Genesis 41
1 After two years, Pharaoh saw a dream. He thought himself to be standing above a river,
And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and behold, he stood by the river.
2 from which ascended seven cows, exceedingly beautiful and stout. And they pastured in marshy places.
And behold, there came up out of the river seven well-favored cows and fat-fleshed; and they fed in a meadow.
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 behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed; and stood by the [other] cows upon the brink of the river.
4 And they devoured those whose appearance and condition of body was so wonderful. Pharaoh, having been awakened,
And the ill-favored and lean-fleshed cows ate up the seven well-favored and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke.
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 the second time: and behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
6 Likewise, other ears of grain, of the same number, rose up, thin and struck with blight,
And behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
7 devouring all the beauty of the first. Pharaoh, when he awakened after his rest,
And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, [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.
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 to Pharaoh.
9 Then at last the chief cupbearer, remembering, said, “I confess my sin.
Then spoke the chief butler to Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:
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 wroth with his servants, and put me in custody in the captain of the guard's house, [both] me, and the chief baker:
11 There, in one night, both of us saw a dream presaging the future.
And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he: we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.
12 In that place, there was a Hebrew, a servant of the same commander of the military, to whom we explained our dreams.
And [there was] there with us a young man, a 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 interpreted.
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 came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was: me he restored to my office, and him he 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 sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved [himself], and changed his raiment, and came before 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 have dreamed a dream, and [there is] none that can interpret it: and I have heard it said of thee, [that] thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.
16 Joseph responded, “Apart from me, God will respond favorably to Pharaoh.”
And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, [It is] not in me: God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
17 Therefore, Pharaoh explained what he had seen: “I thought myself to be standing on the bank of a river,
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
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 behold, there came out of the river seven cows, fat-fleshed, and well-favored; and they fed in a meadow:
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 behold, seven other cows came out after them, poor, and very ill-favored, and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:
20 These devoured and consumed the first,
And the lean and the ill-favored 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,
And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they [were] still ill-favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
22 I saw a dream. Seven ears of grain sprang up on one stalk, full and very beautiful.
And I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears came up on one stalk, full and good:
23 Likewise, another seven, thin and struck with blight, rose up from the stalk.
And behold, seven ears, withered, thin, [and] blasted with the east wind, sprung 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 thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told [this] to the magicians; but [there was] none that could explain [it] to me.
25 Joseph responded: “The dream of the king is one. What God will do, he has revealed to Pharaoh.
And Joseph said to Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh [is] one; God hath showed 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 [are] seven years; and the seven good ears [are] seven years: the dream [is] one.
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 ill-favored cows that came up after them [are] seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind will be seven years of famine.
28 These will be fulfilled in this order.
This [is] the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh: What God [is] about to do he showeth to Pharaoh.
29 Behold, there will arrive seven years of great fertility throughout the entire land of Egypt.
Behold, there come seven years of great plenty 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,
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 the greatness of this destitution will cause the greatness of the abundance to be lost.
And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of the famine following: for it [will be] very grievous.
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.
And for that the dream was doubled to Pharaoh twice; [it is] because the thing [is] established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
33 Now therefore, let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and place him 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 so that he may appoint overseers throughout all the regions. And let a fifth part of the fruits, throughout the seven fertile 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 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.
And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh; and let them keep food in the cities.
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.”
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 may not perish through the famine.
37 The counsel pleased Pharaoh and all his ministers.
And the thing 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?”
And Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we find [such a man] as this [is], a man in whom the spirit of God [is]?
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?
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shown thee all this, [there is] none so discreet and wise as thou [art]:
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.”
Thou shalt be over my house, and according to thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
41 And again, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have appointed you over the entire land of Egypt.”
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set thee 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.
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 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 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 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.”
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I [am] Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot 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.
And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him for a wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On: and Joseph went over [all] 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.
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 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.
And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfulls.
48 And now all the abundance of grain was stored away in every city.
And he gathered 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] around every city, he laid up in the same.
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.
And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for [it was] without number.
50 Then, before the famine arrived, Joseph had two sons born, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, bore for him.
And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came: which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah 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.”
And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: For God, [said he], hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.
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 called he Ephraim: for God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
53 And so, when the seven years of fertility that occurred in Egypt had passed,
And the seven years of plenteousness that was in the land of Egypt, were ended.
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.
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 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.”
And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, Go to Joseph; what he saith 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.
And the famine was over all the face of the earth; and Joseph opened all the store-houses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine became 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 countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy [corn]; because the famine was distressing in all lands.
