Genesis 41

1And it cometh to pass, at the end of two years of days that Pharaoh is dreaming, and lo, he is standing by the River,

2and lo, from the River coming up are seven kine, of fair appearance, and fat [in] flesh, and they feed among the reeds;

3and 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,

4and the kine of bad appearance and lean [in] flesh eat up the seven kine of fair appearance, and fat — and Pharaoh awaketh.

5And he sleepeth, and dreameth a second time, and lo, seven ears are coming up on one stalk, fat and good,

6and lo, seven ears, thin, and blasted with an east wind, are springing up after them;

7and the thin ears swallow the seven fat and full ears — and Pharaoh awaketh, and lo, a dream.

8And 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.

9And the chief of the butlers speaketh with Pharaoh, saying, ‘My sin I mention this day:

10Pharaoh 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;

11and we dream a dream in one night, I and he, each according to the interpretation of his dream we have dreamed.

12And 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,

13and 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.’

14And 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.

15And 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,’

16and Joseph answereth Pharaoh, saying, ‘Without me — God doth answer Pharaoh with peace.’

17And Pharaoh speaketh unto Joseph: ‘In my dream, lo, I am standing by the edge of the River,

18and lo, out of the River coming up are seven kine, fat [in] flesh, and of fair form, and they feed among the reeds;

19and 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.

20‘And the lean and the bad kine eat up the first seven fat kine,

21and 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.

22‘And I see in my dream, and lo, seven ears are coming up on one stalk, full and good;

23and lo, seven ears, withered, thin, blasted with an east wind, are springing up after them;

24and the thin ears swallow the seven good ears; and I tell unto the scribes, and there is none declaring to me.’

25And Joseph saith unto Pharaoh, ‘The dream of Pharaoh is one: that which God is doing he hath declared to Pharaoh;

26the seven good kine are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years, the dream is one;

27and 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;

28this [is] the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: That which God is doing, he hath shewn Pharaoh.

29‘Lo, seven years are coming of great abundance in all the land of Egypt,

30and 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,

31and the plenty is not known in the land because of that famine afterwards, for it [is] very grievous.

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.

33‘And now, let Pharaoh provide a man, intelligent and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt;

34let Pharaoh make and appoint overseers over the land, and receive a fifth of the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty,

35and 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],

36and 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.’

37And the thing is good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants,

38and Pharaoh saith unto his servants, ‘Do we find like this, a man in whom the spirit of God [is]?’

39and Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, ‘After God's causing thee to know all this, there is none intelligent and wise as thou;

40thou — thou art over my house, and at thy mouth do all my people kiss; only in the throne I am greater than thou.’

41And Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, ‘See, I have put thee over all the land of Egypt.’

42And 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,

43and 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.

44And 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;’

45and 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.

46And 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;

47and the land maketh in the seven years of plenty by handfuls.

48And 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;

49and Joseph gathereth corn as sand of the sea, multiplying exceedingly, until that he hath ceased to number, for there is no number.

50And 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,

51and 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;’

52and the name of the second he hath called Ephraim: ‘for, God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of mine affliction.’

53And the seven years of plenty are completed which have been in the land of Egypt,

54and 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;

55and 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.’

56And 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,

57and all the earth hath come to Egypt, to buy, unto Joseph, for the famine was severe in all the earth.

Genesis 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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Genesis 41

Genesis 41