Genesis 41
1 Two complete years later, the king of Egypt had a dream. In the dream, he was standing alongside the Nile [River].
Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and look, he was standing by the Nile.
2 Suddenly seven healthy fat cows come up out of the river. They started eating the grass that was on the riverbank.
And look, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds.
3 Soon seven other cows, unhealthy-looking and thin, came up behind them from the Nile [River]. They stood alongside the fat cows that were on the riverbank.
And look, seven other cows came up after them out of the Nile, miserable-looking and thin, and stood by the other cows at the edge of the Nile.
4 Then the unhealthy thin cows ate the seven healthy fat cows. And then the king woke up.
The miserable-looking and thin cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5 The king went to sleep again, and he had another dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain that were full of kernels of grain and ripe, and all growing on one stalk.
And he slept and dreamed a second time. And look, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, healthy and good.
6 After that, the king saw that seven other heads of grain sprouted on that (OR, on another) stalk. They were thin and had been dried up by the hot east wind.
Then look, seven heads of grain, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprouted up after them.
7 Then the thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven ripe full heads. Then the king woke up. He realized that he had been dreaming.
The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up, and look, it was a dream.
8 But the next morning he was worried about the meaning of the dream. So he summoned all the magicians and wise men who lived in Egypt. He told them what he had dreamed, but none of them could tell him the meaning of the two dreams.
It happened in the morning that his mind was troubled, so he summoned all of Egypt's magicians and wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
9 Then the chief drink-server said to the king, “Now I remember something that I should have told you! I made a mistake by forgetting to tell it to you.
Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, "I remember my faults today.
10 One time you were angry with two of us. So you put me and the chief baker in the prison in the house of the captain of the palace guards.
Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker.
11 While we were there, one night each of us had a dream, and the dreams had different meanings.
We had a dream on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own meaning.
12 There was a young Hebrew man there with us. He was a servant of the captain of the palace guards. We told him what we had dreamed, and he told us what our dreams meant. He told each of us the meaning of our dreams.
Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guards, and we told him, and he interpreted our dreams to us, to each man he interpreted according to his own dream.
13 And what happened was exactly the same as the meanings that he told us: You said I could have my previous job again, but the other man was killed by being hanged. [The Hebrew man’s name was Joseph].”
And it happened just the way he interpreted them to us, so it was: I was restored to my office, and he was hanged."
14 When the king heard that, he told some servants to bring Joseph to him, and they quickly brought Joseph out of the prison. Joseph shaved and put on better clothes, and then he went and stood in front of the king.
Then Pharaoh summoned Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the pit. And he shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh.
15 The king said to Joseph, “I had two dreams, and no one can tell me what they mean. But someone told me that when you hear someone tell about a dream he has had, you can tell that person what the dream means.”
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, but there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said about you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."
16 But Joseph replied to the king, “No, I cannot do that. It is God who knows the meaning of dreams, but he will enable me to tell you their meaning, and they will mean something good.”
And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "Apart from God, the welfare of Pharaoh will receive no answer. "
17 The king said to Joseph, “In my first dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile [River].
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream, look, I stood on the edge of the Nile.
18 Suddenly seven healthy fat cows came up out of the river, and they started eating the grass that was on the riverbank.
And look, there came up out of the river seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds.
19 Soon seven other cows, ugly and thin ones, came up behind them from the river. I never saw such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt!
And look, seven other cows came up after them, scrawny and very miserable-looking and thin. I had never seen such bad-looking cows in all the land of Egypt.
20 The thin ugly cows ate the seven fat cows that came up first.
The thin and miserable-looking cows ate up the first seven fat cows.
21 But afterwards, no one would have known that the thin cows ate them, because they were just as ugly as they were before. Then I woke up.
But when they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as miserable-looking as at the beginning. Then I woke up.
22 Then I had another dream. I saw seven heads of grain. They were full of kernels of grain and ripe, and they were all growing on one stalk.
And I fell asleep, and I saw in my dream, and look, seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good.
23 Then [to my surprise] I saw seven other heads of grain that sprouted. They were thin and had been dried up by the hot east wind.
And look, seven heads of grain, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprouted up after them.
24 The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good heads. I told these dreams to the magicians, but none of them could explain to me what they meant.”
And the seven thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. And I told it to the magicians, but no one could tell me its meaning."
25 Then Joseph said to the king, “Both your dreams have the same meaning. God is revealing to you in your dreams what he is about to do.
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one. God has told Pharaoh what he is about to do.
26 The seven healthy cows represent seven years. The seven good heads of grain also represent seven years. The two dreams both have the same meaning.
The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. The dreams are the same.
27 The seven thin ugly cows that came up behind them and the seven worthless heads of grain that were dried up by the hot east wind each represent seven years (of famine/when food will be very scarce).
And the seven thin and miserable-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted with the east wind. They are seven years of famine.
28 It will happen just as I have told you, because God has revealed to you what he is about to do.
It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.
29 There will be seven years in which there will be plenty of food throughout the land of Egypt,
Look, seven years of great abundance will come throughout all the land of Egypt.
30 but after that there will be seven years (of famine/when food will be very scarce). Then people will forget all the years when there was plenty of food, because the famine that will come afterward will ruin the country.
