Genesis 40
40
Joseph Tells the Meaning of the Prisoners' Dreams
1-3While Joseph was in prison, both the king's#40.1-3 the king's: See the note at 12.15. personal servant#40.1-3 personal servant: The Hebrew text has “cup bearer,” an important and trusted official in the royal court, who personally served wine to the king. and his chief cook made the king angry. So he had them thrown into the same prison with Joseph. 4They spent a long time in prison, and the official in charge of the palace guard,#40.4 the palace guard: Possibly Potiphar (see 39.1). made Joseph their servant.
5One night each of the two men had a dream, but their dreams had different meanings. 6The next morning, when Joseph went to see the men, he could tell they were upset, 7and he asked, “Why are you so worried today?”
8“We each had a dream last night,” they answered, “and there is no one to tell us what they mean.”
Joseph replied, “Doesn't God know the meaning of dreams? Now tell me what you dreamed.”
9The king's personal servant told Joseph, “In my dream I saw a vine 10with three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its grapes became ripe. 11I held the king's cup and squeezed the grapes into it, then I gave the cup to the king.”
12Joseph said:
This is the meaning of your dream. The three branches stand for three days, 13and in three days the king will pardon you. He will make you his personal servant again, and you will serve him his wine, just as you used to do. 14But when these good things happen, please don't forget to tell the king about me, so I can get out of this place. 15I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here in Egypt I haven't done anything to deserve being thrown in jail.
16When the chief cook saw that Joseph had given a good meaning to the dream, he told Joseph, “I also had a dream. In it I was carrying three breadbaskets stacked on top of my head. 17The top basket was full of all kinds of baked things for the king, but birds were eating them.”
18Joseph said:
This is the meaning of your dream. The three baskets are three days, 19#3 Macc 6.34. and in three days the king will cut off your head. He will hang your body on a pole, and birds will come and peck at it.
20Three days later, while the king was celebrating his birthday with a dinner for his officials, he sent for his personal servant and the chief cook. 21He put the personal servant back in his old job 22and had the cook put to death.
Everything happened just as Joseph had said it would, 23but the king's personal servant completely forgot about Joseph.
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
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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