1.Mose 41,39 | New International Reader’s Version

Pharaoh has two dreams

1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream. In his dream, he was standing by the River Nile. 2 Seven cows came up out of the river. They looked healthy and fat. They were eating some of the tall grass growing along the river. 3 After them, seven other cows came up out of the Nile. They looked ugly and skinny. They were standing beside the other cows on the riverbank. 4 The ugly, skinny cows ate up the seven cows that looked healthy and fat. Then Pharaoh woke up. 5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream. In that dream, seven ears of corn were growing on one stem. They were healthy and good. 6 After them, seven other ears of corn came up. They were thin and dried up by the east wind. 7 The thin ears of corn swallowed up the seven healthy, full ears. Then Pharaoh woke up. It had been a dream. 8 In the morning he was worried. So he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams. But no one could tell him what they meant. 9 Then the chief wine taster spoke up. He said to Pharaoh, ‘Now I remember that I’ve done something wrong. 10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants. He put me and the chief baker in prison. We were in the house of the captain of the palace guard. 11 Each of us had a dream the same night. Each dream had its own meaning. 12 A young Hebrew servant was there with us. He was a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams. And he explained them to us. He told each of us the meaning of our dreams. 13 Things turned out exactly as he said they would. I was given back my job. The other man had a pole stuck through his body.’ 14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph. He was quickly brought out of the prison. Joseph shaved and changed his clothes. Then he came to Pharaoh. 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I had a dream. No one can tell me what it means. But I’ve heard that when you hear a dream you can explain it.’ 16 ‘I can’t do it,’ Joseph replied to Pharaoh. ‘But God will give Pharaoh the answer he wants.’ 17 Then Pharaoh told Joseph what he had dreamed. He said, ‘I was standing on the bank of the River Nile. 18 Seven cows came up out of the river. They were fat and looked healthy. They were eating the tall grass growing along the river. 19 After them, seven other cows came up. They were bony and very ugly and thin. I had never seen such ugly cows in the whole land of Egypt. 20 The thin, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. 21 But no one could tell that the thin cows had eaten the fat cows. That’s because the thin cows looked just as ugly as they had before. Then I woke up. 22 ‘In my dream I also saw seven ears of corn. They were full and good. They were all growing on one stem. 23 After them, seven other ears of corn came up. They were weak and thin and dried up by the east wind. 24 The thin ears of corn swallowed up the seven good ears. I told my dream to the magicians. But none of them could explain it to me.’ 25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, ‘Both of Pharaoh’s dreams have the same meaning. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years. And the seven good ears of corn are seven years. Both dreams mean the same thing. 27 The seven thin, ugly cows that came up later are seven years. So are the seven worthless ears of corn dried up by the east wind. They are seven years when there won’t be enough food. 28 ‘It’s just as I said to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he’s about to do. 29 Seven years with plenty of food are coming to the whole land of Egypt. 30 But seven years when there won’t be enough food will follow them. Then everyone will forget about all the food Egypt had. Terrible hunger will destroy the land. 31 There won’t be anything left to remind people of the years when there was plenty of food in the land. That’s how bad the hunger that follows will be. 32 God gave the dream to Pharaoh in two forms. That’s because the matter has been firmly decided by God. And it’s because God will do it soon. 33 ‘So Pharaoh should look for a wise and understanding man. He should put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Pharaoh should appoint officials to be in charge of the land. They should take a fifth of the harvest in Egypt during the seven years when there’s plenty of food. 35 They should collect all the extra food of the good years that are coming. Pharaoh should give them authority to store up the corn. They should keep it in the cities for food. 36 The corn should be stored up for the country to use later. It will be needed during the seven years when there isn’t enough food in Egypt. Then the country won’t be destroyed just because it doesn’t have enough food.’ 37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh said to them, ‘The spirit of God is in this man. We can’t find anyone else like him, can we?’ 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘God has made all this known to you. No one is as wise and understanding as you are. 40 You will be in charge of my palace. All my people must obey your orders. I will be greater than you only because I’m the one who sits on the throne.’

Joseph is put in charge of Egypt

41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I’m putting you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.’ 42 Then Pharaoh took from his finger the ring he used to give his official stamp. He put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes made out of fine linen. He put a gold chain around Joseph’s neck. 43 He also made him ride in a chariot. Joseph was now next in command after Pharaoh. People went in front of Joseph and shouted, ‘Get down on your knees!’ By doing all these things, Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of the whole land of Egypt. 44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I am Pharaoh. But unless you give an order, no one will do anything in the whole land of Egypt.’ 45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He gave Joseph a wife. She was Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera. Potiphera was the priest of On. Joseph travelled all over the land of Egypt. 46 Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He left Pharaoh’s palace and travelled all over Egypt. 47 During the seven years there was plenty of food. The land produced more than the people needed. 48 Joseph collected all the extra food produced in those seven years in Egypt. He stored it in the cities. In each city he stored up the food grown in the fields around it. 49 Joseph stored up huge amounts of corn. There was as much of it as sand by the sea. There was so much corn it couldn’t be measured. So Joseph stopped keeping records of it. 50 Before the years when there wasn’t enough food, two sons were born to Joseph. He had them by Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera. Potiphera was the priest of On. 51 Joseph named his first son Manasseh. That’s because he said, ‘God has made me forget all my trouble and my father’s whole family.’ 52 He named the second son Ephraim. That’s because he said, ‘God has given me children in the land where I’ve suffered so much.’ 53 The seven years when there was plenty of food in Egypt came to an end. 54 Then the seven years when there wasn’t enough food began. It happened just as Joseph had said it would. There wasn’t enough food in any of the other lands. But in the whole land of Egypt there was food. 55 When all the people of Egypt began to get hungry, they cried out to Pharaoh for food. He told all the Egyptians, ‘Go to Joseph. Do what he tells you.’ 56 There wasn’t enough food anywhere in the country. So Joseph opened the storerooms. He sold corn to the Egyptians because people were very hungry all over Egypt. 57 People from all over the world came to Egypt. They came to buy corn from Joseph. That’s because people were very hungry everywhere.

English Standard Version

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams

1 After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, 2 and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. 3 And behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. 4 And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And Pharaoh awoke. 5 And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. 6 And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind. 7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 8 So in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh. 9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my offenses today. 10 When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, 11 we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation. 12 A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. 13 And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.” 14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”* 17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile. 18 Seven cows, plump and attractive, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. 19 Seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt. 20 And the thin, ugly cows ate up the first seven plump cows, 21 but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. 22 I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk, full and good. 23 Seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them, 24 and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. And I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.” 25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. 28 It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, 30 but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, 31 and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. 32 And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. 33 Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land* of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. 35 And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36 That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”

Joseph Rises to Power

37 This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?”* 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command.* Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. 43 And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!”* Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. 46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, 48 and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it. 49 And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured. 50 Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.”* 52 The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”* 53 The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.” 56 So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses* and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.

1.Mose 41,39 | New International Reader’s Version English Standard Version

Pharaoh has two dreams

Joseph is put in charge of Egypt

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams

Joseph Rises to Power