Genesi 41
1 Or avvenne, in capo a due anni interi, che Faraone ebbe un sogno. Ed ecco che stava presso il fiume;
Two complete years later, the king of Egypt had a dream. In the dream, he was standing alongside the Nile [River].
2 e su dal fiume ecco salire sette vacche, di bell’apparenza e grasse, e mettersi a pascere nella giuncaia.
Suddenly seven healthy fat cows come up out of the river. They started eating the grass that was on the riverbank.
3 E, dopo quelle, ecco salire dal fiume altre sette vacche di brutt’apparenza e scarne, e fermarsi presso alle prime, sulla riva del fiume.
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.
4 E le vacche di brutt’apparenza e scarne, divorarono le sette vacche di bell’apparenza e grasse. E Faraone si svegliò.
Then the unhealthy thin cows ate the seven healthy fat cows. And then the king woke up.
5 Poi si riaddormentò, e sognò di nuovo; ed ecco sette spighe, grasse e belle, venir su da un unico stelo.
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.
6 Poi ecco sette spighe, sottili e arse dal vento orientale, germogliare dopo quelle altre.
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.
7 E le spighe sottili inghiottirono le sette spighe grasse e piene. E Faraone si svegliò: ed ecco, era un sogno.
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.
8 La mattina, lo spirito di Faraone fu conturbato; ed egli mandò a chiamare tutti i magi e tutti i savi d’Egitto, e raccontò loro i suoi sogni; ma non ci fu alcuno che li potesse interpretare a Faraone.
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.
9 Allora il capo de’ coppieri parlò a Faraone, dicendo: “Ricordo oggi i miei falli.
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.
10 Faraone s’era sdegnato contro i suoi servitori, e m’avea fatto mettere in prigione in casa del capo delle guardie: me, e il capo de’ panettieri.
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.
11 L’uno e l’altro facemmo un sogno, nella medesima notte: facemmo ciascuno un sogno, avente il suo proprio significato.
While we were there, one night each of us had a dream, and the dreams had different meanings.
12 Or c’era quivi con noi un giovane ebreo, servo del capo delle guardie; a lui raccontammo i nostri sogni, ed egli ce li interpretò, dando a ciascuno l’interpretazione del suo sogno.
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.
13 E le cose avvennero secondo l’interpretazione ch’egli ci aveva data: Faraone ristabilì me nel mio ufficio, e l’altro lo fece appiccare”.
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].”
14 Allora Faraone mandò a chiamare Giuseppe, il quale fu tosto tratto fuor dalla prigione sotterranea. Egli si rase, si cambiò il vestito, e venne da Faraone.
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.
15 E Faraone disse a Giuseppe: “Ho fatto un sogno, e non c’è chi lo possa interpretare; e ho udito dir di te che, quando t’hanno raccontato un sogno, tu lo puoi interpretare”.
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.”
16 Giuseppe rispose a Faraone, dicendo: “Non son io; ma sarà Dio che darà a Faraone una risposta favorevole”.
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.”
17 E Faraone disse a Giuseppe: “Nel mio sogno, io stavo sulla riva del fiume;
The king said to Joseph, “In my first dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile [River].
18 quand’ecco salir dal fiume sette vacche grasse e di bell’apparenza, e mettersi a pascere nella giuncaia.
Suddenly seven healthy fat cows came up out of the river, and they started eating the grass that was on the riverbank.
19 E, dopo quelle, ecco salire altre sette vacche magre, di bruttissima apparenza e scarne: tali, che non ne vidi mai di così brutte in tutto il paese d’Egitto.
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!
20 E le vacche magre e brutte divorarono le prime sette vacche grasse;
The thin ugly cows ate the seven fat cows that came up first.
21 e quelle entrarono loro in corpo, e non si riconobbe che vi fossero entrate; erano di brutt’apparenza come prima. E mi svegliai.
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.
22 Poi vidi ancora nel mio sogno sette spighe venir su da un unico stelo, piene e belle;
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.
23 ed ecco altre sette spighe vuote, sottili e arse dal vento orientale, germogliare dopo quelle altre.
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.
24 E le spighe sottili inghiottirono le sette spighe belle. Io ho raccontato questo al magi; ma non c’è stato alcuno che abbia saputo spiegarmelo”.
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.”
25 Allora Giuseppe disse a Faraone: “Ciò che Faraone ha sognato è una stessa cosa. Iddio ha significato a Faraone quello che sta per fare.
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.
26 Le sette vacche belle sono sette anni, e le sette spighe belle sono sette anni; è uno stesso sogno.
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.
27 E le sette vacche magre e brutte che salivano dopo quelle altre, sono sette anni; come pure le sette spighe vuote e arse dal vento orientale saranno sette anni di carestia.
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).
28 Questo è quel che ho detto a Faraone: Iddio ha mostrato a Faraone quello che sta per fare.
It will happen just as I have told you, because God has revealed to you what he is about to do.
