Genesis 41

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dream

1And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river. 2And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well-favored kine and fat-fleshed; and they fed in a meadow. 3And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed; and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river. 4And the ill-favored and lean-fleshed kine did eat up the seven well-favored and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. 5And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. 6And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. 7And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. 8And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

9Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: 10Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker: 11and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. 12And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. 13And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.

14Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. 15And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. 16And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. 17And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: 18and, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat-fleshed and well-favored; and they fed in a meadow: 19and, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness: 20and the lean and the ill-favored kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: 21and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill-favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke. 22And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good: 23and, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: 24and the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.

25And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath showed Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. 27And the seven thin and ill-favored kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine. 28This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he showeth unto Pharaoh. 29Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: 30and there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; 31and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous. 32And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. 33Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. 35And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. 36And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.

Joseph Made Ruler over Egypt

37And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. 38And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? 39And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: 40#Acts 7.10. thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. 41And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. 42And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; 43and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. 44And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. 45And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaph´nath–paane´ah; and he gave him to wife As´enath the daughter of Potiphe´rah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

46And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. 48And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. 49And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.

50And unto Joseph were born two sons, before the years of famine came: which As´enath the daughter of Potiphe´rah priest of On bare unto him. 51And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manas´seh:#41.51 That is, Forgetting. For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. 52And the name of the second called he E´phra-im:#41.52 That is, Fruitful. For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

53And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended. 54#Acts 7.11. And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55#John 2.5. And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. 56And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. 57And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.

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Genesis 41: KJVAE

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Genesis 41

Pharaoh had 2 dreams

12 years later, Pharaoh, the big boss of Egypt, he had a dream. In his dream, he stood next to the Nile River, 2and he saw 7 cows coming up from the river. Those 7 cows were good-looking and fat, and they started to eat the long grass that was beside the river. 3After that, another 7 cows came up from the river. Those other 7 cows were ugly and skinny, and they stood beside the river next to the 7 fat cows. 4Then those 7 ugly, skinny cows, they ate the 7 good-looking, fat cows. That was the end of Pharaoh’s dream, and he woke up.

5Then Pharaoh went to sleep again, and he had another dream. In his dream, he saw a plant that grows seeds for food, called wheat. That wheat plant had 1 stick part, and on top were 7 groups of wheat seeds growing on it. Each group had lots of good big seeds. 6After that, another 7 groups of seeds started to grow. But they were small and dry, because a hot dry wind blew on them. 7Then those 7 groups of small dry seeds, they ate the 7 groups of good big seeds, like a person eats food. That was the end of Pharaoh’s dream, and he thought it was real. Then he woke up, and he knew that it was a dream.

8The next morning, Pharaoh felt very worried, because he didn’t know what those 2 dreams meant. So he said to some of his workers, “You know, there are some men here in Egypt country that can do magic, and there are some other men that are really wise. Go and get all those men, and bring them here. I want somebody to tell me what my dreams mean.”#Daniel 2:2

So Pharaoh’s workers went and got all those men, and they brought them to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh told them about those 2 dreams that he had. But none of those men understood what the dreams meant.

9Pharaoh’s wine-boss was there, and he remembered that time when he had a dream in the jail, and he remembered that Joseph told him what his dream meant. So that wine-boss said to Pharaoh, “Sir, now I remember a time that I did the wrong thing. 10You know, some time ago, you got really angry with me and your bread-boss. You put us in jail, and your most important soldier guarded us. 11Then one night, me and that bread-boss, we both had dreams. We knew that those dreams showed things that will happen later on, but we didn’t know what they meant. 12But there was a young man with us in the jail. He was from the Hebrew tribe, and he worked for that important soldier, the one that guarded us. We told that young man about our dreams, and he told us what they meant. He said to me, ‘Your dream shows that Pharaoh will get you to work for him again.’ And he said to the bread-boss, ‘Your dream shows that Pharaoh will get his soldiers to kill you.’ 13And everything happened just like that young man said. Soon after that, you got me to work for you again. But you got your soldiers to kill the bread-boss and hang his body on a pole.”

