Genesis 41
Expanded Bible
The King’s Dreams
41 Two years later ·the king [L Pharaoh] dreamed he was standing ·on the bank of [L by] the Nile River. 2 He saw seven fat and ·beautiful [sleek] cows come up out of the river, and they stood there, ·eating [grazing on] the ·grass [reed beds]. 3 Then seven more cows came up out of the river, but they were thin and ugly. They stood beside the seven ·beautiful [L other] cows on the bank of the Nile. 4 The seven thin and ugly cows ate the seven ·beautiful [sleek] fat cows. Then ·the king [L Pharaoh] woke up. 5 He slept again and dreamed a second time. In his dream he saw seven ·full [plump] and ·good [healthy] heads of grain growing on one stalk. 6 After that, seven more heads of grain sprang up, but they were thin and ·burned [shriveled] by the hot east wind. 7 The thin heads of grain ate the seven ·full [plump] and good heads. Then ·the king [L Pharaoh] woke up again, and he realized it was only a dream. 8 The next morning ·the king [L his spirit] was troubled about these dreams, so he [L called and] sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. ·The king [L Pharaoh] told them his dreams, but no one could ·explain their meaning [L interpret them] to him.
9 Then the chief ·officer who served wine to the king [L cupbearer to Pharaoh] said to him, “Now I ·remember [make known] ·something I promised to do, but I forgot about it [my errors/faults/sins today]. 10 There was a time when you were angry with the [L chief] baker and me, and you put us in prison in the house of the chief butcher [37:36]. 11 In prison we each had a dream on the same night, and each dream had a different ·meaning [interpretation]. 12 A young Hebrew man, a servant of the chief butcher [37:36], was in the prison with us. When we told him our dreams, he explained their ·meanings [interpretations] to us. He told each man the ·meaning [interpretation] of his dream, and 13 things happened exactly as he ·said they would [L interpreted]: I was given back my old position, and the baker was hanged.”
14 So the king called [L and sent] for Joseph. The guards quickly brought him out of the ·prison [dungeon; L pit], and he shaved, ·put on clean [changed his] clothes, and went before ·the king [L Pharaoh].
15 ·The king [L Pharaoh] said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, but no one can ·explain its meaning to [interpret it for] me. I have heard that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
16 Joseph answered ·the king [L Pharaoh], “·I am not able to explain the meaning of dreams, but God will do this for the king [L It is not me, but only God can give Pharaoh a favorable interpretation].”
17 Then ·the king [L Pharaoh] said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile River. 18 I saw seven fat and ·beautiful [sleek] cows that came up out of the river and ate the ·grass [reed beds]. 19 Then I saw seven ·more [L other] cows come out of the river that were ·thin [L poor] and lean and ugly—the worst looking cows I have seen in all the land of Egypt. 20 And these ·thin [lean] and ugly cows ate the first seven fat cows, 21 but after they had ·eaten [L gone into their belly] the seven cows, no one could tell they had ·eaten them [L gone into their belly]. They looked just as ·thin and ugly [L ugly] as they did at the beginning. Then I woke up.
22 “I had another dream. I saw seven ·full [plump] and ·good [healthy] heads of grain growing on one stalk. 23 Then seven more heads of grain sprang up after them, but these heads were thin and ·ugly [withered] and ·were burned [shriveled] by the hot east wind. 24 Then the thin heads ·ate [L swallowed] the seven ·good [healthy] heads. I told this dream to the magicians, but no one could explain ·its meaning [L it] to me.”
Joseph Tells the Dreams’ Meaning
25 Then Joseph said to ·the king [L Pharaoh], “Both of these dreams ·mean the same thing [L are one]. God is telling you what he is about to do. 26 The seven ·good [healthy] cows stand for seven years, and the seven ·good [healthy] heads of grain stand for seven years. Both dreams mean the same thing. 27 The seven thin and ugly cows stand for seven years, and the seven thin heads of grain ·burned [shriveled] by the hot east wind stand for seven years of ·hunger [famine]. 28 This will happen as I told you. God is showing ·the king [L Pharaoh] what he is about to do. 29 You will have seven years of ·good crops and plenty to eat [L great plenty] in all the land of Egypt. 30 But after ·those seven years [L them], there will come seven years of ·hunger [famine], and all the ·food that grew [L plenty] in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The ·time of hunger will eat up [L famine will consume] the land. 31 ·People will forget what it was like to have plenty of food [L The plenty will not be known in the land], because the ·hunger [famine] that follows will be so ·great [heavy]. 32 ·You had two dreams which mean the same thing. This shows [L The doubling of the dream of Pharaoh means] that God has firmly decided that this will happen, and he will make it happen soon.
