Chapter 41

Chapter 41

1 Now it came to pass at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and Look! He was standing by the Nile River.

2 And Look! Seven cows came up out of the river, beautiful of appearance and fat of meat, and they pastured in the reed grass.

3 Then Look! Seven other cows came up after them out of the river, bad of appearance and thin of meat, and they stood beside the first cows on the bank of the river.

4 And the cows that were bad of appearance and thin of meat ate up the seven cows that were beautiful of appearance and fat of meat. Then Pharaoh woke up.

5 He fell asleep and dreamed a second time, and Look! Seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, fat and functional and good.

6 Then Look! Seven ears, thin and blasted by the east wind, sprouted up after them.

7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven fat and full ears. Then Pharaoh woke up, and Look! It was a dream.

8 Now it came to pass in the morning that his inner breath was deeply agitated; so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh recounted his dreams to them, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke up and said to Pharaoh, “Today I must make mention of my offenses.

10 Pharaoh was furious with his servants, and he put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard—both me and the chief baker.

11 We both had dreams on the same night, he and I; each man dreamed a dream with its own unique meaning.

12 Now a young Hebrew man was there with us, a servant to the captain of the guard. We recounted our dreams to him, and he interpreted them for us; he gave each man an interpretation matching his specific dream.

13 And it came to pass exactly as he interpreted to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged.

14 Then Pharaoh sent and summoned Joseph, and they rushed him out of the pit; he shaved, changed his clothes, and came directly into Pharaoh's presence.

15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, but there is no one who can interpret it. Now I have heard it said about you that you only need to hear a dream to interpret it.”

16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not within me; The All-Powerful One will provide an answer for Pharaoh's well-being.”

17 Then Pharaoh spoke directly to Joseph: “In my dream, Look! I was standing on the bank of the Nile River.

18 And Look! Seven cows came up out of the river, beautiful of appearance and fat of meat, and they pastured in the reed grass.

19 Then Look! Seven other cows came up after them, poor, exceptionally bad of appearance and thin of meat—I have never seen such wretched animals in all the land of Egypt.

20 And the cows that were bad of appearance and thin of meat ate up the first seven fat cows.

21 But when they had swallowed them up, it could not be known that they had swallowed them; they remained just as bad of appearance as they were at the beginning. Then I woke up.

22 Then I saw in my dream, and Look! Seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, full and functional and good.

23 Then Look! Seven other ears, withered, thin, and blasted by the east wind, sprouted up after them.

24 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven functional and good ears. I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

25 Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same; The All-Powerful One has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do.

26 The seven functional and good cows represent seven years, and the seven functional and good ears of grain represent seven years; it is a single dream.

27 The seven lean and bad of appearance cows that came up after them represent seven years, and the seven empty ears blasted by the east wind represent seven years; they will be seven years of severe food shortage.

28 This is exactly what I spoke directly to Pharaoh: The All-Powerful One has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.

29 Look! Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout all the land of Egypt.

30 But after them, seven years of severe food shortage will arise, and all the abundance will be completely forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the food shortage will deplete the land.

31 “The abundance in the land will not be recognized because of the subsequent food shortage, for it will be exceptionally severe.

32 And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the matter is firmly established by The All-Powerful One, and The All-Powerful One is hastening to do it.

33 Now therefore, let Pharaoh look for a man who is discerning and wise, and place him over the land of Egypt.

34 Let Pharaoh take action and appoint overseers over the land to collect one-fifth of the harvest of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

35 Let them gather all the food of these functional and good years that are coming, and let them pile up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them guard it.

36 That food shall serve as a reserve supply for the land against the seven years of food shortage that will come upon the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish from the lack of food.

37 This proposal was functional and good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.

38 Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone else like this man, in whom is the Breath of The All-Powerful One?”

39 So Pharaoh spoke directly to Joseph, “Since The All-Powerful One has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.

40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall direct themselves according to your command; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

41 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Look! I have placed you over the entire land of Egypt.”

42 Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his own hand and placed it on Joseph’s hand; he dressed him in garments of fine linen and hung a gold chain around his neck.

43 He had him ride in his second chariot, and people shouted ahead of him, “Make way!” Thus he placed him over the entire land of Egypt.

44 Pharaoh declared to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission, no one shall lift up a hand or a foot in all the land of Egypt.”

45 Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah (He Who Sustains Life), and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his woman. And Joseph traveled throughout the land of Egypt.

46 Joseph was 30 years old when he stood before the face of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Then Joseph left the presence of Pharaoh and traveled through every region of Egypt.

47 During the seven years of abundance, the land produced grain in abundance.

48 Joseph gathered all the food produced during those seven years in the land of Egypt and stored the food in the cities; the harvest of the fields surrounding each city, he stored inside it.

49 Joseph piled up grain in massive quantities like the sand of the sea, until he stopped keeping track, because it was beyond all measure.

50 Now before the years of food shortage arrived, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, had with him.

51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh (Making to Forget), saying, “Because The All-Powerful One has made me forget all my painful strain and all my father’s house.”

52 And the second son he named Ephraim (Making Fruitful), saying, “Because The All-Powerful One has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

53 Then the seven years of abundance that were in the land of Egypt came to an end.

54 And the seven years of food shortage began to arrive, exactly as Joseph had said; there was a food shortage in every land, but throughout the entire land of Egypt, there was food.

55 When all the land of Egypt grew hungry, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he tells you, you must do.”

56 When the food shortage had spread across the entire region, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the food shortage was severe in the land of Egypt.

57 And people from every land came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the food shortage was severe throughout the entire earth.