8And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all the wise men thereof; and Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

9¶ Then the chief butler spoke unto Pharaoh, saying, I remember my sins today;

10Pharaoh was angry with his slaves and put me in the prison of the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the prince of the bakers.

11And we both dreamed a dream in one night; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.

12And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew, slave to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted our dreams to us; he interpreted to each man according to his dream.

13And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto my office, and him he hanged.

14Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon; and they cut his hair and changed his clothes, and he came in unto Pharaoh.

15And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one that can interpret it; but I have heard say of thee that thou canst hear dreams to interpret them.

16And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me; God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

17¶ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river;

18and, behold, there came up out of the river seven cows, fat-fleshed and beautiful in appearance; and they fed in a meadow.

19And, behold, seven other cows came up after them, lean and very ugly in appearance, and thin, such as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt for ugliness.

20And the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows;

21and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ugly, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

22And I also saw in my dream, and, behold, seven heads came up in one stalk, full and beautiful;

23and, behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.

24And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads; and I told this unto the magicians, but there was no one that could declare it to me.

25Then Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God has showed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

26The seven beautiful cows are seven years; and the seven good heads are seven years; the dream is one and the same.

27Also the seven thin and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty heads blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.

28This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh. What God is about to do he has shown unto Pharaoh.

29Behold, seven years of great plenty are coming throughout all the land of Egypt.

30And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;

31and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.

32And that the dream came unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

33¶ Now therefore let Pharaoh find a discreet and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.

34Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.

35And let them gather all the food of those good years that come and lay up wheat under the hand of Pharaoh to feed the cities, and let them store it up.

36And let that food be stored for the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; and the land shall not perish through the famine.

37And the word was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his slaves.

38And Pharaoh said unto his slaves, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?

39And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God has showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art.

40Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled; only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

41And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.

42Then Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph’s hand and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck;

43and he made him to ride in his second chariot; and they cried before him, Abrech Tender Father-honour this one as a precious father; and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.

44And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee no one shall lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

45And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnathpaaneah, and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

46¶ And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

47And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.

48And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt and laid up the food in the cities, placing in each city the food of the field, which was round about.

49And Joseph gathered wheat as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left off numbering; for it was without number.

50And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, prince of On, bore unto him.

51And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh; For God, said he, has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.

52And the name of the second he called Ephraim, For God, said he, has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

53And the seven years of the abundance that was in the land of Egypt were ended.

54And the seven years of famine began to come, according as Joseph had said; and the famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

55And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. And Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.

56And the famine was over all the face of the earth. Then Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold unto the Egyptians; for the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt.

57And all the earth came into Egypt to buy from Joseph because the famine was so sore in all lands.

The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International

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Genesis 41

Pharaoh’s Dreams

1Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River. 2In his dream he saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass. 3Then he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile, but these were scrawny and thin. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank. 4Then the scrawny, thin cows ate the seven healthy, fat cows! At this point in the dream, Pharaoh woke up.

5But he fell asleep again and had a second dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain, plump and beautiful, growing on a single stalk. 6Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were shriveled and withered by the east wind. 7And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream.

8The next morning Pharaoh was very disturbed by the dreams. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. When Pharaoh told them his dreams, not one of them could tell him what they meant.

9Finally, the king’s chief cup-bearer spoke up. “Today I have been reminded of my failure,” he told Pharaoh. 10“Some time ago, you were angry with the chief baker and me, and you imprisoned us in the palace of the captain of the guard. 11One night the chief baker and I each had a dream, and each dream had its own meaning. 12There was a young Hebrew man with us in the prison who was a slave of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he told us what each of our dreams meant. 13And everything happened just as he had predicted. I was restored to my position as cup-bearer, and the chief baker was executed and impaled on a pole.”

14Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh. 15Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means. But I have heard that when you hear about a dream you can interpret it.”

16“It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”

17So Pharaoh told Joseph his dream. “In my dream,” he said, “I was standing on the bank of the Nile River, 18and I saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass. 19But then I saw seven sick-looking cows, scrawny and thin, come up after them. I’ve never seen such sorry-looking animals in all the land of Egypt. 20These thin, scrawny cows ate the seven fat cows. 21But afterward you wouldn’t have known it, for they were still as thin and scrawny as before! Then I woke up.

22“In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, full and beautiful, growing on a single stalk. 23Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were blighted, shriveled, and withered by the east wind. 24And the shriveled heads swallowed the seven healthy heads. I told these dreams to the magicians, but no one could tell me what they mean.”

25Joseph responded, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God is telling Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do. 26The seven healthy cows and the seven healthy heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity. 27The seven thin, scrawny cows that came up later and the seven thin heads of grain, withered by the east wind, represent seven years of famine.

28“This will happen just as I have described it, for God has revealed to Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do. 29The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout the land of Egypt. 30But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten in Egypt. Famine will destroy the land. 31This famine will be so severe that even the memory of the good years will be erased. 32As for having two similar dreams, it means that these events have been decreed by God, and he will soon make them happen.

33“Therefore, Pharaoh should find an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt. 34Then Pharaoh should appoint supervisors over the land and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years. 35Have them gather all the food produced in the good years that are just ahead and bring it to Pharaoh’s storehouses. Store it away, and guard it so there will be food in the cities. 36That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come to the land of Egypt. Otherwise this famine will destroy the land.”

Joseph Made Ruler of Egypt

37Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials. 38So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” 39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. 40You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”

41Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.” 42Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck. 43Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt. 44And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.”

45Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah.#41:45a Zaphenath-paneah probably means “God speaks and lives.” He also gave him a wife, whose name was Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.#41:45b Greek version reads of Heliopolis; also in 41:50. So Joseph took charge of the entire land of Egypt. 46He was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And when Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, he inspected the entire land of Egypt.

47As predicted, for seven years the land produced bumper crops. 48During those years, Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the cities. 49He piled up huge amounts of grain like sand on the seashore. Finally, he stopped keeping records because there was too much to measure.

50During this time, before the first of the famine years, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. 51Joseph named his older son Manasseh,#41:51 Manasseh sounds like a Hebrew term that means “causing to forget.” for he said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.” 52Joseph named his second son Ephraim,#41:52 Ephraim sounds like a Hebrew term that means “fruitful.” for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”

53At last the seven years of bumper crops throughout the land of Egypt came to an end. 54Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. The famine also struck all the surrounding countries, but throughout Egypt there was plenty of food. 55Eventually, however, the famine spread throughout the land of Egypt as well. And when the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told them, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.” 56So with severe famine everywhere, Joseph opened up the storehouses and distributed grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. 57And people from all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe throughout the world.

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Genesis 41

Genesis 41