Genesis 41:14–36

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they quickly brought him from the dungeon. ^dHe shaved, changed his clothes, and went to Pharaoh. ^e

¹⁵Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said about you that you can hear a dream and interpret it.” ^f

¹⁶“I am not able to,” ^gJoseph answered Pharaoh. “It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” ^hi

¹⁷So Pharaoh said to Joseph: “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, ¹⁸when seven well-fed, healthy-looking cows came up from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds. ¹⁹After them, seven other cows—ugly, very sickly, and thin—came up. I’ve never seen such ugly ones as these in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰Then the thin, ugly cows ate the first seven well-fed cows. ²¹When they had devoured them, you could not tell that they had devoured them; their appearance was as bad as it had been before. Then I woke up. ²²In my dream I had also seen seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, coming up on one stalk. ²³After them, seven heads of grain—withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind—sprouted up. ²⁴The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven plump ones. I told this to the magicians, but no one can tell me what it means.” ^j

²⁵Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do. ^k26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads are seven years. The dreams mean the same thing. ²⁷The seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven worthless, scorched heads of grain are seven years of famine. ^l

²⁸“It is just as I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁹Seven ^myears of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt. ³⁰After them, seven years of famine will take place, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will devastate the land. ⁿ³¹The abundance in the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows it, for the famine will be very severe. ³²Since the dream was given twice to Pharaoh, it means that the matter has been determined by God, and He will carry it out soon.

³³“So now, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴Let Pharaoh do this: Let him appoint overseers over the land and take a fifth of the harvest of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. ³⁵Let them gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. Under Pharaoh’s authority, store the grain in the cities, so they may preserve it as food. ³⁶The food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine that will take place in the land of Egypt. Then the country will not be wiped out by the famine.”