33 “So let ·the king [L Pharaoh] choose a man who is very wise and ·understanding [discerning] and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 And let ·the king [L Pharaoh] also appoint ·officers [overseers] over the land, who should take one-fifth of all the food that is grown during the seven ·good years [years of plenty]. 35 They should gather all the food that is produced during the good years that are coming, and under the king’s ·authority [control; L hand] they should store the grain in the cities and guard it. 36 That food ·should be saved to use [shall serve as a reserve] during the seven years of ·hunger [famine] that will come on the land of Egypt. Then the people in Egypt will not ·die [L be cut off] during the seven years of ·hunger [famine].”
Joseph Is Made Ruler over Egypt
37 ·This seemed like a very good idea to the king [L The thing/word was good in the eyes of Pharaoh], and all his ·officers [servants] agreed. 38 And ·the king asked them [L Pharaoh said to his servants], “Can we find a ·better man than Joseph to take this job [L man like this man]? God’s spirit is truly in him!”
39 So ·the king [L Pharaoh] said to Joseph, “God has shown you all this. There is no one as wise and ·understanding [discerning] as you are, so 40 I will put you in charge of my ·palace [house]. All the people will obey your orders, and only [L in terms of the throne] I will be greater than you.”
41 Then ·the king [L Pharaoh] said to Joseph, “Look! I have put you in charge of all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then ·the king [L Pharaoh] took off ·from his own finger his ring with the royal seal on it [L his signet ring; C a form of identification], and he put it on Joseph’s finger. He gave Joseph fine linen clothes to wear, and he put a gold chain around Joseph’s neck [C all symbols of authority]. 43 ·The king had Joseph [L He made him] ride in the second royal chariot, and people walked ahead of his chariot calling, “Bow down [C an Egyptian word of uncertain meaning]!” By doing these things, the king put Joseph in charge of all of Egypt.
44 The king said to him, “I am ·the king [L Pharaoh], and I say that no one in all the land of Egypt may lift a hand or a foot without your permission.” 45 ·The king [L Pharaoh] gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah [C may mean “the god said, ‘let him live’ ”; showing the Egyptians’ acceptance of him]. He also gave Joseph a wife named Asenath, who was the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On [C an important city seven miles northeast of Cairo also known as Heliopolis, a center of the worship of the sun]. So Joseph ·traveled through [or rose over] all the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he ·began serving [L stood before the Pharaoh] the king of Egypt. And he ·left the king’s court [L went out from before Pharaoh] and traveled through all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven ·good years [years of plenty], the ·crops in the land grew well [land produced much; L land made by handfuls]. 48 And Joseph gathered all the food produced in Egypt during those seven years of good crops and stored the food in the cities. In every city he stored grain that had been grown in the fields around that city. 49 Joseph stored much grain, as much as the sand of the seashore—so much that he could not ·measure [count] it.
50 Joseph’s wife was Asenath daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On [41:45]. Before the years of ·hunger [famine] came, Joseph and Asenath had two sons. 51 Joseph named the ·first son [firstborn] Manasseh [C sounds like “made me forget” in Hebrew] and said, “God has made me forget all the troubles I have had and all ·my father’s family [L the house of my father].” 52 Joseph named the second son Ephraim [C related to the Hebrew word for “fruitful”; 1:22] and said, “God has ·given me children [L made me fruitful] in the land of my ·troubles [afflictions].”
53 The seven years of ·good crops [plenty] came to an end in the land of Egypt. 54 Then the seven years of ·hunger [famine] began, just as Joseph had said. In all the lands people had ·nothing to eat [famine], but in Egypt there was ·food [bread]. 55 The ·time of hunger [famine] became terrible in all of Egypt, and the people cried to ·the king [L Pharaoh] for food. He said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”
56 The ·hunger [famine] was ·everywhere in that part of the world [L over all the face of the earth]. And Joseph opened ·the storehouses [L everything that was in them] and sold grain to the people of Egypt, because the ·time of hunger [famine] became ·terrible [severe] in Egypt. 57 And all the people in that part of the world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the ·hunger [famine] was ·terrible [severe] everywhere in ·that part of the [L the] world.