But after them seven years of famine will come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate the land,
31 The people will forget how plentiful food was previously, because the famine will be very terrible.
and the abundance will not be remembered in the land because of the famine that follows it, for it will be very severe.
32 The reason God gave to you two dreams is that he [wants you to know] that this will happen, and he will cause it to happen very soon.
Now the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the matter has been fixed by God, and God will carry it out soon.
33 “Now I suggest that you should choose a man who is wise and can make good decisions. I suggest that you appoint him to direct the affairs of the whole country.
Now therefore Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man, and give him authority over the land of Egypt.
34 You should also appoint supervisors over the country, in order that they can arrange to collect one-fifth of all the grain that is harvested during the seven years when food is plentiful.
Pharaoh should do this, and should appoint overseers over the land, and they should take a fifth of all the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.
35 They should collect this amount of grain during those seven years that are coming, when there will be plenty of food. You should supervise them as they store it in the cities.
They should gather all the food during these good years that are coming and store the grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and they should preserve it.
36 This grain should be stored so that it can be eaten during the seven years when there will be a famine here in Egypt, so that the people in this country will not die from hunger.”
That food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine that will come on the land of Egypt, so that the land will survive the famine."
37 The king and his officials thought that this would be a good plan.
The proposal was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.
38 So the king said to them, “(Can we find any other man like Joseph, a man to whom God has given his Spirit?/It is not likely that we will find another man like this man, one to whom God has given his Spirit!)” [RHQ]
Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?"
39 Then the king said to Joseph, “Because God has revealed all this to you, it seems to me that there is no one who is as wise as you and who can decide wisely about things.
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Because God has shown you all of this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.
40 So I will put you in charge of everything in my palace. All the people here in Egypt must obey what you command. Only because I am king [MTY] will I have more authority than you.”
You will be in charge of my house, and according to your word will all my people be ruled. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you."
41 Then the king said to Joseph, “I am now putting you in charge of the whole country of Egypt.”
Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Look, I have put you in charge over all the land of Egypt."
42 The king took from his finger the ring that had his seal on it, and he put it on Joseph’s finger. He put robes made of fine linen on him, and he put a gold chain around his neck.
Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in robes of fine linen, and put a gold chain around his neck.
43 Then he arranged for Joseph to ride around in the chariot [that showed that he was] the second-most important man in the country. When Joseph rode in the chariot, men shouted to the people who were on the road in front of him, “Get off the road!” So the king put Joseph in charge of everything in the country.
And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had, and they called out before him, "Bow the knee. " So he put him in charge over the entire land of Egypt.
44 The king said to Joseph, “I am the king, but no one in the whole land of Egypt will do anything [IDM] if you do not permit them to do it.”
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your permission no one will do anything or go anywhere in all the land of Egypt."
45 The king gave Joseph a new name, Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave him Asenath to be his wife. She was the daughter of Potiphera, who was a priest in a temple in On [city]. Then Joseph became known (OR, traveled) through all the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-Paneah. And he gave him Asenath the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as a wife. So Joseph went out through the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was 30 years old when he started to work for the king of Egypt. To do his work, he left the king’s palace and traveled throughout Egypt.
Joseph was thirty years old when he began to serve Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph left the presence of Pharaoh and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
47 During the next seven years, the land produced abundant crops, so there was plenty of food.
During the seven years of abundance the land produced large harvests.
48 As Joseph supervised them, his helpers collected one-fifth of all the grain that was produced during those years, and stored it in the cities. In each city, he had his helpers store up the grain that was grown in the fields that surrounded that city.
And he collected all the food during the seven years when there was abundance in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He placed in every city the food from the fields surrounding it.
49 Joseph had them store up a huge amount of grain. It looked as plentiful as the sand on the seashore. There was so much grain that after a while they stopped keeping records of how much grain was stored, because there was more grain than they could measure.
Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, because it could not be measured.
50 Before the seven years of famine started, Joseph’s wife Asenath gave birth to two sons.
To Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him.
51 Joseph named the first one Manasseh, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘forget]’, because, he said, “God has caused me to forget all my troubles and all my father’s family.”
Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: "For God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household."
52 He named his second son Ephraim, [which means ‘to have children]’, because, he said, “God has given me children here in this land where I have suffered.”
And the name of the second he called Ephraim: "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering."
53 Finally the seven years in which there was plenty of food ended.
And the seven years of abundance that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end.
54 Then the seven years of famine started, just as Joseph had predicted. There was also a famine in all the other nearby lands, but although the crops did not grow, there was food everywhere in Egypt, because of the grain they had stored up in the cities.
Then the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was food.
55 When all the people of [MTY] Egypt had eaten all of their own food and were still hungry, they begged the king for food. So the king told all the people of Egypt, “Go to Joseph, and do what he tells you to do.”
When all the land of Egypt experienced the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh said to all Egypt, "Go to Joseph. Whatever he says to you, do."
56 When the famine was very bad throughout the whole country, Joseph ordered his helpers to open the storehouses. Then they sold the grain in the storehouses to the people of Egypt, because the famine was very severe all over Egypt.
So the famine was over all the surface of the land. Then Joseph opened all the storehouses of grain and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.
57 And people from many [HYP] nearby countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was very severe everywhere [HYP].
And all the countries came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all the earth.
