Genesis 41-42

New King James Version

Pharaoh’s Dreams

41 Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that ^(A)Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river. ² Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. ³ Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. ⁴ And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke. ⁵ He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good. ⁶ Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the ^(B)east wind, sprang up after them. ⁷ And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream. ⁸ Now it came to pass in the morning ^(C)that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all ^(D)the magicians of Egypt and all its ^(E)wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

⁹ Then the ^(F)chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day. ¹⁰ When Pharaoh was ^(G)angry with his servants, ^(H)and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, ^11 (I)we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. ¹² Now there was a young ^(J)Hebrew man with us there, a ^(K)servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he ^(L)interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream. ¹³ And it came to pass, just ^(M)as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”

^14 (N)Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they ^(O)brought him quickly ^(P)out of the dungeon; and he shaved, ^(Q)changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. ¹⁵ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. ^(R)But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”

¹⁶ So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, ^(S)“It is not in me; ^(T)God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, ^(U)in my dream I stood on the bank of the river. ¹⁸ Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. ¹⁹ Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰ And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. ²¹ When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke. ²² Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven ^[a]heads came up on one stalk, full and good. ²³ Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. ²⁴ And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So ^(V)I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; ^(W)God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ^[b]heads are seven years; the dreams are one. ²⁷ And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are ^(X)seven years of famine. ^28 (Y)This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁹ Indeed ^(Z)seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; ³⁰ but after them seven years of famine will ^(AA)arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine ^(AB)will deplete the land. ³¹ So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. ³² And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the ^(AC)thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

³³ “Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint ^[c]officers over the land, ^(AD)to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. ³⁵ And ^(AE)let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the ^[d]authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. ³⁶ Then that food shall be as a ^[e]reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land ^(AF)may not ^[f]perish during the famine.”

Joseph’s Rise to Power

³⁷ So ^(AG)the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. ³⁸ And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man ^(AH)in whom is the Spirit of God?”

³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. ^40 (AI)You shall be ^[g]over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have ^(AJ)set you over all the land of Egypt.”

⁴² Then Pharaoh ^(AK)took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he ^(AL)clothed him in garments of fine linen ^(AM)and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ And he had him ride in the second ^(AN)chariot which he had; ^(AO)and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him ^(AP)over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name ^[h]Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife ^(AQ)Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Joseph was thirty years old when he ^(AR)stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth ^[i]abundantly. ⁴⁸ So 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; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. ⁴⁹ Joseph gathered very much grain, ^(AS)as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.

^50 (AT)And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. ⁵¹ Joseph called the name of the firstborn ^[j]Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my ^(AU)father’s house.” ⁵² And the name of the second he called ^[k]Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be ^(AV)fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³ Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, ^54 (AW)and the seven years of famine began to come, ^(AX)as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. ⁵⁵ So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; ^(AY)whatever he says to you, do.” ⁵⁶ The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened ^[l]all the storehouses and ^(AZ)sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. ^57 (BA)So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to ^(BB)buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt

42 When ^(BC)Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” ² And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may ^(BD)live and not die.”

³ So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, ^(BE)“Lest some calamity befall him.” ⁵ And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the famine was ^(BF)in the land of Canaan.

⁶ Now Joseph was governor ^(BG)over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and ^(BH)bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. ⁷ Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as ^(BI)a stranger to them and spoke ^[m]roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?”

And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

⁸ So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. ⁹ Then Joseph ^(BJ)remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the ^[n]nakedness of the land!”

¹⁰ And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. ¹¹ We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”

¹² But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

¹³ And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest is with our father today, and one ^(BK)is no more.”

¹⁴ But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ ¹⁵ In this manner you shall be tested: ^(BL)By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be ^[o]kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” ¹⁷ So he ^[p]put them all together in prison ^(BM)three days.

¹⁸ Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, ^(BN)for I fear God: ¹⁹ If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses. ²⁰ And ^(BO)bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.”

And they did so. ²¹ Then they said to one another, ^(BP)“We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; ^(BQ)therefore this distress has come upon us.”

²² And Reuben answered them, saying, ^(BR)“Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now ^(BS)required of us.” ²³ But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. ²⁴ And he turned himself away from them and ^(BT)wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took ^(BU)Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

The Brothers Return to Canaan

²⁵ Then Joseph ^(BV)gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to ^(BW)restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. ^(BX)Thus he did for them. ²⁶ So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there. ²⁷ But as ^(BY)one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack. ²⁸ So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts ^[q]failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”

²⁹ Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying: ³⁰ “The man who is lord of the land ^(BZ)spoke ^[r]roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. ³¹ But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. ³² We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’ ³³ Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ^(CA)‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. ³⁴ And bring your ^(CB)youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may ^(CC)trade in the land.’ ”

³⁵ Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly ^(CD)each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. ³⁶ And Jacob their father said to them, “You have ^(CE)bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take ^(CF)Benjamin. All these things are against me.”

³⁷ Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”

³⁸ But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for ^(CG)his brother is dead, and he is left alone. ^(CH)If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would ^(CI)bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”