5And they dream a dream both of them, each his dream in one night, each according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker whom the king of Egypt hath, who [are] prisoners in the round-house.

6And Joseph cometh in unto them in the morning, and seeth them, and lo, they [are] morose;

7and he asketh Pharaoh's eunuchs who [are] with him in charge in the house of his lord, saying, ‘Wherefore [are] your faces sad to-day?’

8And they say unto him, ‘A dream we have dreamed, and there is no interpreter of it;’ and Joseph saith unto them, ‘Are not interpretations with God? recount, I pray you, to me.’

9And the chief of the butlers recounteth his dream to Joseph, and saith to him, ‘In my dream, then lo, a vine [is] before me!

10and in the vine [are] three branches, and it [is] as it were flourishing; gone up hath its blossom, its clusters have ripened grapes;

11and Pharaoh's cup [is] in my hand, and I take the grapes and press them into the cup of Pharaoh, and I give the cup into the hand of Pharaoh.’

12And Joseph saith to him, ‘This [is] its interpretation: the three branches are three days;

13yet, within three days doth Pharaoh lift up thy head, and hath put thee back on thy station, and thou hast given the cup of Pharaoh into his hand, according to the former custom when thou wast his butler.

14‘Surely if thou hast remembered me with thee, when it is well with thee, and hast done (I pray thee) kindness with me, and hast made mention of me unto Pharaoh, then hast thou brought me out from this house,

15for I was really stolen from the land of the Hebrews; and here also have I done nothing that they have put me in the pit.’

16And the chief of the bakers seeth that he hath interpreted good, and he saith unto Joseph, ‘I also [am] in a dream, and lo, three baskets of white bread [are] on my head,

17and in the uppermost basket [are] of all [kinds] of Pharaoh's food, work of a baker; and the birds are eating them out of the basket, from off my head.’

18And Joseph answereth and saith, ‘This [is] its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;

19yet, within three days doth Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and hath hanged thee on a tree, and the birds have eaten thy flesh from off thee.’

20And it cometh to pass, on the third day, Pharaoh's birthday, that he maketh a banquet to all his servants, and lifteth up the head of the chief of the butlers, and the head of the chief of the bakers among his servants,

21and he putteth back the chief of the butlers to his butlership, and he giveth the cup into the hand of Pharaoh;

22and the chief of the bakers he hath hanged, as Joseph hath interpreted to them;

23and the chief of the butlers hath not remembered Joseph, but forgetteth him.

maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society

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Genesis 40

The Cupbearer and the Baker

1Some time later, the king’s cupbearer and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3and imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard, the same prison where Joseph was confined. 4The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he became their personal attendant.

After they had been in custody for some time, 5both of these men—the Egyptian king’s cupbearer and baker, who were being held in the prison—had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning.

6When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were distraught. 7So he asked the officials of Pharaoh who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so downcast today?”

8“We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

9So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream: “In my dream there was a vine before me, 10and on the vine were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into his cup, and placed the cup in his hand.”

12Joseph replied, “This is the interpretation: The three branches are three days. 13Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did when you were his cupbearer. 14But when it goes well for you, please remember me and show me kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh, that he might bring me out of this prison. 15For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which they should have put me in this dungeon.”

16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: There were three baskets of white bread on my head. 17In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18Joseph replied, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days. 19Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree.#40:19 Or and impale you on a pole; similarly in verse 22 Then the birds will eat the flesh of your body.”

20On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he held a feast for all his officials, and in their presence he lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. 21Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22But Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had described to them in his interpretation.#40:22 Literally had interpreted to them

23The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot all about him.

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Genesis 40

Genesis 40