Genesis 41

Two full years later, Pharaoh had a dream. He was standing by the Nile,

and out of the river came seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds.

And after them seven other cows came up out of the Nile, ugly and thin, and stood beside the others on the riverbank.

And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven sleek fat ones. Then Pharaoh woke up.

He went back to sleep and had a second dream. Seven heads of grain, full and good, were growing on the one stalk.

And after them seven other heads sprouted, thin and scorched by the east wind.

And the thin heads swallowed up the seven full, good heads. Then Pharaoh woke up, and it had been a dream.

In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but none of them could tell him what they meant.

Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I'm reminded of my failings.

Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard.

And we each had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

Now there was a young Hebrew there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he told us what they meant, each of us his own.

And it turned out just as he'd told us. I was given my job back, and the other man was hanged.”

So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they hurried him out of the pit. He shaved and changed his clothes and came in to Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I've had a dream, and nobody can tell me what it means. But I've heard it said about you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

“It's not me,” Joseph answered. “God will give Pharaoh the answer he needs.”

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,

and out of the river came seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds.

And after them seven other cows came up, scrawny and very ugly and thin. I've never seen such ugly cows in all Egypt.

And the thin, ugly cows ate up the seven fat ones that came first.

But even after they'd eaten them you couldn't tell — they looked just as bad as before. Then I woke up.

And in my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on the one stalk.

And after them seven other heads sprouted, withered and thin and scorched by the east wind.

And the thin heads swallowed up the seven good ones. I told all this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

And Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh's dreams are one and the same. God has shown Pharaoh what He's about to do.

The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. It's the one dream.

The seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads scorched by the east wind. They're seven years of famine.

It's just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He's about to do.

Seven years of great plenty are coming right across the land of Egypt,

but seven years of famine will follow them. All the plenty in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ruin the land.

The plenty won't be remembered, because the famine that follows will be so bad.

The reason the dream came to Pharaoh twice is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

So now let Pharaoh look for a man with insight and wisdom, and put him in charge of the land of Egypt.

Let Pharaoh appoint officers over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of plenty.

They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up grain under Pharaoh's authority, to be kept in the cities as food.

That food will be a reserve for the country against the seven years of famine that will come on Egypt, so the country won't be ruined by the famine.”

This seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials.

And Pharaoh said to them, “Could we find anyone like this man, with the spirit of God in him?”

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there's nobody with as much insight and wisdom as you.

You'll be over my household, and all my people will do as you say. Only in the throne will I be greater than you.”

And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See here — I've put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”

And Pharaoh took his signet ring off his own hand and put it on Joseph's. He dressed him in fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

He had him ride in a chariot as his second in command, and men called out ahead of him, “Make way.” So he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I'm Pharaoh, but without your word nobody will lift a hand or a foot in all Egypt.”

And Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah, and gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as a wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

Joseph was thirty when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh's presence and travelled right through Egypt.

During the seven years of plenty the land produced in abundance.

And Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields around it.

Joseph stored up grain like the sand of the sea, so much that he stopped keeping records, because it was beyond measure.

Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera priest of On.

Joseph called the firstborn Manasseh, because he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household.”

And he called the second Ephraim, because he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

The seven years of plenty in Egypt came to an end,

and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every country, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food.

When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. And Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph, and do what he tells you.”

The famine was over the whole country, and Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, because the famine was severe throughout Egypt.

And the whole world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.