Genesis 40
40
Joseph Interprets the Prisoners' Dreams
1Some time later the king of Egypt's wine steward and his chief baker offended the king. 2He was angry with these two officials 3and put them in prison in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same place where Joseph was being kept. 4They spent a long time in prison, and the captain assigned Joseph as their servant.
5One night there in prison the wine steward and the chief baker each had a dream, and the dreams had different meanings. 6When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were upset. 7He asked them, “Why do you look so worried today?”
8They answered, “Each of us had a dream, and there is no one here to explain what the dreams mean.”
“It is God who gives the ability to interpret dreams,” Joseph said. “Tell me your dreams.”
9So the wine steward said, “In my dream there was a grapevine in front of me 10with three branches on it. As soon as the leaves came out, the blossoms appeared, and the grapes ripened. 11I was holding the king's cup; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into the cup and gave it to him.”
12Joseph said, “This is what it means: the three branches are three days. 13In three days the king will release you, pardon you, and restore you to your position. You will give him his cup as you did before when you were his wine steward. 14But please remember me when everything is going well for you, and please be kind enough to mention me to the king and help me get out of this prison. 15After all, I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here in Egypt I didn't do anything to deserve being put in prison.”
16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the wine steward's dream was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I had a dream too; I was carrying three breadbaskets on my head. 17In the top basket there were all kinds of baked goods for the king, and the birds were eating them.”
18Joseph answered, “This is what it means: the three baskets are three days. 19In three days the king will release you—and have your head cut off! Then he will hang your body on a pole, and the birds will eat your flesh.”
20On his birthday three days later the king gave a banquet for all his officials; he released his wine steward and his chief baker and brought them before his officials. 21He restored the wine steward to his former position, 22but he executed the chief baker. It all happened just as Joseph had said. 23But the wine steward never gave Joseph another thought—he forgot all about him.
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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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