Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners’ Dreams

40 After this, the king of Egypt’s cupbearer^(A) and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, ³ and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guards^(B) in the prison where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The captain of the guards assigned Joseph to them as their personal attendant, and they were in custody for some time.^[a]

⁵ The king of Egypt’s cupbearer and baker, who were confined in the prison, each had a dream. Both had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning. ⁶ When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they looked distraught. ⁷ So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?” ^(C)

⁸ “We had dreams,” they said to him, “but there is no one to interpret them.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”^(D)

⁹ So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: “In my dream there was a vine in front of me. ¹⁰ On the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out and its clusters ripened into grapes. ¹¹ Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

¹² “This is its interpretation,”^(E) Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. ¹³ In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head^(F) and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand the way you used to when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ But when all goes well for you, remember that I was with you. Please show kindness to me by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. ¹⁵ For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews,^(G) and even here I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon.”^[b](H)

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was positive, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream. Three baskets of white bread were on my head. ¹⁷ In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸ “This is its interpretation,” Joseph replied. “The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from off you—and hang you on a tree.^[c] Then the birds will eat the flesh from your body.”^[d]

²⁰ On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he gave a feast for all his servants. He elevated^[e] the chief cupbearer and the chief baker among his servants.^{(I) 21} Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position as cupbearer, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. ²² But Pharaoh hanged^[f] the chief baker, just as Joseph had explained to them. ²³ Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.^(J)

The Messiah’s Herald

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,^(A) Herod was tetrarch^[a] of Galilee,^(B) his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ² during the high priesthood of Annas^(C) and Caiaphas,^(D) God’s word came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.^{(E) 3} He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan,^(F) proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,^{(G) 4} as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:

⁷ He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers!^(I) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?^{(J) 8} Therefore produce fruit^(K) consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’^(L) for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. ⁹ The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”^(M)

¹⁰ “What then should we do?” ^(N) the crowds were asking him.

¹¹ He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.”^(O)

¹² Tax collectors^(P) also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ^(Q)

¹³ He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.”

¹⁴ Some soldiers also questioned him, “What should we do?”

He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵ Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.^{(R) 16} John answered them all,^(S) “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with^[d] the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing shovel^(T) is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn,^(U) but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”^{(V) 18} Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people. ¹⁹ But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch^(W) because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the evil things he had done,^{(X) 20} Herod added this to everything else—he locked up John in prison.^(Y)

The Baptism of Jesus

²¹ When all the people were baptized,^(Z) Jesus also was baptized. As he was praying,^(AA) heaven opened,^{(AB) 22} and the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”^(AC)

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

²³ As he began his ministry, Jesus was about thirty years old and was thought to be the

Psalm 92

God’s Love and Faithfulness

A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.