Joseph told Pharaoh what his dreams meant

14Then Pharaoh sent some of his workers to go and get Joseph. Those workers quickly went and took Joseph out of the jail. Then Joseph got ready to go and see Pharaoh. He cut his hair, and he shaved his beard, and he put on clean clothes. Then he went and stood in front of Pharaoh.

15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and nobody can tell me what it means. But somebody told me that you can understand dreams. They said that if somebody tells you about their dream, you can say what it means.”

16Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Sir, I can’t do that by myself. God is the one that lets me understand people’s dreams. He will show me what your dream means, and it will be good for you to hear it.”

17So Pharaoh told Joseph about his dream. He said, “In my dream, I stood next to the Nile River. 18Then 7 cows came up from the river. Those 7 cows were good-looking and fat, and they started to eat the long grass that was beside the river. 19After that, another 7 cows came up from the river. Those other cows looked really weak and sick, and they were very ugly and skinny. They were more ugly and skinny than any cows I saw in Egypt country. 20Then those 7 ugly, skinny cows, they ate those 7 good-looking, fat cows, those ones that came up first from the river. 21But after that, those ugly, skinny cows looked just the same as before. They were still very ugly and skinny, even though they ate those fat cows. That was the end of my dream, and I woke up.”

22Then Pharaoh said, “I went to sleep again, and I had another dream. In my dream, I saw a wheat plant. That wheat plant had 1 stick part with 7 groups of wheat seeds growing on top, and they had lots of good big seeds. 23After that, another 7 groups of seeds started to grow. They were small and dry, because a hot dry wind blew on them. 24Then those 7 groups of small dry seeds, they ate the 7 groups of good big seeds, like a person eats food. That was the end of my dream.”

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I talked to the men that can do magic, and I told them about those dreams that I had. But they don’t know what my dreams mean.”

25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Sir, both those dreams mean the same thing. God gave you those dreams to show you what he is going to do next.”

26Then Joseph told Pharaoh what those dreams meant. First Joseph said, “Those 7 good-looking, fat cows that you saw in your dream, they are like a picture of 7 good years. And those 7 groups of good big seeds on the wheat plant, they are like a picture of 7 good years too. Both those dreams mean the same thing.”

27Then Joseph said, “And you know those 7 ugly, skinny cows, those ones that came up from the river later on, they are like a picture of 7 dry years with no rain and no food plants growing. And you know those 7 small groups of seeds on the wheat plant. They were dry, because a hot dry wind blew on them. Well, they are like a picture of those 7 dry years too.”

28Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Sir, God gave you those dreams to show you what he is going to do next, just like I said. 29For 7 years, there will be lots and lots of food everywhere in Egypt country. 30But after that, there will be 7 dry years. There will be no rain and no food plants growing anywhere in Egypt. Those dry years will be bad for the whole country. All the people in Egypt, they will forget about that time when there was lots and lots of food. 31Those dry years will be so bad, it will be just like those 7 good years never happened. 32Sir, God is going to make those things happen, for sure. And he’s going to make them happen soon. That’s the reason why he gave you 2 dreams about them.”

33Then Joseph said, “Sir, now I will tell you what you have to do. You have to pick a man that is really wise and thinks properly. And you have to put that man in charge of Egypt country. 34-35Then you have to pick some other men to work for him. And those men have to go all over Egypt country, and they have to gather up food from all the farms. Every time the farmers have food plants with seeds that are ready to make flour, those workers have to say to the farmers, ‘This is what Pharaoh says you have to do. Split up that food into 5 piles, and give one pile to us.’ Then those workers have to put that food in big sheds in the towns, and they have to look after it. They have to keep on doing that for 7 years, while there is lots and lots of food in Egypt country. 36At the end of those 7 good years, there will be 7 dry years. There will be no rain, and no food plants will grow in Egypt country. But all the people in Egypt country, they can eat the food that is in those sheds, and they can keep on doing that for those 7 dry years, so that they will not die.”

Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of Egypt country

37Pharaoh and all his workers listened to Joseph, and they all liked Joseph’s idea. 38And Pharaoh said to his workers, “Now I know that this man has God’s spirit in him. There isn’t anybody else like him.”