29 Ecco, stanno per venire sette anni di grande abbondanza in tutto il paese d’Egitto;
There will be seven years in which there will be plenty of food throughout the land of Egypt,
30 e dopo, verranno sette anni di carestia; e tutta quell’abbondanza sarà dimenticata nel paese d’Egitto, e la carestia consumerà il paese.
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.
31 E uno non si accorgerà più di quell’abbondanza nel paese, a motivo della carestia che seguirà; perché questa sarà molto aspra.
The people will forget how plentiful food was previously, because the famine will be very terrible.
32 E l’essersi il sogno replicato due volte a Faraone vuol dire che la cosa è decretata da Dio, e che Dio l’eseguirà tosto.
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.
33 Or dunque si provveda Faraone d’un uomo intelligente e savio e lo stabilisca sul paese d’Egitto.
“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.
34 Faraone faccia così: Costituisca de’ commissari sul paese per prelevare il quinto delle raccolte del paese d’Egitto, durante i sette anni dell’abbondanza.
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.
35 E radunino essi tutti i viveri di queste sette buone annate che stan per venire, e ammassino il grano a disposizione di Faraone per l’approvvigionamento delle città, e lo conservino.
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.
36 Questi viveri saranno una riserva per il paese, in vista dei sette anni di carestia che verranno nel paese d’Egitto; e così il paese non perirà per la carestia”.
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.”
37 Piacque la cosa a Faraone e a tutti i suoi servitori.
The king and his officials thought that this would be a good plan.
38 E Faraone disse ai suoi servitori: “Potremmo noi trovare un uomo pari a questo, in cui sia lo spirito di Dio?”
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]
39 E Faraone disse a Giuseppe: “Giacché Iddio t’ha fatto conoscere tutto questo, non v’è alcuno che sia intelligente e savio al pari di te.
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.
40 Tu sarai sopra la mia casa, e tutto il mio popolo obbedirà ai tuoi ordini; per il trono soltanto, io sarò più grande di te”.
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.”
41 E Faraone disse a Giuseppe: “Vedi, io ti stabilisco su tutto il paese d’Egitto”.
Then the king said to Joseph, “I am now putting you in charge of the whole country of Egypt.”
42 E Faraone si tolse l’anello di mano e lo mise alla mano di Giuseppe; lo fece vestire di abiti di lino fino, e gli mise al collo una collana d’oro.
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.
43 Lo fece montare sul suo secondo carro, e davanti a lui si gridava: “In ginocchio!” Così Faraone lo costituì su tutto il paese d’Egitto.
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.
44 E Faraone disse a Giuseppe: “Io son Faraone! e senza te, nessuno alzerà la mano o il piede in tutto il paese d’Egitto”.
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.”
45 E Faraone chiamò Giuseppe Tsafnath-Paneach e gli dette per moglie Asenath figliuola di Potifera, sacerdote di On. E Giuseppe partì per visitare il paese d’Egitto.
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.
46 Or Giuseppe avea trent’anni quando si presentò dinanzi a Faraone re d’Egitto. E Giuseppe uscì dal cospetto di Faraone, e percorse tutto il paese d’Egitto.
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.
47 Durante i sette anni d’abbondanza, la terra produsse a piene mani;
During the next seven years, the land produced abundant crops, so there was plenty of food.
48 e Giuseppe adunò tutti i viveri di quei sette anni che vennero nel paese d’Egitto, e ripose i viveri nelle città; ripose in ogni città i viveri del territorio circonvicino.
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.
49 Così Giuseppe ammassò grano come la rena del mare; in così gran quantità, che si smise di contarlo, perch’era innumerevole.
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.
50 Or avanti che venisse il primo anno della carestia, nacquero a Giuseppe due figliuoli, che Asenath figliuola di Potifera sacerdote di On gli partorì.
Before the seven years of famine started, Joseph’s wife Asenath gave birth to two sons.
51 E Giuseppe chiamò il primogenito Manasse, perché, disse, “Iddio m’ha fatto dimenticare ogni mio affanno e tutta la casa di mio padre”.
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.”
52 E al secondo pose nome Efraim, perché, disse, “Iddio m’ha reso fecondo nel paese della mia afflizione”.
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.”
53 I sette anni d’abbondanza ch’erano stati nel paese d’Egitto, finirono;
Finally the seven years in which there was plenty of food ended.
54 e cominciarono a venire i sette anni della carestia, come Giuseppe avea detto. E ci fu carestia in tutti i paesi; ma in tutto il paese d’Egitto c’era del pane.
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.
55 Poi la carestia si estese a tutto il paese d’Egitto, e il popolo gridò a Faraone per aver del pane. E Faraone disse a tutti gli Egiziani: “Andate da Giuseppe, e fate quello che vi dirà”.
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.”
56 La carestia era sparsa su tutta la superficie del paese, e Giuseppe aperse tutti i depositi e vendé grano agli Egiziani. E la carestia s’aggravò nel paese d’Egitto.
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.
57 E da tutti i paesi si veniva in Egitto da Giuseppe per comprar del grano, perché la carestia era grave per tutta la terra.
And people from many [HYP] nearby countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was very severe everywhere [HYP].
