Genesis 41
41
1And two yeeres after, Pharaoh also dreamed, and beholde, he stoode by a riuer, 2And loe, there came out of the riuer seuen goodly kine and fatfleshed, and they fedde in a medowe: 3And loe, seuen other kine came vp after the out of the riuer, euill fauoured and leane fleshed, and stoode by the other kine vpon the brinke of the riuer. 4And the euilfauoured and leane fleshed kine did eate vp the seuen welfauoured and fatte kine: so Pharaoh awoke. 5Againe he slept, and dreamed the second time: and beholde, seuen eares of corne grewe vpon one stalke, ranke and goodly. 6And loe, seuen thinne eares, and blasted with the east winde, sprang vp after them: 7And the thinne eares deuoured the seuen ranke and full eares. then Pharaoh awaked, and loe, it was a dreame. 8Nowe when the morning came, his spirit was troubled: therefore he sent and called all the soothsayers of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof, and Pharaoh tolde them his dreames: but none coulde interprete them to Pharaoh. 9Then spake the chiefe butler vnto Pharaoh, saying, I call to minde my faultes this day. 10Pharaoh being angrie with his seruantes, put me in ward in the chiefe stewards house, both me and the chiefe baker. 11Then we dreamed a dreame in one night, both I, and he: we dreamed eche man according to the interpretation of his dreame. 12And there was with vs a yong man, an Ebrew, seruant vnto the chiefe steward, whome when we told, he declared our dreames to vs, to euery one he declared according to his dreame. 13And as he declared vnto vs, so it came to passe: for he restored me to mine office, and hanged him. 14Then sent Pharaoh, and called Ioseph, and they brought him hastily out of prison, and he shaued him, and chaunged his rayment, and came to Pharaoh. 15Then Pharaoh sayde to Ioseph, I haue dreamed a dreame, and no man can interprete it, and I haue hearde say of thee, that when thou hearest a dreame, thou canst interprete it. 16And Ioseph answered Pharaoh, saying, Without me God shall answere for the wealth of Pharaoh. 17And Pharaoh sayde vnto Ioseph, In my dreame, beholde, I stoode by the banke of the riuer: 18And lo, there came vp out of the riuer seuen fat fleshed, and welfauoured kine, and they fedde in the medowe. 19Also loe, seuen other kine came vp after them, poore and very euilfauoured, and leanefleshed: I neuer sawe the like in all the lande of Egypt, for euilfauoured. 20And the leane and euilfauoured kine did eate vp the first seuen fat kine. 21And when they had eaten them vp, it could not be knowen that they had eaten them, but they were still as euilfauoured, as they were at the beginning: so did I awake. 22Moreouer I sawe in my dreame, and beholde, seuen eares sprang out of one stalke, full and faire. 23And lo, seuen eares, withered, thinne, and blasted with the East winde, sprang vp after them. 24And the thinne eares deuoured the seuen good eares. Nowe I haue tolde the soothsayers, and none can declare it vnto me. 25Then Ioseph answered Pharaoh, Both Pharaohs dreames are one. God hath shewed Pharaoh, what he is about to doe. 26The seuen good kine are seuen yeres, and the seuen good eares are seuen yeeres: this is one dreame. 27Likewise the seuen thinne and euilfauoured kine, that came out after them, are seuen yeeres: and the seuen emptie eares blasted with the East winde, are seuen yeeres of famine. 28This is the thing which I haue saide vnto Pharaoh, that God hath shewed vnto Pharaoh, what he is about to doe. 29Beholde, there come seuen yeeres of great plentie in all the land of Egypt. 30Againe, there shall arise after them seuen yeeres of famine, so that all the plentie shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land: 31Neither shall the plentie bee knowen in the land, by reason of this famine that shall come after: for it shalbe exceeding great. 32And therefore the dreame was doubled vnto Pharaoh the second time, because the thing is established by God, and God hasteth to performe it. 33Nowe therefore let Pharaoh prouide for a man of vnderstanding and wisedome, and set him ouer the land of Egypt. 34Let Pharaoh make and appoynt officers ouer the lande, and take vp the fift part of the land of Egypt in the seuen plenteous yeeres. 35Also let them gather all the foode of these good yeeres that come, and lay vp corne vnder the hand of Pharaoh for foode, in the cities, and let them keepe it. 36So the foode shall be for the prouision of the lande, against the seuen yeeres of famine, which shalbe in the lande of Egypt, that the land perish not by famine. 37And the saying pleased Pharaoh and all his seruants. 