41:1 Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.
41:2 And behold, from the Nile seven cows came up, fine-looking and ①fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass.
▷ ①Lit fat of flesh
41:3 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and ①thin, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.
▷ ①Lit thin of flesh
41:4 Then the ugly and ①thin cows ate the seven fine-looking and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.
▷ ①Lit thin of flesh
41:5 But he fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good.
41:6 Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them.
41:7 And the thin ears swallowed the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.
41:8 Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, so he sent messengers and called for all the soothsayer priests of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his ①dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.
▷ ①Lit dream
41:9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would make mention today of my own ①offenses.
▷ ①Or sins
41:10 Pharaoh was furious with his servants, and he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker.
41:11 Then we had a dream one night, ①he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.
▷ ①Lit I and he
41:12 Now a Hebrew youth was there with us, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we told him the dreams, and he interpreted our dreams for us. For each man he interpreted according to his own dream.
41:13 And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened; Pharaoh restored me in my office, but he hanged ①the chief baker.”
▷ ①Lit him
41:14 Then Pharaoh sent word and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh.
41:15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it; and I have heard ①it said about you, that ②when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
▷ ①Lit about you, saying ②Lit you hear a dream to interpret it
41:16 Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “ ①It has nothing to do with me; God will ②give Pharaoh an answer for his own good.”
▷ ①Lit Apart from me ②Lit answer the peace of Pharaoh
41:17 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, there I was, standing on the bank of the Nile;
41:18 and behold, seven cows, ①fat and fine-looking came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass.
▷ ①Lit fat of flesh
41:19 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ①ugly and ②thin, such as I had never seen for ③ugliness in all the land of Egypt;
▷ ①Lit bad ②Lit thin of flesh ③Lit badness
41:20 and the thin and ugly cows ate the first seven fat cows.
41:21 Yet when they had ①devoured them, it could not be ②detected that they had ③devoured them, ④for they were just as ugly as ⑤before. Then I awoke.
▷ ①Lit entered their inward parts ②Or known ③Lit entered their inward parts ④Lit and ⑤Lit in the beginning
41:22 I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears of grain, full and good, came up on a single stalk;
41:23 and behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind sprouted up after them;
41:24 and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. Then I told it to the soothsayer priests, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”
41:25 And Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s ①dreams are one and the same; God has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do.
▷ ①Lit dream is
41:26 The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the ①dreams are one and the same.
▷ ①Lit dream is
41:27 The seven thin and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind will be seven years of famine.
41:28 ①It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.
▷ ①Lit That is the thing which I spoke
41:29 Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt;
41:30 and after them seven years of famine will ①come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ②ravage the land.
▷ ①Lit arise ②Lit destroy
41:31 So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe.
41:32 Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is confirmed by God, and God will quickly bring it about.
41:33 So now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and appoint him over the land of Egypt.
41:34 Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers ①in charge of the land, and let him take a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt as a tax in the seven years of abundance.
▷ ①Lit over
41:35 Then have them collect all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and have them guard it.
41:36 Let the food be used as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish during the famine.”
41:37 Now the ①proposal seemed good ②to Pharaoh and ③to all his servants.
▷ ①Lit word ②Lit in the sight of ③Lit in the sight of
41:38 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom there is a divine spirit?”
41:39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you are.
41:40 You shall be ①in charge of my house, and all my people shall ②be obedient to you; only regarding the throne will I be greater than you.”
▷ ①Lit over ②Lit kiss your mouth; LXX obey at your command
41:41 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “See, I have placed you over all the land of Egypt.”
41:42 Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and put the gold necklace around his neck.
41:43 And he had him ride in ①his second chariot; and they proclaimed ahead of him, “ ②Bow the knee!” And he placed him over all the land of Egypt.
▷ ①Lit the second...which was his ②Or Make way
41:44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet without ①your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”
▷ ①Lit you no one
41:45 Then Pharaoh named Joseph ①Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of ②On, to be his wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
▷ ①Prob. Egyptian for “God speaks; he lives” ②Or Heliopolis
41:46 Now Joseph was thirty years old when he ①stood in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.
▷ ①Or entered the service of
41:47 During the seven years of plenty the land produced ①abundantly.
▷ ①Lit by handfuls
41:48 So he collected 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 its own surrounding fields.
41:49 Joseph stored up grain ①in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped ②measuring it, for it was ③beyond measure.
▷ ①Lit very much ②Lit numbering ③Or without number
41:50 Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of ①On, bore to him.
▷ ①Or Heliopolis
41:51 Joseph named the firstborn ①Manasseh; “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all of my father’s household.”
▷ ①I.e., making to forget
41:52 And he named the second ①Ephraim; “For,” he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
▷ ①I.e., fruitfulness
41:53 When the seven years of plenty which had taken place in the land of Egypt came to an end,
41:54 and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
41:55 So when all the land of Egypt suffered famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do.”
41:56 When the famine was spread over the entire face of the earth, then Joseph opened all ①the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.
▷ ①Lit that which was in them
41:57 Then the people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.