Genesis 41
American Standard Version
41 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the [a]river. 2 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, well-favored and fat-fleshed; and they fed in the reed-grass. 3 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed, and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. 4 And the ill-favored and lean-fleshed kine did eat up the seven well-favored and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. 5 And he slept and dreamed a second time: and, behold, seven ears of grain came up upon one stalk, [b]rank and good. 6 And, behold, seven ears, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. 7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. 8 And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the [c]magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
9 Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I [d]do remember my faults this day: 10 Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker: 11 and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. 12 And there was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. 13 And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; [e]me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.
14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that when thou hearest a dream thou canst interpret it. 16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace. 17 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the brink of the river: 18 and, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat-fleshed and well-favored; and they fed in the reed-grass: 19 and, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness: 20 and the lean and ill-favored kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: 21 and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill-favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke. 22 And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up upon one stalk, full and good: 23 and, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: 24 and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears: and I told it unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.
25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: what God is about to do he hath declared unto Pharaoh. 26 The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. 27 And the seven lean and ill-favored kine that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind; they shall be seven years of famine. 28 That is the thing which I spake unto Pharaoh: what God is about to do he hath showed unto Pharaoh. 29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: 30 and there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; 31 and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine which followeth; for it shall be very grievous. 32 And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. 33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. 35 And let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36 And the food shall be for a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.
37 And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the spirit of God is? 39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou: 40 thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people [f]be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. 41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. 42 And Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of [g]fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; 43 and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, [h]Bow the knee: and he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt. 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera priest of On. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47 And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. 48 And he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. 49 And Joseph laid up grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left off numbering; for it was without number. 50 And unto Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bare unto him. 51 And Joseph called the name of the first-born [i]Manasseh: For, said he, God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. 52 And the name of the second called he [j]Ephraim: For God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. 53 And the seven years of plenty, that was in the land of Egypt, came to an end. 54 And the seven years of famine began to come, according as Joseph had said: and there was famine in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. 56 And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the store-houses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine was sore in the land of Egypt. 57 And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was sore in all the earth.
Footnotes
- Genesis 41:1 Hebrew Yeor, that is, the Nile.
- Genesis 41:5 Hebrew fat.
- Genesis 41:8 Or, sacred scribes
- Genesis 41:9 Or, will make mention of
- Genesis 41:13 Or, I was restored . . . and he was hanged
- Genesis 41:40 Or, order themselves. Or, do homage
- Genesis 41:42 Or, cotton
- Genesis 41:43 Abrech, probably an Egyptian word, similar in sound to the Hebrew word meaning to kneel.
- Genesis 41:51 That is, Making to forget.
- Genesis 41:52 From a Hebrew word signifying to be fruitful.
Genesis 41
Wycliffe Bible
41 After two years Pharaoh saw a dream; he guessed that he stood on a river, (Two years later, Pharaoh had a dream; he saw that he stood by a river,)
2 from which seven fair kine and full fat went up (from which seven cows, sleek and very fat, came out), and [they] were fed in the places of (the) marshes;
3 and (an)other seven, foul and lean, came out of the river, and were fed in that brink of the water, in green places; (and then seven others, foul and lean, came out of the river, and were fed on the bank of the river, in the green places;)
4 and those (foul and lean) kine devoured those kine of which the fairness and comeliness of (their) bodies were wonderful. (And) Pharaoh waked,
5 and slept again, and he saw another dream; seven ears of corn, full and fair, came forth in one stalk, (and then he slept again, and he had another dream; seven ears of corn, full and ripe, came forth on one stalk,)
6 and (then) others, as many ears of corn, (but) thin and smitten with (the) corruption of (the) burning wind, came forth,
7 devouring all the fairness of the first. (And) Pharaoh waked after this rest,
8 and when the morrowtide was made, he was afeared by inward dread, and he sent to all the expounders of Egypt, and to all the wise men; and when they were called, he told the dream, and none was that expounded it. (and when the morning came, he was greatly afraid, and he sent for all the dream readers of Egypt, and for all the wise men; and when they came to him, he told his dreams to them, but no one could interpret them.)
9 Then at the last, the master butler bethought (to) him(self), and said (to Pharaoh), I acknowledge my sin (at last);
10 the king was wroth to his servants, and commanded me and the master baker to be cast down into the prison of the prince of knights, (for the king was angry with his servants, and commanded me and the master baker to be throw into the prison of the captain of the guard,)
11 where we both saw a dream in one night, before-showing of things to come. (and one night we both had a dream, a fore-telling of things to come.)