38Then saide Pharaoh vnto his seruants, Can we finde such a man as this, in whom is the Spirit of God? 39The Pharaoh said to Ioseph, For as much as God hath shewed thee all this, there is no man of vnderstanding, or of wisedome like vnto thee. 40Thou shalt be ouer mine house, and at thy word shall all my people be armed, onely in the kings throne will I be aboue thee. 41Moreouer Pharaoh said to Ioseph, Behold, I haue set thee ouer all the land of Egypt. 42And Pharaoh tooke off his ring from his hand, and put it vpon Iosephs hand, and arayed him in garments of fine linnen, and put a golden cheyne about his necke. 43So he set him vpon the best charet that hee had, saue one: and they cryed before him, Abrech, and placed him ouer all the land of Egypt. 44Againe Pharaoh saide vnto Ioseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift vp his hand or his foote in all the land of Egypt. 45And Pharaoh called Iosephs name Zaphnath-paaneah: and he gaue him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah prince of On. then went Ioseph abrode in the land of Egypt. 46And Ioseph was thirtie yeere old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt: and Ioseph departing from the presence of Pharaoh, went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47And in the seuen plenteous yeres the earth brought foorth store. 48And hee gathered vp all the foode of the seuen plenteous yeeres, which were in the lande of Egypt, and layde vp foode in the cities: the foode of the fielde, that was round about euery citie, layde he vp in the same. 49So Ioseph gathered wheate, like vnto the sand of the sea in multitude out of measure, vntill he left numbring: for it was without number. 50Now vnto Ioseph were borne two sonnes (before the yeeres of famine came) which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah prince of On bare vnto him. 51And Ioseph called the name of the first borne Manasseh: for God, said he, hath made me forget all my labour and al my fathers houshold. 52Also hee called the name of the second, Ephraim: For God, sayde he hath made me fruitfull in the land of mine affliction. 53So the seuen yeeres of the plentie that was in the land of Egypt were ended. 54Then began the seuen yeeres of famine to come, according as Ioseph had saide: and the famine was in all landes, but in all the land of Egypt was bread. 55At the length all the lande of Egypt was affamished, and the people cryed to Pharaoh for bread. And Pharaoh said vnto all the Egyptians, Goe to Ioseph: what he sayth to you, doe ye. 56When the famine was vpon all the land, Ioseph opened all places, wherein the store was, and solde vnto the Egyptians: for the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. 57And all countries came to Egypt to bye corne of Ioseph, because the famine was sore in all landes.
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Genesis 41: GNV
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PUBLIC DOMAIN
Genesis 41
41
1-4Two years passed and Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile River. Seven cows came up out of the Nile, all shimmering with health, and grazed on the marsh grass. Then seven other cows, all skin and bones, came up out of the river after them and stood by them on the bank of the Nile. The skinny cows ate the seven healthy cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5-7He went back to sleep and dreamed a second time: Seven ears of grain, full-bodied and lush, grew out of a single stalk. Then seven more ears grew up, but these were thin and dried out by the east wind. The thin ears swallowed up the full, healthy ears. Then Pharaoh woke up—another dream.
8When morning came, he was upset. He sent for all the magicians and sages of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but they couldn’t interpret them to him.
9-13The head cupbearer then spoke up and said to Pharaoh, “I just now remembered something—I’m sorry, I should have told you this long ago. Once when Pharaoh got angry with his servants, he locked me and the head baker in the house of the captain of the guard. We both had dreams on the same night, each dream with its own meaning. It so happened that there was a young Hebrew slave there with us; he belonged to the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he interpreted them for us, each dream separately. Things turned out just as he interpreted. I was returned to my position and the head baker was impaled.”
14Pharaoh at once sent for Joseph. They brought him on the run from the jail cell. He cut his hair, put on clean clothes, and came to Pharaoh.
