Genesis 41
1 After two years, Pharaoh saw a dream. He thought himself to be standing above a 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 from which ascended seven cows, exceedingly beautiful and stout. And they pastured in marshy places.
And look, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds.
3 Likewise, another seven emerged from the river, filthy and thoroughly emaciated. And they pastured on the same bank of the river, in green places.
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 And they devoured those whose appearance and condition of body was so wonderful. Pharaoh, having been awakened,
The miserable-looking and thin cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5 slept again, and he saw another dream. Seven ears of grain sprung up on one stalk, full and well-formed.
And he slept and dreamed a second time. And look, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, healthy and good.
6 Likewise, other ears of grain, of the same number, rose up, thin and struck with blight,
Then look, seven heads of grain, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprouted up after them.
7 devouring all the beauty of the first. Pharaoh, when he awakened after his rest,
The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up, and look, it was a dream.
8 and when morning arrived, being terrified with fear, sent to all the interpreters of Egypt and to all of the wise men. And when they were summoned, he explained to them his dream; but there was no one who could interpret it.
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 at last the chief cupbearer, remembering, said, “I confess my sin.
Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, "I remember my faults today.
10 The king, being angry with his servants, ordered me and the chief miller of grain to be forced into the prison of the leader of the military.
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 There, in one night, both of us saw a dream presaging the future.
We had a dream on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own meaning.
12 In that place, there was a Hebrew, a servant of the same commander of the military, to whom we explained 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 Whatever we heard was proven afterwards by the event of the matter. For I was restored to my office, and he was suspended on a cross.”
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 Immediately, by the king’s authority, Joseph was led out of prison, and they shaved him. And changing his apparel, they presented him to him.
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 And he said to him, “I have seen dreams, and there is no one who can unfold them. I have heard that you are very wise at interpreting these.”
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 Joseph responded, “Apart from me, God will respond favorably to Pharaoh.”
And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "Apart from God, the welfare of Pharaoh will receive no answer. "
17 Therefore, Pharaoh explained what he had seen: “I thought myself to be standing on the bank of a river,
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream, look, I stood on the edge of the Nile.
18 and seven cows climbed up from the river, exceedingly beautiful and full of flesh. And they grazed in a pasture of a marshy greenery.
And look, there came up out of the river seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds.
19 And behold, there followed after these, another seven cows, with such deformity and emaciation as I had never seen in 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 These devoured and consumed the first,
The thin and miserable-looking cows ate up the first seven fat cows.
21 giving no indication of being full. But they remained in the same state of emaciation and squalor. Awakening, but being weighed down into sleep again,
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 I saw a dream. Seven ears of grain sprang up on one stalk, full and very beautiful.
And I fell asleep, and I saw in my dream, and look, seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good.
23 Likewise, another seven, thin and struck with blight, rose up from the stalk.
And look, seven heads of grain, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprouted up after them.
24 And they devoured the beauty of the first. I explained this dream to the interpreters, and there is no one who can unfold it.”
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 Joseph responded: “The dream of the king is one. What God will do, he has revealed to Pharaoh.
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one. God has told Pharaoh what he is about to do.
26 The seven beautiful cows, and the seven full ears of grain, are seven years of abundance. And so the force of the dreams is understood to be the same.
The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. The dreams are the same.
27 Likewise, the seven thin and emaciated cows, which ascended after them, and the seven thin ears of grain, which were struck with the burning wind, are seven approaching years of famine.
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 These will be fulfilled in this order.
It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.
29 Behold, there will arrive seven years of great fertility throughout the entire land of Egypt.
Look, seven years of great abundance will come throughout all the land of Egypt.
30 After this, there will follow another seven years, of such great barrenness that all the former abundance will be delivered into oblivion. For the famine will consume all the land,
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 and the greatness of this destitution will cause the greatness of the abundance to be lost.
and the abundance will not be remembered in the land because of the famine that follows it, for it will be very severe.
32 Now, as to what you saw the second time, it is a dream pertaining to the same thing. It is an indication of its firmness, because the word of God shall be done, and it shall be completed swiftly.
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 therefore, let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and place him over the land of Egypt,
Now therefore Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man, and give him authority over the land of Egypt.
34 so that he may appoint overseers throughout all the regions. And let a fifth part of the fruits, throughout the seven fertile years
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 that now have already begun to occur, be gathered into storehouses. And let all the grain be stored away, under the power of Pharaoh, and let it be kept 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 And let it be prepared for the future famine of seven years, which will oppress Egypt, and then the land will not be consumed by destitution.”
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 counsel pleased Pharaoh and all his ministers.
The proposal was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.
38 And he said to them, “Would we be able to find another such man, who is full of the Spirit of God?”
Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?"
39 Therefore, he said to Joseph: “Because God has revealed to you all that you have said, would I be able to find anyone wiser and as much like you?
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Because God has shown you all of this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.
40 You will be over my house, and to the authority of your mouth, all the people will show obedience. Only in one way, in the throne of the kingdom, will I go before 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 And again, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have appointed you over the entire land of Egypt.”
Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Look, I have put you in charge over all the land of Egypt."
42 And he took the ring from his own hand, and he gave it into his hand. And he clothed him with a robe of fine linen, and he placed a necklace of gold 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 And he caused him to ascend upon his second swift chariot, with the herald proclaiming that everyone should bend their knee before him, and that they should know that he was governor over the entire land of Egypt.
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 Likewise, the king said to Joseph: “I am Pharaoh: apart from your authority, no one will move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”
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 And he changed his name and called him, in the Egyptian tongue: ‘Savior of the world.’ And he gave him as a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis. And so Joseph went out into 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 (Now he was thirty years old when he stood in the sight of king Pharaoh.) And he traveled throughout the regions of 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 And the fertility of the seven years arrived. And when the grain fields were reduced to sheaves, these were gathered into the storehouses of Egypt.
During the seven years of abundance the land produced large harvests.
48 And now all the abundance of grain was stored away in every 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 And there was such a great abundance of wheat that it was comparable to the sands of the sea, and its bounty exceeded all 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 Then, before the famine arrived, Joseph had two sons born, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, bore for him.
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 And he called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has caused me to forget all my labors and the house of my father.”
Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: "For God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household."
52 Likewise, he named the second Ephraim, saying, “God has caused me to increase in the land of my poverty.”
And the name of the second he called Ephraim: "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering."
53 And so, when the seven years of fertility that occurred in Egypt had passed,
And the seven years of abundance that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end.
54 the seven years of destitution, which Joseph had predicted, began to arrive. And the famine prevailed throughout the whole world, but there was bread in all the land of Egypt.
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 And being hungry, the people cried out to Pharaoh, asking for provisions. And he said to them: “Go to Joseph. And do whatever he will tell you.”
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 Then the famine increased daily in all the land. And Joseph opened all of the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. For the famine had oppressed them also.
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 all the provinces came to Egypt, to buy food and to temper the misfortune of their destitution.
And all the countries came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all the earth.
