< Genesis 41 >

1 Now after two years had gone by, Pharaoh had a dream; and in his dream he was by the side of the Nile;
And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
2 And out of the Nile came seven cows, good-looking and fat, and their food was the river-grass.
And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.
3 And after them seven other cows came out of the Nile, poor-looking and thin; and they were by the side of the other cows.
And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
4 And the seven thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows. Then Pharaoh came out of his sleep.
And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
5 But he went to sleep again and had a second dream, in which he saw seven heads of grain, full and good, all on one stem.
And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven heads of grain came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
6 And after them came up seven other heads, thin and wasted by the east wind.
And, behold, seven thin heads and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
7 And the seven thin heads made a meal of the good heads. And when Pharaoh was awake he saw it was a dream.
And the seven thin heads devoured the seven rank and full heads. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.
8 And in the morning his spirit was troubled; and he sent for all the wise men of Egypt and all the holy men, and put his dream before them, but no one was able to give him the sense of it.
And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
9 Then the chief wine-servant said to Pharaoh, The memory of my sin comes back to me now;
Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:
10 Pharaoh had been angry with his servants, and had put me in prison in the house of the captain of the army, together with the chief bread-maker;
Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the chief baker:
11 And we had a dream on the same night, the two of us, and the dreams had a special sense.
And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.
12 And there was with us a young Hebrew, the captain's servant, and when we put our dreams before him, he gave us the sense of them.
And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.
13 And it came about as he said: I was put back in my place, and the bread-maker was put to death by hanging.
And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.
14 Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they took him quickly out of prison; and when his hair had been cut and his dress changed, he came before Pharaoh.
Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.
15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a dream, and no one is able to give me the sense of it; now it has come to my ears that you are able to give the sense of a dream when it is put before you.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.
16 Then Joseph said, Without God there will be no answer of peace for Pharaoh.
And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
17 Then Pharaoh said, In my dream I was by the side of the Nile:
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
18 And out of the Nile came seven cows, fat and good-looking, and their food was the river-grass;
And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:
19 Then after them came seven other cows, very thin and poor-looking, worse than any I ever saw in the land of Egypt;
And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:
20 And the thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows who came up first;
And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:
21 And even with the fat cows inside them they seemed as bad as before. And so I came out of my sleep.
And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
22 And again in a dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, coming up on one stem:
And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven heads came up in one stalk, full and good:
23 And then I saw seven other heads, dry, thin, and wasted by the east wind, coming up after them:
And, behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:
24 And the seven thin heads made a meal of the seven good heads; and I put this dream before the wise men, but not one of them was able to give me the sense of it.
And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.
25 Then Joseph said, These two dreams have the same sense: God has made clear to Pharaoh what he is about to do.
And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
26 The seven fat cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years: the two have the same sense.
The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good heads are seven years: the dream is one.
27 The seven thin and poor-looking cows who came up after them are seven years; and the seven heads of grain, dry and wasted by the east wind, are seven years when there will be no food.
And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty heads blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.
28 As I said to Pharaoh before, God has made clear to him what he is about to do.
This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.
29 Seven years are coming in which there will be great wealth of grain in Egypt;
Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
30 And after that will come seven years when there will not be enough food; and the memory of the good years will go from men's minds; and the land will be made waste by the bad years;
And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;
31 And men will have no memory of the good time because of the need which will come after, for it will be very bitter.
And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.
32 And this dream came to Pharaoh twice, because this thing is certain, and God will quickly make it come about.
And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
33 And now let Pharaoh make search for a man of wisdom and good sense, and put him in authority over the land of Egypt.
Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him put overseers over the land of Egypt to put in store a fifth part of the produce of the land in the good years.
Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.
35 And let them get together all the food in those good years and make a store of grain under Pharaoh's control for the use of the towns, and let them keep it.
And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.
36 And let that food be kept in store for the land till the seven bad years which are to come in Egypt; so that the land may not come to destruction through need of food.
And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.
37 And this seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.
And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.
38 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, Where may we get such a man as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God?
And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
39 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Seeing that God has made all this clear to you, there is no other man of such wisdom and good sense as you:
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:
40 You, then, are to be over my house, and all my people will be ruled by your word: only as king will I be greater than you.
Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
42 Then Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and he had him clothed with the best linen, and put a chain of gold round his neck;
And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
43 And he made him take his seat in the second of his carriages; and they went before him crying, Make way! So he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without your order no man may do anything in all the land of Egypt.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.
45 And Pharaoh gave Joseph the name of Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, the priest of On, to be his wife. So Joseph went through all the land of Egypt.
And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath–paaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti–pherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
46 Now Joseph was thirty years old when he came before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from before the face of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.
And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
47 Now in the seven good years the earth gave fruit in masses.
And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.
48 And Joseph got together all the food of those seven years, and made a store of food in the towns: the produce of the fields round every town was stored up in the town.
And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same.
49 So he got together a store of grain like the sand of the sea; so great a store that after a time he gave up measuring it, for it might not be measured.
And Joseph gathered grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.
50 And before the time of need, Joseph had two sons, to whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, gave birth.
And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti–pherah priest of On bare unto him.
51 And to the first he gave the name Manasseh, for he said, God has taken away from me all memory of my hard life and of my father's house.
And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.
52 And to the second he gave the name Ephraim, for he said, God has given me fruit in the land of my sorrow.
And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
53 And so the seven good years in Egypt came to an end.
And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended.
54 Then came the first of the seven years of need as Joseph had said: and in every other land they were short of food; but in the land of Egypt there was bread.
And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
55 And when all the land of Egypt was in need of food, the people came crying to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to the people, Go to Joseph, and whatever he says to you, do it.
And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.
56 And everywhere on the earth they were short of food; then Joseph, opening all his store-houses, gave the people of Egypt grain for money; so great was the need of food in the land of Egypt.
And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt.
57 And all lands sent to Egypt, to Joseph, to get grain, for the need was great over all the earth.
And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy food; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.

< Genesis 41 >