15“I dreamed a dream,” Pharaoh told Joseph. “Nobody can interpret it. But I’ve heard that just by hearing a dream you can interpret it.”
16Joseph answered, “Not I, but God. God will set Pharaoh’s mind at ease.”
17-21Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile. Seven cows, shimmering with health, came up out of the river and grazed on the marsh grass. On their heels seven more cows, all skin and bones, came up. I’ve never seen uglier cows anywhere in Egypt. Then the seven skinny, ugly cows ate up the first seven healthy cows. But you couldn’t tell by looking—after eating them up they were just as skinny and ugly as before. Then I woke up.
22-24“In my second dream I saw seven ears of grain, full-bodied and lush, growing out of a single stalk, and right behind them, seven other ears, shriveled, thin, and dried out by the east wind. And the thin ears swallowed up the full ears. I’ve told all this to the magicians but they can’t figure it out.”
25-27Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s two dreams both mean the same thing. God is telling Pharaoh what he is going to do. The seven healthy cows are seven years and the seven healthy ears of grain are seven years—they’re the same dream. The seven sick and ugly cows that followed them up are seven years and the seven scrawny ears of grain dried out by the east wind are the same—seven years of famine.
28-32“The meaning is what I said earlier: God is letting Pharaoh in on what he is going to do. Seven years of plenty are on their way throughout Egypt. But on their heels will come seven years of famine, leaving no trace of the Egyptian plenty. As the country is emptied by famine, there won’t be even a scrap left of the previous plenty—the famine will be total. The fact that Pharaoh dreamed the same dream twice emphasizes God’s determination to do this and do it soon.
33-36“So, Pharaoh needs to look for a wise and experienced man and put him in charge of the country. Then Pharaoh needs to appoint managers throughout the country of Egypt to organize it during the years of plenty. Their job will be to collect all the food produced in the good years ahead and stockpile the grain under Pharaoh’s authority, storing it in the towns for food. This grain will be held back to be used later during the seven years of famine that are coming on Egypt. This way the country won’t be devastated by the famine.”
37This seemed like a good idea to Pharaoh and his officials.
38Then Pharaoh said to his officials, “Isn’t this the man we need? Are we going to find anyone else who has God’s spirit in him like this?”
39-40So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “You’re the man for us. God has given you the inside story—no one is as qualified as you in experience and wisdom. From now on, you’re in charge of my affairs; all my people will report to you. Only as king will I be over you.”
41-43So Pharaoh commissioned Joseph: “I’m putting you in charge of the entire country of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his finger and slipped it on Joseph’s hand. He outfitted him in robes of the best linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He put the second-in-command chariot at his disposal, and as he rode people shouted “Bravo!”
Joseph was in charge of the entire country of Egypt.
44Pharaoh told Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but no one in Egypt will make a single move without your stamp of approval.”
45Then Pharaoh gave Joseph an Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Paneah (God Speaks and He Lives). He also gave him an Egyptian wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On (Heliopolis).
And Joseph took up his duties over the land of Egypt.
46Joseph was thirty years old when he went to work for Pharaoh the king of Egypt. As soon as Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, he began his work in Egypt.
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47-49During the next seven years of plenty the land produced bumper crops. Joseph gathered up the food of the seven good years in Egypt and stored the food in cities. In each city he stockpiled surplus from the surrounding fields. Joseph collected so much grain—it was like the sand of the ocean!—that he finally quit keeping track.
50-52Joseph had two sons born to him before the years of famine came. Asenath, daughter of Potiphera the priest of On, was their mother. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh (Forget), saying, “God made me forget all my hardships and my parental home.” He named his second son Ephraim (Double Prosperity), saying, “God has prospered me in the land of my sorrow.”
53-54Then Egypt’s seven good years came to an end and the seven years of famine arrived, just as Joseph had said. All countries experienced famine; Egypt was the only country that had bread.
55When the famine spread throughout Egypt, the people called out in distress to Pharaoh, calling for bread. He told the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. Do what he tells you.”
56-57As the famine got worse all over the country, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold emergency supplies to the Egyptians. The famine was very bad. Soon the whole world was coming to buy supplies from Joseph. The famine was bad all over.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.