39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “God showed you what is going to happen, and he told you what to do. So I know that you are more wise than everybody else. You really know how to think properly. 40So now I will make you my most important worker, and all the people in Egypt will have to do what you say. I will be the only one that is more important than you, because I am the big boss.”#Acts 7:10

41After Pharaoh said those things, he said to Joseph, “Now I’m putting you in charge of all of Egypt country.”

42Pharaoh was wearing a ring with a special mark on it. That ring showed that Pharaoh was the big boss. So Pharaoh took off that special ring, and he put it on Joseph’s finger, to show that Joseph was in charge. And Pharaoh gave Joseph some new clothes to wear. Those clothes were made out of a really good cloth, called linen. And Pharaoh put a gold necklace around Joseph’s neck.#Daniel 5:29 43Then Pharaoh got a special trailer with horses pulling it, and he got Joseph to ride in that special trailer to show that he was the 2nd boss over Egypt country. Pharaoh’s soldiers went with Joseph, and they shouted out to all the people, “Joseph is coming. Show him respect.”

In that way, Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all of Egypt country.

44Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am the big boss, and you are my most important worker. If anybody in Egypt country wants to do something, they have to ask you first, and you can say yes or no.”

45-46Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a name in the Egypt language. That name was Zafenath-Pania. Pharaoh also gave Joseph a woman to marry. That woman’s name was Asenath, and her father’s name was Potifera. He was a ceremony leader for the Egypt people, at the town called Onn.

That’s the story about how Joseph became Pharaoh’s most important worker, and he started to be in charge of Egypt country. At that time, Joseph was 30 years old. Then Joseph left Pharaoh’s house, and he went all around Egypt country.

Joseph got the Egypt people to put food in sheds

47The next 7 years were really good years in Egypt country, because lots and lots of food grew on the land. 48So for those 7 years, Joseph told the Egypt people to get food from the farms and take it into the towns. And the people did what Joseph said. Everywhere in Egypt country, the people got food from the farms, and they took that food into the towns that were near the farms. Then they put that food into big sheds, to keep it safe. 49There was so much food in those sheds that nobody could count it, just like nobody can count all those little bits of sand that are at the beaches by the sea.

Joseph had 2 sons

50Joseph’s wife was called Asenath, and her father’s name was Potifera. He was a ceremony leader for the Egypt people, at the town called Onn.

Joseph and Asenath had 2 sons. Both those sons were born at the time when there was still lots of food growing in Egypt country.

51Joseph named his 1st son Manasseh. That name means he let me forget. Joseph said, “You see, God was good to me. He let me forget about all that trouble I had, and he even let me forget that I miss my family.”

52Joseph named his 2nd son Ephraim. That name means he let me have kids. Joseph said, “You see, God was good to me. He let me have kids in this country, even though I had lots of trouble here.”

There was no rain and no food plants

53For those 7 years, lots and lots of food plants grew in Egypt country. But at the end of those 7 good years, the rain stopped coming. 54Then the 7 dry years started. There was no rain, and the food plants stopped growing. It happened just like Joseph said.#Acts 7:11

The same thing happened in all the other countries around Egypt too. There was no rain and no food plants growing in those countries, so the people in those countries didn’t have enough food. But there was still lots of food in those big sheds in Egypt.

55-56This is what happened in Egypt country at the time when the rain stopped coming. It got dry all over Egypt country, and the food plants everywhere stopped growing. It got really bad, and all the Egypt people started to get hungry. So they went to Pharaoh, and they said to him, “Please, please give us food.”

Then Pharaoh said to all the Egypt people, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.”#John 2:5

So they went to Joseph, and they asked him for food. Then Joseph got his workers to go to all the towns in Egypt country and open those big sheds. There was lots of food in those sheds from the 7 good years. So Joseph’s workers started to sell that food to the Egypt people.

57And there was no rain in other countries too. It was really bad everywhere. So the people that lived in those other countries, they went to Egypt, and they bought food from Joseph’s workers too.

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