12 An Hebrew child, servant of the same duke of knights, was there, to whom we told the dreams, and heard whatever thing the befalling of [the] thing proved afterward(s); (And a young Hebrew man, a slave of the same captain of the guard, was there, to whom we told our dreams, and then we heard from him what the befalling of the dreams later proved to be;)
13 for I am restored to mine office, and he was hanged in a cross. (for I was restored to my office, and he was hanged on a tree.)
14 Anon at the behest of the king, they polled Joseph (At once at the king’s command, they shaved Joseph), (and) led (him) out of the prison, and when his clothing was changed, they brought him to the king.
15 To whom the king said, I saw dreams, and none [there] is that expoundeth those things that I saw; I have heard that thou expoundest such things most prudently. (To whom the king said, I had two dreams, and there is no one who can interpret what I saw; but I have heard that thou interpretest such things most prudently.)
16 Joseph answered, Without me, God shall answer prosperities to Pharaoh. (And Joseph answered, Not I, but God himself shall answer good things to Pharaoh.)
17 Therefore Pharaoh told that that he saw; I guessed that I stood on the brink of the flood, (And so Pharaoh told him what he had dreamed, saying, I stood on the bank of the river,)
18 and seven kine, full fair, with flesh able to eating, went up from the water, which kine gathered green sedges in the pasture of the marshes; (and seven cows, sleek and with flesh good for eating, came out of the water, and they gathered green sedges in the pasture of the marshes;)
19 and lo! seven other kine, so foul and lean, followed these, that I saw never such in the land of Egypt; (and lo! seven other cows followed them, so foul and lean, that I never before had seen such as these in all the land of Egypt;)
20 and when the former kine were devoured and wasted of the lean kine, (and when the first cows, the fat ones, were devoured and destroyed by the lean cows,)
21 the lean kine gave no step, or token, of fullness, but were slow, or feeble, by like leanness and paleness. I waked, (the lean cows gave no sign of fullness, but were as feeble, and with the same leanness and paleness, as before. I awakened,)
22 and again I was oppressed by sleep, and I saw a dream (and then again I was oppressed by sleep, and again I dreamed); seven ears of corn, full and most fair, came forth on one stalk,
23 and other seven (and seven others), thin and smitten with [a] burning wind, came forth (out) of the stubble,
24 which devoured the fairness of the former; I told this dream to [the] expounders, and no man there is that expoundeth it (I told these dreams to the interpreters, but there was no one who could interpret them for me).
25 Joseph answered, The dream of the king is one (The dreams of the king be one dream); God hath showed to Pharaoh what things he shall do.
26 Seven fair kine, and seven full ears of corn, be seven years of plenty, and the same things comprehend the strength of the dream; (The seven fat and sleek cows, and the seven full ears of corn, be seven years of plenty, and they tell the same thing, and so the dreams be one dream;)
27 and [the] seven kine, thin and lean, that went up after the fair kine, and the seven thin ears of corn, and smitten with [a] burning wind, be seven years of hunger to coming, (and the seven foul and lean cows, that came out after the good cows, and the seven thin ears of corn, that be struck by a burning wind, be seven years of famine to come,)
28 which shall be fulfilled by this order. (which shall be fulfilled in this order.)
29 Lo! seven years of great plenty in all the land of Egypt shall come, (Lo! seven years of great plenty shall come in all the land of Egypt,)
30 and seven other years of so great barrenness shall follow those, that all the abundance before shall be given to forgetting; for hunger shall waste all the land, (and then seven more years of such great famine shall follow them, that all the abundance of before shall be forgotten; for the famine shall destroy all the land,)
31 and the greatness of neediness shall waste the greatness of plenty.
32 Forsooth this that thou sawest the second time (in) a dream pertaining to the same thing (For what thou sawest in a second dream pertaining to the same thing), is (a) showing of firmness, that is, (a) confirming of the first, for the word of God shall be done, and it shall be [ful]filled full swiftly.
33 Now therefore purvey the king a wise man and a ready (one), and make the king him sovereign to the land of Egypt, (And so now, let the king find a wise and able man, and make him the ruler over all the land of Egypt,)
34 which man ordain governors by all countries, and gather he into barns the fifth part of fruits by [the] seven years of plenty, that shall come now; (and that man ordain governors over all the countryside, and gather he into the barns the fifth part of the harvest of the land during the seven years of plenty that shall now come;)
35 and all the wheat be kept under the power of Pharaoh (and let all the corn, or the grain, be kept under Pharaoh’s power), and be it kept in [the] cities,
36 and be it made ready to the hunger to coming of the seven years that shall oppress Egypt, and the land be not wasted by poverty. (and have it made ready for the seven years of famine to come that shall oppress Egypt, and so the land shall not be destroyed by neediness.)