创世记 41
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
约瑟为法老解梦
41 两年后，法老做了个梦，梦见自己站在尼罗河边， 2 有七头肥美、健壮的母牛从河里上来，在芦苇丛中吃草。 3 随后又有七头丑陋、瘦弱的母牛从河里上来，与那七头母牛一同站在河边。 4 后来，七头丑陋、瘦弱的母牛吃掉了七头肥美、健壮的母牛。这时，法老醒了过来。
5 之后，他又睡着了，又做了个梦。他梦见一株麦子上长了七个饱满的穗子。 6 后来这株麦子上面又长了七个干瘪的穗子，它们被东风吹干了。 7 七个干瘪的穗子吞食了七个饱满的穗子。法老醒过来，原来是一场梦。
8 早上法老心中不安，就派人召来埃及所有的术士和博学之士，把梦告诉他们，可是没有一个人能为他解梦。
9 后来，侍酒总管对法老说：“我今天才想起我的罪过。 10 我从前和膳食总管惹王生气，被王囚禁在护卫长府内的牢里。 11 一天晚上，我俩都做了梦。 12 当时有一个希伯来青年跟我们一起被囚在牢里，他是护卫长的仆人。我们把梦告诉他，他就分别为我们解梦。 13 后来，他为我们解的梦都应验了，我恢复了原职，膳食总管被挂在木头上处死了。”
14 于是，法老派人去召约瑟，他们急忙释放约瑟。约瑟剃头刮脸，更换衣服，去见法老。 15 法老对约瑟说：“我做了一个梦，没有人能为我解梦。我听说你能解梦。” 16 约瑟回答说：“我自己不会解梦，但上帝却能给王圆满的解释。”
17 法老对约瑟说：“我梦见自己站在尼罗河边， 18 有七头肥美、健壮的母牛从河里上来，在芦苇丛中吃草。 19 随后又有七头丑陋、瘦弱的母牛从河里上来，我在埃及从来没有见过有这么丑陋的牛。 20 这些丑陋、瘦弱的母牛吃掉先前的七头肥母牛。 21 可是，它们吃了以后却仍然像以前那么丑陋。这时，我就醒了。 22 后来我又梦见一株麦子，上面长了七个饱满的穗子， 23 接着又长出七个干瘪的穗子， 24 这些干瘪的穗子吞了那七个饱满的穗子。我把梦告诉了术士，却没有人能为我解梦。”
25 约瑟对法老说：“王的梦都是同一个意思，上帝已经借着梦把祂将要做的事指示王了。 26 七头肥美的母牛和七个饱满的穗子都代表七年，是同样的意思。 27 七头瘦弱、丑陋的母牛和七个干瘪、被东风吹干的穗子也代表七年，是七年饥荒。 28 正如我刚才说的，上帝已经把祂将要做的事向王显明了。 29 埃及全境很快会有七年大丰收， 30 随后是七年饥荒肆虐全国，之前的丰收将被忘记。 31 饥荒将非常严重，之前的丰收将荡然无存。 32 王的梦出现了两次，表示上帝的心意已定，上帝必很快成就这事。 33 王应该选一个精明的人，派他治理埃及。 34 王也应该在各地委派官员，在七年丰收期内征收全国出产的五分之一， 35 把在丰年收集的粮食储存在各城，归王管理。 36 这些粮食要留到七年饥荒时用，免得这片土地被饥荒毁灭。”
约瑟做埃及宰相
37 法老和他所有的臣仆都赞同约瑟的建议。 38 法老对臣仆说：“我们哪里找像这样有上帝的灵同在的人呢？” 39 法老对约瑟说：“上帝既然把梦的意思指示给你，可见没人有你这样的见识和智慧。 40 我要派你管理我家，我的人民都要遵从你的命令，只有我权力比你大。” 41 法老又说：“我现在派你治理埃及全国。” 42 于是，法老摘下手上用来盖印的戒指，戴在约瑟的手上，给他穿上细麻袍，把金链戴在他颈上， 43 让他坐在自己的第二辆御车上，并有人在御车前高呼：“跪下！”这样，法老派约瑟治理整个埃及。 44 法老对约瑟说：“我是法老，但没有你的命令，埃及的任何人都不得擅自行事。” 45 法老赐给约瑟一个名字叫撒发那忒·巴内亚，又把安城祭司波提非拉的女儿亚西纳赐给他为妻。约瑟巡视了整个埃及。
46 约瑟三十岁开始为法老效劳，他离开法老去巡视埃及各地。 47 七个丰年之内，埃及粮食大丰收， 48 约瑟收集七个丰年出产的所有粮食，储藏进各城，每一座城附近出产的粮食都存放在本城。 49 约瑟积存了大量五谷，多如海沙，不可胜数。
50 荒年到来前，安城祭司波提非拉的女儿亚西纳给约瑟生了两个儿子。 51 约瑟给长子取名叫玛拿西，因为他说：“上帝使我忘记一切的困苦和我父亲家。” 52 约瑟给次子取名叫以法莲，因为他说：“上帝使我在受苦之地昌盛。”
53 七个丰年结束后， 54 七个荒年接踵而至，正如约瑟所言。各地都有饥荒，只有埃及全国有粮食。 55 后来，埃及全国也闹饥荒，百姓就向法老求粮，法老对他们说：“你们去找约瑟吧，要照他的吩咐做。”
56 饥荒蔓延到整个埃及时，约瑟便开仓卖粮给埃及人。那时，埃及的饥荒非常严重。 57 各国的人都到埃及来向约瑟买粮，因为天下到处都是大饥荒。
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