Genesis 40
40
1Some time after this, the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt. 2And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker, 3and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. 4The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he waited on them; and they continued for some time in custody. 5And one night they both dreamed—the butler 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. 6When Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them, they were troubled. 7So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” 8They 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? Tell them to me, I pray you.”
9So the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, 10and on the vine there were three branches; as soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. 11Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.” 12Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days; 13within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his butler. 14But remember me, when it is well with you, and do me the kindness, I pray you, to make mention of me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. 15For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.”
16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, 17and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” 18And Joseph answered, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; 19within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat the flesh from you.”
20On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants, and lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21He restored the chief butler to his butlership, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand; 22but he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Genesis 40
40
Chapter 40
Joseph tells two people what their dreams mean
1Some time later, two of the king's officers made him angry. One of them was the king's cupbearer. #40:1 The cupbearer had authority in the king's house. He would make sure that the king's wine was safe for the king to drink. The other was the king's baker.
2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, both the cupbearer and the baker. 3Pharaoh put them in the same prison that Joseph was in. That was in the house of the captain of the king's guards. 4They were in the prison for a long time. The captain of the guards made Joseph their servant, to help them. 5One night, both of the king's officers had a dream. Each dream had its own meaning.
6When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were upset. 7So Joseph asked the two officers, ‘What are you sad about?’ 8They replied, ‘We both had dreams last night, but there is nobody to tell us what they mean.’ Joseph said, ‘Only God can tell you the meaning of dreams. Tell your dreams to me.’
9So the king's cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said, ‘In my dream I saw a vine in front of me. 10There were three branches on it. New leaves came on the branches, and then flowers came. After that, there were grapes which became ripe. 11Pharaoh's cup was in my hand. I took the grapes and I squeezed them. Then I put the juice into the cup and I gave the cup to Pharaoh.’
12Joseph said, ‘This is what your dream means. The three branches tell us about three days. 13In three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head and he will make you his officer again. #40:13 ‘lift up your head’ means ‘you will be important again’. You will put Pharaoh's cup into his hand, as you did before. 14But when these good things happen to you, remember to be kind to me. Tell Pharaoh about me so that I will get out of this prison. 15Men took hold of me in the land of the Hebrews and they brought me here. Even here, I have not done anything wrong. I should not be in this prison.’
16The king's baker heard what Joseph had said to the cupbearer. He realized that the meaning of the cupbearer's dream was good. So he said to Joseph, ‘This was my dream: I had three baskets of bread on my head. 17The top basket contained many different kinds of bread for Pharaoh. But birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.’
18Joseph said, ‘This is what your dream means. The three baskets tell us about three days. 19In three days, Pharaoh will lift off your head. He will hang you on a tree. Then birds will eat the meat off your body.’
20Three days later, it was Pharaoh's birthday. He gave a feast for all his officers. He lifted up the head of the cupbearer and he lifted off the head of the baker! He brought them both out of the prison so that all his officers could see.
21Pharaoh caused the cupbearer to be his own cupbearer again. As a result, the cupbearer put Pharaoh's cup into his hand again, as he did before. 22But Pharaoh hanged the baker to kill him.
So it all happened in the way that Joseph said it would happen. 23But the cupbearer did not think about Joseph at all. He completely forgot about him.
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