Genesis 41:16-36

New King James Version

¹⁶ So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, ^(A)“It is not in me; ^(B)God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, ^(C)in my dream I stood on the bank of the river. ¹⁸ Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. ¹⁹ Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰ And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. ²¹ When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke. ²² Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven ^[a]heads came up on one stalk, full and good. ²³ Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. ²⁴ And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So ^(D)I told this 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; ^(E)God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ^[b]heads are seven years; the dreams are one. ²⁷ And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are ^(F)seven years of famine. ^28 (G)This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁹ Indeed ^(H)seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; ³⁰ but after them seven years of famine will ^(I)arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine ^(J)will deplete the land. ³¹ So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. ³² And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the ^(K)thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

³³ “Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint ^[c]officers over the land, ^(L)to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. ³⁵ And ^(M)let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the ^[d]authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. ³⁶ Then that food shall be as a ^[e]reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land ^(N)may not ^[f]perish during the famine.”