Chapter 40

Joseph Interprets a Dream

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.