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Joseph Interprets Dreams in Prison

40 And it happened that after these things the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker did wrong against their lord, against the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, with the chief cupbearer and chief baker. And he put them in custody in the house of the chief of the guard, into the prison where Joseph was confined. And the chief of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. And they were in custody many days.[a] And the two of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, dreamed a dream, each his own dream, with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning he looked at them, and behold, they were troubled. And he asked the court officials of Pharaoh that were with him in the custody of his master’s house, “Why are your faces sad today?” And they said to him, “We each dreamed a dream, but there is no one to interpret it.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.” Then the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and he said to him, “In my dream, now behold, there was a vine before me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. And as it budded, its blossoms came up, and its clusters of grapes grew ripe. 11 And the cup of Pharaoh was in my hand, and I took the grapes and squeezed them into the cup of Pharaoh. Then I placed the cup into the hand of Pharaoh.” 12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: The three branches, they are three days. 13 In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and will restore you to your office. And you shall put the cup of Pharaoh into his hand as was formerly the custom, when you were his cupbearer. 14 But remember me when it goes well with you, and please may you show kindness with respect to me, and mention me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. 15 For I was surely kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me in this pit.” 16 And when the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good he said to Joseph, “I also dreamed. In my dream, now behold, there were three baskets of bread upon my head. 17 And in the upper basket were all sorts of baked foods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket upon my head.” 18 Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: The three baskets, they are three days. 19 In three days Pharaoh will lift your head from you and hang you on a pole,[b] and the birds will eat your flesh from you.” 20 And it happened that on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants. And he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants. 21 And he restored the chief cupbearer to his cupbearing position. And he placed the cup in the hand of Pharaoh. 22 But the chief baker he hanged as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 40:4 Literally “days”
  2. Genesis 40:19 Or “tree”

Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners’ Dreams

40 After this, the king of Egypt’s cupbearer(A) and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guards(B) in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guards assigned Joseph to them as their personal attendant, and they were in custody for some time.[a]

The king of Egypt’s cupbearer and baker, who were confined in the prison, each had a dream. Both had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they looked distraught. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?” (C)

“We had dreams,” they said to him, “but there is no one to interpret them.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”(D)

So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: “In my dream there was a vine in front of me. 10 On the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out 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 placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

12 “This is its interpretation,”(E) Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. 13 In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head(F) and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand the way you used to when you were his cupbearer. 14 But when all goes well for you, remember that I was with you. Please show kindness to me by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. 15 For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews,(G) and even here I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon.”[b](H)

16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was positive, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream. Three baskets of white bread were on my head. 17 In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18 “This is its interpretation,” Joseph replied. “The three baskets are three days. 19 In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from off you—and hang you on a tree.[c] Then the birds will eat the flesh from your body.”[d]

20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he gave a feast for all his servants. He elevated[e] the chief cupbearer and the chief baker among his servants.(I) 21 Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position as cupbearer, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22 But Pharaoh hanged[f] the chief baker, just as Joseph had explained to them. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.(J)

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Footnotes

  1. 40:4 Lit custody days
  2. 40:15 Or pit, or cistern
  3. 40:19 Or and impale you on a pole
  4. 40:19 Lit eat your flesh from upon you
  5. 40:20 Lit He lifted up the head of
  6. 40:22 Or impaled