New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

1Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River.

1Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.

2In his dream he saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass.

2And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass.

3Then he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile, but these were scrawny and thin. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank.

3Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and gaunt, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.

4Then the scrawny, thin cows ate the seven healthy, fat cows! At this point in the dream, Pharaoh woke up.

4The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.

5But he fell asleep again and had a second dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain, plump and beautiful, growing on a single stalk.

5He fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good.

6Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were shriveled and withered by the east wind.

6Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them.

7And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream.

7The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.

8The next morning Pharaoh was very disturbed by the dreams. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. When Pharaoh told them his dreams, not one of them could tell him what they meant.

8Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

9Finally, the king’s chief cup-bearer spoke up. “Today I have been reminded of my failure,” he told Pharaoh.

9Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, "I would make mention today of my own offenses.

10“Some time ago, you were angry with the chief baker and me, and you imprisoned us in the palace of the captain of the guard.

10"Pharaoh was furious with his servants, and he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker.

11One night the chief baker and I each had a dream, and each dream had its own meaning.

11"We had a dream on the same night, he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.

12There was a young Hebrew man with us in the prison who was a slave of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he told us what each of our dreams meant.

12"Now a Hebrew youth was with us there, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we related them to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream.

13And everything happened just as he had predicted. I was restored to my position as cup-bearer, and the chief baker was executed and impaled on a pole.”

13"And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my office, but he hanged him."

14Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh.

14Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh.

15Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means. But I have heard that when you hear about a dream you can interpret it.”

15Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."

16“It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”

16Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."

17So Pharaoh told Joseph his dream. “In my dream,” he said, “I was standing on the bank of the Nile River,

17So Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile;

18and I saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass.

18and behold, seven cows, fat and sleek came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass.

19But then I saw seven sick-looking cows, scrawny and thin, come up after them. I’ve never seen such sorry-looking animals in all the land of Egypt.

19"Lo, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such as I had never seen for ugliness in all the land of Egypt;

20These thin, scrawny cows ate the seven fat cows.

20and the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows.

21But afterward you wouldn’t have known it, for they were still as thin and scrawny as before! Then I woke up.

21"Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had devoured them, for they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke.

22“In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, full and beautiful, growing on a single stalk.

22"I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears, full and good, came up on a single stalk;

23Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were blighted, shriveled, and withered by the east wind.

23and lo, seven ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them;

24And the shriveled heads swallowed the seven healthy heads. I told these dreams to the magicians, but no one could tell me what they mean.”

24and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. Then I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me."

25Joseph responded, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God is telling Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do.

25Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, "Pharaoh's dreams are one and the same; God has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do.

26The seven healthy cows and the seven healthy heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity.

26"The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one and the same.

27The seven thin, scrawny cows that came up later and the seven thin heads of grain, withered by the east wind, represent seven years of famine.

27"The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind will be seven years of famine.

28“This will happen just as I have described it, for God has revealed to Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do.

28"It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do.

29The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout the land of Egypt.

29"Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt;

30But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten in Egypt. Famine will destroy the land.

30and after them seven years of famine will come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ravage the land.

31This famine will be so severe that even the memory of the good years will be erased.

31"So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe.

32As for having two similar dreams, it means that these events have been decreed by God, and he will soon make them happen.

32"Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about.

33“Therefore, Pharaoh should find an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt.

33"Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.

34Then Pharaoh should appoint supervisors over the land and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years.

34"Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance.

35Have them gather all the food produced in the good years that are just ahead and bring it to Pharaoh’s storehouses. Store it away, and guard it so there will be food in the cities.

35"Then let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh's authority, and let them guard it.

36That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come to the land of Egypt. Otherwise this famine will destroy the land.” Joseph Made Ruler of Egypt

36"Let the food become as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish during the famine."

37Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials.

37Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.

38So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?”

38Then Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?"

39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are.

39So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are.

40You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”

40"You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you."

41Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.”

41Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt."

42Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck.

42Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck.

43Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt.

43He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, "Bow the knee!" And he set him over all the land of Egypt.

44And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.”

44Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt."

45Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah. He also gave him a wife, whose name was Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. So Joseph took charge of the entire land of Egypt.

45Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt.

46He was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And when Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, he inspected the entire land of Egypt.

46Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.

47As predicted, for seven years the land produced bumper crops.

47During the seven years of plenty the land brought forth abundantly.

48During those years, Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the cities.

48So he gathered all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and placed the food in the cities; he placed in every city the food from its own surrounding fields.

49He piled up huge amounts of grain like sand on the seashore. Finally, he stopped keeping records because there was too much to measure.

49Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.

50During this time, before the first of the famine years, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.

50Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him.

51Joseph named his older son Manasseh, for he said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.”

51Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household."

52Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”

52He named the second Ephraim, "For," he said, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."

53At last the seven years of bumper crops throughout the land of Egypt came to an end.

53When the seven years of plenty which had been in the land of Egypt came to an end,

54Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. The famine also struck all the surrounding countries, but throughout Egypt there was plenty of food.

54and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

55Eventually, however, the famine spread throughout the land of Egypt as well. And when the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told them, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.”

55So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do."

56So with severe famine everywhere, Joseph opened up the storehouses and distributed grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt.

56When the famine was spread over all the face of the earth, then Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

57And people from all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe throughout the world.

57The people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org