Genesis 40
New American Standard Bible
Joseph Interprets Dreams
40 Then it came about after these things, that (A)the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was (B)furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. 3 So he put them in confinement in the house of the (C)captain of the bodyguard, in the prison, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned. 4 And the captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he [a]took care of them; and they were in confinement for [b]some time. 5 Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation. 6 [c]When Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them, [d]behold, they were dejected. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, “[e](D)Why are your faces so sad today?” 8 And they said to him, “(E)We have [f]had a dream, and there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “(F)Do interpretations not belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, [g]saying to him, “In my dream, [h]behold, there was a vine in front of me; 10 and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes. 11 Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s [i]hand.” 12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is the (G)interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; 13 within three more days Pharaoh will [j]lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand as in your former practice when you were his cupbearer. 14 Only [k]keep me in mind when it goes well for you, and please (H)do me a kindness [l]by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this [m]prison. 15 For (I)I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the [n]dungeon.”
16 When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head; 17 and in the top basket there were some of all [o]kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” 18 Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; 19 within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a wooden post, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”
20 So it came about on the third day, which was (J)Pharaoh’s birthday, that he held a feast for all his servants; (K)and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his [p]office, and (L)he put the cup into Pharaoh’s [q]hand; 22 but (M)he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but (N)forgot him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 40:4 Lit ministered to
- Genesis 40:4 Lit days
- Genesis 40:6 Or And
- Genesis 40:6 Lit and behold
- Genesis 40:7 Lit saying, Why
- Genesis 40:8 Lit dreamed
- Genesis 40:9 Lit and said
- Genesis 40:9 Lit and behold
- Genesis 40:11 Lit palm
- Genesis 40:13 I.e., a royal gesture of forgiveness
- Genesis 40:14 Lit remember me with yourself
- Genesis 40:14 Lit and mention
- Genesis 40:14 Lit house
- Genesis 40:15 Or pit
- Genesis 40:17 Lit food for Pharaoh made by a baker
- Genesis 40:21 Lit wine-pouring
- Genesis 40:21 Lit palm
Genesis 40
Common English Bible
Joseph interprets dreams in prison
40 Some time later, both the wine steward and the baker for Egypt’s king offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief wine steward and the chief baker, 3 and he put them under arrest with the commander of the royal guard in the same jail where Joseph was imprisoned. 4 The commander of the royal guard assigned Joseph to assist them. After they had been under arrest for some time, 5 both of them—the wine steward and the baker for Egypt’s king who were imprisoned in the jail—had dreams one night, and each man’s dream had its own meaning. 6 When Joseph met them in the morning, he saw that they were upset. 7 He asked the officers of Pharaoh who were under arrest with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so distressed today?”
8 They answered, “We’ve both had dreams, but there’s no one to interpret them.”
Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Describe your dreams to me.”
9 The chief wine steward described his dream to Joseph: “In my dream there was a vine right in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. When it budded, its blossoms appeared, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes, crushed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
12 Joseph said to him, “This is the dream’s interpretation: The three branches are three days. 13 After three days, Pharaoh will give you an audience and return you to your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just the way things were before when you were his wine steward. 14 But please, remember me when you are doing well and be loyal to me. Put in a good word for me to Pharaoh, so he sets me free from this prison. 15 I was stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and here too I’ve done nothing to be thrown into this dungeon.”
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “It was the same for me. In my dream, there were three baskets of white bread[a] on my head. 17 In the basket on top there were baked goods for Pharaoh’s food, but birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
18 Joseph responded, “This is the dream’s interpretation: The three baskets are three days. 19 After three days, Pharaoh will give you an audience and will hang you from a tree where birds will peck your flesh from you.”
20 The third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a party for all of his servants. Before all of his servants, he gave an audience to the chief wine steward and the chief baker. 21 He returned the chief wine steward to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22 But the chief baker he hanged, just as Joseph had said would happen when he interpreted their dreams for them. 23 But the chief wine steward didn’t remember Joseph; he forgot all about him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 40:16 Heb uncertain
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