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Genesis 41:1-36
Legacy Standard Bible

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dream

41 Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile. 2 And behold, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and [a]fat; and they grazed in the (A)reeds. 3 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, [b]ugly and [c]thin, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. 4 And the ugly and [d]thin cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke. 5 He again fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good. 6 And behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. 7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 8 Now it happened that in the morning (B)his spirit was troubled, so he sent and called for all the [e](C)magicians of Egypt and all its (D)wise men. And Pharaoh recounted to them his dream, but (E)there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would bring to remembrance today (F)my own [f]offenses. 10 Pharaoh was (G)furious with his servants, and (H)he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker. 11 (I)And we had a dream [g]on the same night, [h]he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. 12 Now there was with us a Hebrew youth, a (J)slave of the captain of the bodyguard, and we recounted them to him, and (K)he interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream. 13 And just (L)as he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my [i]office, but he hanged him.”

14 Then Pharaoh sent and (M)called for Joseph, and they (N)rushed him out of the pit; and he shaved himself and changed his clothes, and he came to Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, (O)but no one can interpret it; yet (P)I have heard [j]it said about you, that [k]you hear a dream and that you can interpret it.” 16 Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “[l](Q)It is not in me; (R)God will [m]answer concerning the welfare of Pharaoh.” 17 So Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile; 18 and behold, seven cows, [n]fat and sleek came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. 19 And behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and lean, such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt, in regard to [o]ugliness; 20 and the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows. 21 But they [p]devoured them, and yet it could not be known that they had [q]devoured them. [r]For they were just as ugly as [s]before. Then I awoke. 22 Then I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears, full and good, came up on a single stalk; 23 and behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them; 24 and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. So (S)I told it to the [t]magicians, but there was no one who could declare it to me.”

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s [u]dreams are one and the same; (T)God has declared to Pharaoh what He is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the [v]dreams are one and the same. 27 And the seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven lean ears scorched by the east wind (U)will be seven years of famine. 28 [w]It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: (V)God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do. 29 Behold, (W)seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt; 30 and after them (X)seven years of famine will arise, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will [x]ravage the land, 31 so that the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very heavy. 32 Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that (Y)the matter is confirmed by God, and God will quickly bring it about. 33 So now let Pharaoh look for a man (Z)understanding and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh take action and appoint overseers over the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. 35 Then let them (AA)gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and let them store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and let them keep watch over it. 36 And let the food be appointed for the land for the seven years of famine which will happen in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not be cut off during the famine.”

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 41:2 Lit fat of flesh
  2. Genesis 41:3 Lit bad, so in ch
  3. Genesis 41:3 Lit lean of flesh
  4. Genesis 41:4 Lit lean of flesh
  5. Genesis 41:8 Or soothsayer priests
  6. Genesis 41:9 Or sins
  7. Genesis 41:11 Lit one night
  8. Genesis 41:11 Lit I and he
  9. Genesis 41:13 Lit place
  10. Genesis 41:15 Lit about you, saying
  11. Genesis 41:15 Lit you hear a dream to interpret it
  12. Genesis 41:16 Lit Apart from me
  13. Genesis 41:16 Lit answer the peace of Pharaoh
  14. Genesis 41:18 Lit fat of flesh
  15. Genesis 41:19 Lit badness
  16. Genesis 41:21 Lit entered their inward parts
  17. Genesis 41:21 Lit entered their inward parts
  18. Genesis 41:21 Lit And
  19. Genesis 41:21 Lit in the beginning
  20. Genesis 41:24 Or soothsayer priests
  21. Genesis 41:25 Lit dream is
  22. Genesis 41:26 Lit dream is
  23. Genesis 41:28 Lit That is the thing which I spoke
  24. Genesis 41:30 Lit destroy
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Genesis 41:1-36
Evangelical Heritage Version

Pharaoh’s Dreams

41 At the end of two full years Pharaoh also had a dream. In the dream he was standing beside the river. 2 There, right in front of him, seven beautiful, fat cows came up out of the river and were grazing in the marsh grass. 3 Just then seven ugly, thin cows came up out of the river behind them, and they stood beside the other cows on the bank of the river. 4 The ugly, thin cows ate up the seven beautiful, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

5 Pharaoh fell asleep again and dreamed a second time. He saw seven healthy, good heads of grain come up on one stalk. 6 Right after that, seven thin heads of grain, blasted by the east wind, sprang up after them. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Pharaoh woke up and realized that it was a dream. 8 The next morning he was very troubled, so he sent for all of Egypt’s magicians[a] and wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I remember my faults. 10 Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard—me and the chief baker. 11 We each had a dream during the same night—he and I. Each of us dreamed a dream that had its own interpretation. 12 There was a young man with us, a Hebrew, a servant to the captain of the guard, and we told him our dreams, and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each man he gave the interpretation of his dream. 13 It turned out exactly as he interpreted them for us. Pharaoh restored me to my office but hanged the chief baker.”

14 Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon. Joseph shaved, changed his clothing, and went to Pharaoh.

15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it.”

16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in my power. God will give Pharaoh an answer to give him peace of mind.”

17 Pharaoh spoke to Joseph: “In my dream, there I was, standing on the bank of the river. 18 Suddenly seven fat, beautiful cows came up out of the river and were grazing in the marsh grass. 19 Just then seven poor cattle, very ugly and thin, came up after them. They were uglier than any I had ever seen in the whole land of Egypt. 20 The thin, ugly cattle ate up the first seven cattle, the fat ones, 21 and when they had eaten them up, you could not even tell that they had eaten them, because they were still as ugly as they were at the beginning. Then I woke up.

22 “Later I had another dream, in which I saw seven heads of grain grow on one stalk. They were full and good. 23 Then I saw seven heads of grain spring up after them. They were withered, thin, and blasted by the east wind. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. I told the dream to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

25 Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one. God has declared to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cattle are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. It is one dream. 27 The seven thin, ugly cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted by the east wind. They will be seven years of famine. 28 This is the very thing that I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Look, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. 30 Seven years of famine will come up after them, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will consume the land, 31 and the abundance will not be remembered in the land because of the famine that follows, for it will be very severe. 32 The double dream was shown to Pharaoh, because this matter is established by God, and God will bring it to pass very soon.”

Joseph Comes to Power

33 “Let Pharaoh, therefore, look for a man who is wise and discerning, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 When Pharaoh does this, let him appoint overseers over the land to collect one fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 Let them collect all this food from these good years that are coming. Accumulate grain under the authority of Pharaoh to provide food for the cities, and let them store it. 36 The food will be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that will take place in the land of Egypt so that the land does not perish because of the famine.”

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 41:8 Or omen-readers
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Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)

Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.