37 The counsel of Joseph pleased Pharaoh, and all his servants,
38 and he spake to them, Whether we be able to find such a man which is full of God’s spirit? (and Pharaoh said to them, Could we find any other man who is so full of God’s spirit as this man is?)
39 Therefore Pharaoh said to Joseph, For God hath showed to thee all things which thou hast spoken, whether I may find a wiser man than thou, and like to thee? (And so Pharaoh said to Joseph, For God hath shown to thee all the things which thou hast spoken, I know that I cannot find a wiser man than thou, or anyone even like thee!)
40 Therefore thou shalt be over mine house(hold), and all the people shall obey to the behest of thy mouth; I shall pass thee only by one throne of the realm (only by my throne of the kingdom shall I be greater than thee).
41 And again Pharaoh said to Joseph, Lo! I have ordained thee on all the land of Egypt. (And so Pharaoh said to Joseph, Lo! I ordain thee on all the land of Egypt.)
42 And Pharaoh took (off) the ring from his hand, and gave it in the hand of Joseph (and put it on Joseph’s finger), and he clothed Joseph with a stole of bis, or of white silk, and he put a golden wreath about his neck;
43 and Pharaoh made Joseph to go upon his second chariot (and Pharaoh had Joseph ride upon his second chariot), while a beadle cried, that all men should kneel before him, and should know that he was (the) sovereign of all the land of Egypt.
44 And the king said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, (and) without thy behest no man shall stir hand either foot in all the land of Egypt.
45 And Pharaoh turned the name of Joseph, and called him by the Egyptian language, The Saviour of the World[a] (And Pharaoh changed Joseph’s name, and called him in the Egyptian language, Zaphnathpaaneah); and he gave to Joseph a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, a priest of Heliopolis, that is, The City of the Sun. And so Joseph went out (in)to the land of Egypt.
46 Forsooth Joseph was of thirty years, when he stood in the sight of king Pharaoh, and compassed all the countries of Egypt. (And Joseph was thirty years old, when he stood before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and then went forth through all the countryside.)
47 And the plenty of [the] seven years came, and [the] ripe corns were bound into handfuls/into sheaves (and the harvest came forth in abundance),
48 and (they) were gathered into the barns of Egypt, also all the abundance of ripe corns was kept in all cities (and all the abundance of the harvest was kept in all the cities),
49 and so great abundance was of wheat (and there was such a great abundance of corn, or of grain), that it was made even to the gravel, (or the sand,) of the sea, and the plenty passed (any) measure.
50 Soothly two sons were born to Joseph before that the hunger came, which Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, a priest of Heliopolis, childed to him (bare for him).
51 And Joseph called the name of the first begotten son, Manasseh, and said, God hath made me to forget all my travails, and the house of my father; (And Joseph named his first-born son Manasseh, and said, For God hath made me forget all my travails, or all my troubles, and my father’s household, or my family;)
52 and he called the name of the second son Ephraim, and said, God hath made me to increase in the land of my poverty. (and he named his second son Ephraim, and said, For God hath made me to be fruitful in the land of my tribulation.)
53 Therefore when (the) seven years of plenty that were (to come) in Egypt were passed,
54 [the] seven years of poverty began to come, which Joseph before-said, and hunger had the mastery in all the world; also hunger was in all the land of Egypt; (the seven years of famine began, which Joseph had forecast, and the famine had the mastery in all the rest of the world; but there was still bread in all the land of Egypt;)
55 and (finally) when that land hungered, the people cried to Pharaoh, and asked (for) meats (but when the famine finally reached Egypt, the people cried to Pharaoh, and asked for food); to whom he answered, Go ye to Joseph, and do ye whatever thing he saith to you.
56 Forsooth hunger increased each day in all the land, and Joseph opened all the barns, and sold corn to the Egyptians, for also hunger oppressed them; (And the famine increased each day in all the land, and Joseph opened all the barns, and sold corn, or grain, to the Egyptians, for now the famine oppressed them too;)
57 and all [the] provinces came into Egypt to buy corns, and to abate the evil of neediness. (and so the whole world came to Egypt to buy corn, or grain, for the famine was so severe.)
Footnotes
- Genesis 41:45 In Hebrew, it is ‘showing privates’, as Jerome and Lira here say. (In Hebrew, it is ‘The one showing secrets’, or revealing mysteries, as Jerome and Nicholas of Lira say here.)
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2001 by Terence P. Noble