Loading…

Genesis 40:1–8

The Dreams of Two Prisoners

40 Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he waited on them; and they continued for some time in custody. One night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own meaning. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

Read more Explain verse



Genesis 40:1–8 — The New International Version (NIV)

Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.

After they had been in custody for some time, each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”

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

Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

Genesis 40:1–8 — English Standard Version (ESV)

Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.

And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

Genesis 40:1–8 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward. And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.

Genesis 40:1–8 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their royal master. Pharaoh became angry with these two officials, and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard. They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them.

While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning. When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset. “Why do you look so worried today?” he asked them.

And they replied, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.”

“Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.”

Genesis 40:1–8 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while.

Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation. And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”

And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.”

So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”

Genesis 40:1–8 — New Century Version (NCV)

After these things happened, two of the king’s officers displeased the king—the man who served wine to the king and the king’s baker. The king became angry with his officer who served him wine and his baker, so he put them in the prison of the captain of the guard, the same prison where Joseph was kept. The captain of the guard put the two prisoners in Joseph’s care, and they stayed in prison for some time.

One night both the king’s officer who served him wine and the baker had a dream. Each had his own dream with its own meaning. When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw they were worried. He asked the king’s officers who were with him, “Why do you look so unhappy today?”

The two men answered, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can explain their meaning to us.”

Joseph said to them, “God is the only One who can explain the meaning of dreams. Tell me your dreams.”

Genesis 40:1–8 — American Standard Version (ASV)

And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was wroth against his two officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he ministered unto them: and they continued a season in ward. And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream, in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and saw them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in ward in his master’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sad to-day? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell it me, I pray you.

Genesis 40:1–8 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

And it came to pass after these things, that the cup-bearer of the king of Egypt and the baker offended their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was wroth with his two chamberlains—with the chief of the cup-bearers and with the chief of the bakers; and he put them in custody into the house of the captain of the life-guard, into the tower-house, into the place where Joseph was imprisoned. And the captain of the life-guard appointed Joseph to them, that he should attend on them. And they were several days in custody.

And they dreamed a dream, both of them in one night, each his dream, each according to the interpretation of his dream, the cup-bearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were imprisoned in the tower-house. And Joseph came in to them in the morning, and looked on them, and behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh’s chamberlains that were with him in custody in his lord’s house, saying, Why are your faces so sad to-day? And they said to him, We have dreamt a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me your dreams, I pray you.

Genesis 40:1–8 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Later the king’s cupbearerand his baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his chief cupbearer and his chief baker. He put them in the prison of the captain of the guard, the same place where Joseph was a prisoner. The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he took care of them. 

After they had been confined for some time, both prisoners—the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt—had dreams one night. Each man had a dream with its own special meaning. 

When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were upset. So he asked these officials of Pharaoh who were with him in his master’s prison, “Why do you look so unhappy today?” 

“We both had dreams,” they answered him, “but there’s no one to tell us what they mean.” 

“Isn’t God the only one who can tell what they mean?” Joseph asked them. “Why don’t you tell me all about them.” 

Genesis 40:1–8 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

After this, the Egyptian king’s cupbearer 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 guard in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to them, and he became their personal attendant. And they were in custody for some time.

The Egyptian king’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?”

“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.”

Genesis 40:1–8 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

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 commander of the guard, into the prison where Joseph was confined. And the commander of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. And they were in custody many days. And the two of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, dreamed a dream one night, 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.”

Genesis 40:1–8 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Some time later, the Egyptian king’s baker and wine taster did something their master didn’t like.

So Pharaoh became angry with his two officials, the chief wine taster and the chief baker. He put them in prison in the house of the captain of the palace guard. It was the same prison where Joseph was kept.

The captain put Joseph in charge of those men. So Joseph took care of them.

Some time passed while they were in prison. Then each of the two men had a dream. The men were the Egyptian king’s baker and wine taster. They were being held in prison. Both of them had dreams the same night. Each of their dreams had its own meaning.

Joseph came to them the next morning. He saw that they were sad. They were Pharaoh’s officials, and they were in prison with Joseph in his master’s house. So he asked them, “Why do you look so sad today?”

“We both had dreams,” they answered. “But no one can tell us what they mean.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Only God knows what dreams mean. Tell me your dreams.”

Genesis 40:1–8 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

Then it came about after these things, the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt.

Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.

So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the jail, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned.

The captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he took care of them; and they were in confinement for some time.

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.

When Joseph came to them in the morning and observed them, behold, they were dejected.

He asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?”

Then they said to him, “We have had a dream and there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”


A service of Logos Bible Software