Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams

41 After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, ² and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. ³ And behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. ⁴ And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And Pharaoh awoke. ⁵ And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. ⁶ And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and ^(A)blighted by the east wind. ⁷ And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. ⁸ So in the morning ^(B)his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the ^(C)magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my offenses today. ¹⁰ When Pharaoh was ^(D)angry with his servants ^(E)and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, ^11 (F)we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation. ¹² A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, ^(G)he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. ¹³ And ^(H)as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.”

^14 (I)Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they ^(J)quickly brought him ^(K)out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. ¹⁵ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. ^(L)I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” ¹⁶ Joseph answered Pharaoh, ^(M)“It is not in me; ^(N)God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”^{[a] 17} Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, ^(O)in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile. ¹⁸ Seven cows, plump and attractive, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. ¹⁹ Seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰ And the thin, ugly cows ate up the first seven plump cows, ²¹ but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. ²² I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk, full and good. ²³ Seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them, ²⁴ and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. And ^(P)I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; ^(Q)God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. ²⁷ The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also ^(R)seven years of famine. ²⁸ It is as I told Pharaoh; ^(S)God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁹ There will come ^(T)seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, ³⁰ but after them there will arise ^(U)seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. ^(V)The famine will consume the land, ³¹ and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. ³² And the doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the ^(W)thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. ³³ Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land^[b] of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. ³⁵ And ^(X)let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. ³⁶ That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”

Joseph Rises to Power

³⁷ This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. ³⁸ And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, ^(Y)in whom is the Spirit of God?”^{[c] 39} Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. ^40 (Z)You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command.^[d] Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.”

The Final Judgment

^31 (A)“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, ^(B)then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him ^(C)will be gathered ^(D)all the nations, and ^(E)he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates ^(F)the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then ^(G)the King will say to ^(H)those on his right, ‘Come, you ^(I)who are blessed by my Father, ^(J)inherit ^(K)the kingdom ^(L)prepared for you ^(M)from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For ^(N)I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you ^(O)gave me drink, ^(P)I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ^36 (Q)I was naked and you clothed me, ^(R)I was sick and you ^(S)visited me, ^(T)I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And ^(U)the King will answer them, ^(V)‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these ^(W)my brothers,^[a] you did it to me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ^(X)‘Depart from me, you ^(Y)cursed, into ^(Z)the eternal fire prepared for ^(AA)the devil and his angels. ⁴² For ^(AB)I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, ^(AC)you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away ^(AD)into eternal punishment, but the righteous ^(AE)into ^(AF)eternal life.”

⁴¹ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, ^(A)I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh ^(B)took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and ^(C)clothed him in garments of fine linen ^(D)and put a gold chain about his neck. ⁴³ And he made him ride in his second chariot. ^(E)And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!”^[a] Thus he set him ^(F)over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and ^(G)without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Joseph was thirty years old when he ^(H)entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, ⁴⁸ and he gathered up 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 the fields around it. ⁴⁹ And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, ^(I)like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.

⁵⁰ Before the year of famine came, ^(J)two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. ⁵¹ Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house.”^{[b] 52} The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has ^(K)made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”^[c]

⁵³ The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, ⁵⁴ and ^(L)the seven years of famine began to come, ^(M)as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. ⁵⁵ When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.”

⁵⁶ So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses^[d] and ^(N)sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe ^(O)over all the earth.

Personal Greetings

16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant^[a] of the church at ^(A)Cenchreae, ² that you ^(B)may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

³ Greet ^(C)Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴ who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. ⁵ Greet also ^(D)the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was ^(E)the first convert^[b] to Christ in Asia. ⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. ⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia,^[c] my kinsmen and my ^(F)fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles,^[d] and they were in Christ before me. ⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹ Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. ¹⁰ Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those ^(G)who belong to the family of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. ¹² Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. ¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers^[e] who are with them. ¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. ^16 (H)Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Final Instructions and Greetings

¹⁷ I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles ^(I)contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; ^(J)avoid them. ¹⁸ For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but ^(K)their own appetites,^[f] and ^(L)by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. ¹⁹ For ^(M)your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you ^(N)to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. ^20 (O)The God of peace ^(P)will soon crush Satan under your feet. ^(Q)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

^21 (R)Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

²² I Tertius, ^(S)who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

^23 (T)Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.^[g]

Doxology

^25 (U)Now to him who is able to strengthen you ^(V)according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, ^(W)according to the revelation of the mystery ^(X)that was kept secret for ^(Y)long ages ²⁶ but ^(Z)has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, ^(AA)to bring about the obedience of faith— ²⁷ to ^(AB)the only wise God ^(AC)be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.