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40 When these things were done, it befelled that two geldings, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, sinned to their lord. (After these things were done, it befell that two eunuchs, Pharaoh’s butler and baker, sinned against their lord.)

And Pharaoh was wroth against them, for the one was (the) master butler, and the tother was (the) master baker.

And he sent them into the prison of the prince of knights, in which also Joseph was bound. (And he sent them into the prison of the captain of the guard, where Joseph was also kept.)

And the keeper of the prison betook them to Joseph, which also served, or kept, them. Somewhat of time passed, and they were holden in keeping, (And the ruler of the prison delivered them unto Joseph, who served them. Some time passed, and they were still held in the prison,)

and both saw a dream in one night, by covenable expounding to them. (when both of them had a dream one night, and they needed their dreams to be interpreted.)

And when Joseph had entered to them early, and had seen them sorry, (And when Joseph came to them in the morning, and saw them looking sorrowful, or sad,)

he asked them, and said, Why is your cheer heavier today than it is wont (to be)? (he asked them, Why are your faces so heavy, or so unhappy, today?)

Which answered, We (each) saw a dream, and there is no man that expoundeth it to us. And Joseph said to them, Whether the expounding is not of God? Tell ye to me what ye have seen. (And they answered, We have each had a dream, and there is no one to interpret it for us. And Joseph said to them, Should not the interpretation come from God? Tell me what ye have seen.)

The master butler told first his dream; I saw before me that a vine, (So the master butler told his dream first, and he said, I saw that there was a vine before me,)

10 in which were three scions, waxed little and little into burgeonings, and that after the flowers (came), the grapes waxed ripe, (which had three branches, that over time had more and more buds, and after the flowers came, the grapes ripened,)

11 and (then) the cup of Pharaoh was in mine hand; therefore I took the grapes, and pressed them out into the cup that I held, and I gave (the) drink to Pharaoh (and I gave it to Pharaoh to drink).

12 Joseph answered, This is the expounding of the dream; three scions be yet three days, (Joseph answered, This is the dream’s interpretation; the three branches be three days yet to come,)

13 after which Pharaoh shall have mind of thy service, and he shall restore thee into the first degree, and thou shalt give to him the cup, by thine office, as thou were wont to do before. (and then Pharaoh shall remember thy service, and he shall restore thee to thy place, and thou shalt give him the cup, as per thy duties, yea, as thou were wont to do before.)

14 Only have thou mind of me, when it is well to thee, and thou shalt do mercy with me, that thou make suggestion to Pharaoh, that he lead me out of this prison; (And when it is well with thee, remember me, and do thou mercy to me, so that thou make a suggestion to Pharaoh, that he release me from this prison;)

15 for thiefly, (that is, by thievery), I am taken away from the land of Hebrews, and (once) here I am sent innocent into prison. (for I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews, and then once here, I was sent into prison, though innocent.)

16 The master baker saw that Joseph had declared prudently the dream, and he said, And I saw a dream, that I had three baskets of meal on mine head, (The master baker saw that Joseph had prudently interpreted the dream, and he said, And I had a dream, where I had three baskets of meal on my head,)

17 and I guessed that I bare in one basket, that was highest, all (the) (bake)meats that be made (for Pharaoh) by the craft of bakers, and that birds ate thereof. (and I saw that I carried in the first basket, that was on top, all the baked goods that the baker made for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them.)

18 Joseph answered, This is the expounding of the dream; three baskets be yet three days, (Joseph answered, This is the dream’s interpretation; the three baskets be three days yet to come,)

19 after which Pharaoh shall take away thine head, and he shall hang thee in a cross, and birds shall draw thy flesh. (after which Pharaoh shall take away thy head, and he shall hang thee on a tree, and then the birds shall draw off thy flesh.)

20 From thence the third day was the day of the birth of Pharaoh, which made a great feast to his servants, and he had mind among the meats, of the master butler, and of the prince of (the) bakers; (And three days later was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he made a great feast for his servants, and during the feast he remembered the master butler, and the master baker;)

21 and he restored the one into his place, (so) that he should direct the cup, either (the) drink, to the king,

22 and he hanged the tother in a gibbet, that the truth of Joseph(’s) declaring (of) the dreams should be proved. (but he hanged the other man on a tree, and so the truth of Joseph’s interpretations of the dreams was shown.)

23 And nevertheless when prosperities befelled to the master butler, he forgat Joseph that declared his dream. (And yet when good things happened to the master butler, he forgot about Joseph, who had interpreted his dream.)

The Cupbearer and the Baker

40 Some time later, the cupbearer(A) and the baker(B) of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry(C) with his two officials,(D) the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard,(E) in the same prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard(F) assigned them to Joseph,(G) and he attended them.

After they had been in custody(H) for some time, each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream(I) the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.(J)

When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody(K) with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”(L)

“We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.”(M)

Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God?(N) Tell me your dreams.”

So the chief cupbearer(O) told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed,(P) 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 put the cup in his hand.”

12 “This is what it means,(Q)” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days.(R) 13 Within three days(S) Pharaoh will lift up your head(T) and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.(U) 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me(V) and show me kindness;(W) mention me to Pharaoh(X) and get me out of this prison. 15 I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews,(Y) and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”(Z)

16 When the chief baker(AA) saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation,(AB) he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets(AC) of bread.[a] 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18 “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days.(AD) 19 Within three days(AE) Pharaoh will lift off your head(AF) and impale your body on a pole.(AG) And the birds will eat away your flesh.”(AH)

20 Now the third day(AI) was Pharaoh’s birthday,(AJ) and he gave a feast for all his officials.(AK) He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker(AL) in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the chief cupbearer(AM) to his position,(AN) so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand(AO) 22 but he impaled the chief baker,(AP) just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.(AQ)

23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.(AR)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 40:16 Or three wicker baskets

The Prisoners’ Dreams

40 It came to pass after these things that the (A)butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was (B)angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. (C)So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while.

Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, (D)had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation. And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were [a]sad. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, (E)“Why do you look so sad today?”

And they said to him, (F)“We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.”

So Joseph said to them, (G)“Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”

Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, 10 and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. 11 Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

12 And Joseph said to him, (H)“This is the interpretation of it: The three branches (I)are three days. 13 Now within three days Pharaoh will (J)lift up your head and restore you to your [b]place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. 14 But (K)remember me when it is well with you, and (L)please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. 15 For indeed I was (M)stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; (N)and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”

16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three [c]white baskets on my head. 17 In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”

18 So Joseph answered and said, (O)“This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. 19 (P)Within three days Pharaoh will lift [d]off your head from you and (Q)hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

20 Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s (R)birthday, that he (S)made a feast for all his servants; and he (T)lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. 21 Then he (U)restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and (V)he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22 But he (W)hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but (X)forgot him.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 40:6 dejected
  2. Genesis 40:13 position
  3. Genesis 40:16 Or baskets of white bread
  4. Genesis 40:19 Lit. up

Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners' Dreams

40 Some time after this, the (A)cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, (B)and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.

And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, (C)“Why are your faces downcast today?” They said to him, (D)“We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, (E)“Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, 10 and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.” 12 Then Joseph said to him, (F)“This is its interpretation: (G)the three branches are three days. 13 In three days Pharaoh will (H)lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. 14 Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. 15 For (I)I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and (J)here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”

16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, 17 and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” 18 And Joseph answered and said, (K)“This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. 19 (L)In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and (M)hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you.”

20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh's (N)birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and (O)lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21 (P)He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and (Q)he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. 22 But he (R)hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.