Genesis 39–50
1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him 1from the aIshmaelites, who had taken him down there.
2 aThe Lord was with Joseph, so he became a 1successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.
3 Now his master asaw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord bcaused all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4 So Joseph afound favor in his sight and 1became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and ball that he owned he put in his 2charge.
5 It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the Lord ablessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus bthe Lord’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field.
6 So he left everything he owned in Joseph’s 1charge; and with him there he did not 2concern himself with anything except the 3food which he 4ate.
Now Joseph was ahandsome in form and appearance.
7 It came about after these events athat his master’s wife 1looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, “bLie with me.”
8 But ahe refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, my master 1does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my 2charge.
9 “1aThere is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and bsin against God?”
10 As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her.
11 Now it happened 1one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside.
12 She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.
13 1When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside,
14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought in a 1Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I 2screamed.
15 “When he heard that I raised my voice and 1screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.”
16 So she 1left his garment beside her until his master came home.
17 Then she aspoke to him 1with these words, “2The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me;
18 and as I raised my voice and 1screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”
19 Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “1This is what your slave did to me,” ahis anger burned.
20 So Joseph’s master took him and aput him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail.
21 But athe Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and bgave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.
22 The chief jailer acommitted to Joseph’s 1charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was 2responsible for it.
23 aThe chief jailer did not supervise anything under 1Joseph’s charge because bthe Lord was with him; and whatever he did, cthe Lord made to prosper.
1 Then it came about after these things, athe cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt.
2 Pharaoh was afurious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.
3 So he put them in confinement in the house of the acaptain of the bodyguard, in the jail, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned.
4 The captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he 1took care of them; and they were in confinement for 2some time.
5 Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in jail, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation.
6 1When Joseph came to them in the morning and observed them, 2behold, they were dejected.
7 He asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, “1aWhy are your faces so sad today?”
8 Then they said to him, “aWe have 1had a dream and there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “bDo not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream, 1behold, there was a vine in front of me;
10 and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes.
11 “Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s 1hand.”
12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is the ainterpretation of it: the three branches are three days;
13 within three more days Pharaoh will 1lift up your head and restore you to your 2office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer.
14 “Only 1keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please ado me a kindness 2by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house.
15 “For aI was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the 1dungeon.”
16 When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head;
17 and in the top basket there were some of all 1sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
18 Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;
19 within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”
20 Thus it came about on the third day, which was aPharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; band he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.
21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his 1office, and ahe put the cup into Pharaoh’s 2hand;
22 but ahe hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but aforgot him.
1 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 lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and 1fat; and they grazed in the amarsh grass.
3 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and 1gaunt, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.
4 The ugly and 1gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.
5 He fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good.
6 Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them.
7 The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.
8 Now in the morning ahis spirit was troubled, so he sent and called for all the 1bmagicians of Egypt, and all its cwise men. And Pharaoh told them his 2dreams, but dthere was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would make mention today of amy own 1offenses.
10 “Pharaoh was afurious with his servants, and bhe put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker.
11 “aWe had a dream 1on the same night, 2he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.
12 “Now a Hebrew youth was with us there, a aservant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we related them to him, and bhe interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream.
13 “And just aas he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my 1office, but he hanged him.”
14 Then Pharaoh sent and acalled for Joseph, and they bhurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh.
15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, abut no one can interpret it; and bI have heard 1it said about you, that 2when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
16 Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “1aIt is not in me; bGod will 2give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”
17 So Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile;
18 and behold, seven cows, 1fat and sleek came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass.
19 “Lo, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and 1gaunt, such as I had never seen for 2ugliness in all the land of Egypt;
20 and the lean and 1ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows.
21 “Yet when they had 1devoured them, it could not be 2detected that they had 1devoured them, 3for they were just as ugly as 4before. Then I awoke.
22 “I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears, full and good, came up on a single stalk;
23 and lo, seven ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them;
24 and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. Then aI told it to the 1magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”
25 Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s 1dreams are one and the same; aGod has told 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 1dreams are one and the same.
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 awill be seven years of famine.
28 “1It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: aGod has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do.
29 “Behold, aseven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt;
30 and after them aseven years of famine will 1come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will 2ravage the land.