Genesis 40
40
Joseph Interprets Dreams
1Then it came about after these things, that the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. 2And Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. 3So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the prison, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned. 4And the captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he #40:4 Lit ministered totook care of them; and they were in confinement for #40:4 Lit dayssome time. 5Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation. 6#40:6 Or AndWhen Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them, #40:6 Lit and beholdbehold, they were dejected. 7So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, “#40:7 Lit saying, WhyWhy are your faces so sad today?” 8And they said to him, “We have #40:8 Lit dreamedhad a dream, and there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do interpretations not belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”
9So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, #40:9 Lit and saidsaying to him, “In my dream, #40:9 Lit and beholdbehold, there was a vine in front of me; 10and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes. 11Now 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 #40:11 Lit palmhand.” 12Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; 13within three more days Pharaoh will #40:13 I.e., a royal gesture of forgivenesslift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand as in your former practice when you were his cupbearer. 14Only #40:14 Lit remember me with yourselfkeep me in mind when it goes well for you, and please do me a kindness #40:14 Lit and mentionby mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this #40:14 Lit houseprison. 15For I 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 #40:15 Or pitdungeon.”
16When 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; 17and in the top basket there were some of all #40:17 Lit food for Pharaoh made by a bakerkinds of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” 18Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; 19within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a wooden post, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”
20So it came about on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he held a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21He restored the chief cupbearer to his #40:21 Lit wine-pouringoffice, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s #40:21 Lit palmhand; 22but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
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Genesis 40
40
1-4a As time went on, it happened that the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt crossed their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the head cupbearer and the head baker, and put them in custody under the captain of the guard; it was the same jail where Joseph was held. The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to see to their needs.
4b-7 After they had been in custody for a while, the king’s cupbearer and baker, while being held in the jail, both had a dream on the same night, each dream having its own meaning. When Joseph arrived in the morning, he noticed that they were feeling low. So he asked them, the two officials of Pharaoh who had been thrown into jail with him, “What’s wrong? Why the long faces?”
8They said, “We dreamed dreams and there’s no one to interpret them.”
Joseph said, “Don’t interpretations come from God? Tell me the dreams.”
9-11First the head cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: “In my dream there was a vine in front of me with three branches on it: It budded, blossomed, and the clusters ripened into grapes. I was holding Pharaoh’s cup; I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh.”
12-15Joseph said, “Here’s the meaning. The three branches are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will get you out of here and put you back to your old work—you’ll be giving Pharaoh his cup just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me when things are going well with you again—tell Pharaoh about me and get me out of this place. I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. And since I’ve been here, I’ve done nothing to deserve being put in this hole.”
16-17When the head baker saw how well Joseph’s interpretation turned out, he spoke up: “My dream went like this: I saw three wicker baskets on my head; the top basket had assorted pastries from the bakery and birds were picking at them from the basket on my head.”
18-19Joseph said, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days; within three days Pharaoh will take off your head, impale you on a post, and the birds will pick your bones clean.”
20-22And sure enough, on the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday and he threw a feast for all his servants. He set the head cupbearer and the head baker in places of honor in the presence of all the guests. Then he restored the head cupbearer to his cupbearing post; he handed Pharaoh his cup just as before. And then he impaled the head baker on a post, following Joseph’s interpretations exactly.
23But the head cupbearer never gave Joseph another thought; he forgot all about him.
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.