaoh saith unto his servants, 'Do we find like this, a man in whom the spirit of God [is]?'
And he said to them, “Would we be able to find another such man, who is full of the Spirit of God?”
39 and Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, 'After God's causing thee to know all this, there is none intelligent and wise as thou;
Therefore, he said to Joseph: “Because God has revealed to you all that you have said, would I be able to find anyone wiser and as much like you?
40 thou — thou art over my house, and at thy mouth do all my people kiss; only in the throne I am greater than thou.'
You will be over my house, and to the authority of your mouth, all the people will show obedience. Only in one way, in the throne of the kingdom, will I go before you.”
41 And Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, 'See, I have put thee over all the land of Egypt.'
And again, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have appointed you over the entire land of Egypt.”
42 And Pharaoh turneth aside his seal-ring from off his hand, and putteth it on the hand of Joseph, and clotheth him [with] garments of fine linen, and placeth a chain of gold on his neck,
And he took the ring from his own hand, and he gave it into his hand. And he clothed him with a robe of fine linen, and he placed a necklace of gold around his neck.
43 and causeth him to ride in the second chariot which he hath, and they proclaim before him, 'Bow the knee!' and — to put him over all the land of Egypt.
And he caused him to ascend upon his second swift chariot, with the herald proclaiming that everyone should bend their knee before him, and that they should know that he was governor over the entire land of Egypt.
44 And Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, 'I [am] Pharaoh, and without thee a man doth not lift up his hand and his foot in all the land of Egypt;'
Likewise, the king said to Joseph: “I am Pharaoh: apart from your authority, no one will move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”
45 and Pharaoh calleth Joseph's name Zaphnath-Paaneah, and he giveth to him Asenath daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, for a wife, and Joseph goeth out over the land of Egypt.
And he changed his name and called him, in the Egyptian tongue: ‘Savior of the world.’ And he gave him as a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis. And so Joseph went out into the land of Egypt.
46 And Joseph [is] a son of thirty years in his standing before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and Joseph goeth out from the presence of Pharaoh, and passeth over through all the land of Egypt;
(Now he was thirty years old when he stood in the sight of king Pharaoh.) And he traveled throughout the regions of Egypt.
47 and the land maketh in the seven years of plenty by handfuls.
And the fertility of the seven years arrived. And when the grain fields were reduced to sheaves, these were gathered into the storehouses of Egypt.
48 And he gathereth all the food of the seven years which have been in the land of Egypt, and putteth food in the cities; the food of the field which [is] round about [each] city hath he put in its midst;
And now all the abundance of grain was stored away in every city.
49 and Joseph gathereth corn as sand of the sea, multiplying exceedingly, until that he hath ceased to number, for there is no number.
And there was such a great abundance of wheat that it was comparable to the sands of the sea, and its bounty exceeded all measure.
50 And to Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine cometh, whom Asenath daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of On, hath borne to him,
Then, before the famine arrived, Joseph had two sons born, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, bore for him.
51 and Joseph calleth the name of the first-born Manasseh: 'for, God hath made me to forget all my labour, and all the house of my father;'
And he called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has caused me to forget all my labors and the house of my father.”
52 and the name of the second he hath called Ephraim: 'for, God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of mine affliction.'
Likewise, he named the second Ephraim, saying, “God has caused me to increase in the land of my poverty.”
53 And the seven years of plenty are completed which have been in the land of Egypt,
And so, when the seven years of fertility that occurred in Egypt had passed,
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 hath been bread;
the seven years of destitution, which Joseph had predicted, began to arrive. And the famine prevailed throughout the whole world, but there was bread in all the land of Egypt.
55 and all the land of Egypt is famished, and the people crieth unto Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh saith to all the Egyptians, 'Go unto Joseph; that which he saith to you — do.'
And being hungry, the people cried out to Pharaoh, asking for provisions. And he said to them: “Go to Joseph. And do whatever he will tell you.”
56 And the famine has been over all the face of the land, and Joseph openeth all [places] which have [corn] in them, and selleth to the Egyptians; and the famine is severe in the land of Egypt,
Then the famine increased daily in all the land. And Joseph opened all of the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. For the famine had oppressed them also.
57 and all the earth hath come to Egypt, to buy, unto Joseph, for the famine was severe in all the earth.
And all the provinces came to Egypt, to buy food and to temper the misfortune of their destitution.

< Genesis 41 >