Genesis 40
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
40 After this, it came to pass, that two eunuchs, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, offended their lord.
2 And Pharao being angry with them (now the one was chief butler, the other chief baker)
3 He sent them to the prison of the commander of the soldiers, in which Joseph also was prisoner,
4 But the keeper of the prison delivered them to Joseph, and he served them. Some little time passed, and they were kept in custody.
5 And they both dreamed a dream the same night, according to the interpretation agreeing to themselves:
6 And when Joseph was come in to them in the morning, and saw them sad,
7 He asked them, saying: Why is your countenance sadder to day than usual?
8 They answered: We have dreamed a dream, and there is nobody to interpret it to us. And Joseph said to them: Doth not interpretation belong to God? Tell me what you have dreamed.
9 The chief butler first told his dream: I saw before me a vine,
10 On which were three branches, which by little and little sent out buds, and after the blossoms brought forth ripe grapes:
11 And the cup of Pharao was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into the cup which I held, and I gave the cup to Pharao.
12 Joseph answered: This is the interpretation of the dream: The three branches are yet three days:
13 After which Pharao will remember thy service, and will restore thee to thy former place: and thou shalt present him the cup according to thy office, as before thou wast wont to do.
14 Only remember me, when it shall be well with thee, and do me this kindness: to put Pharao in mind to take me out of this prison:
15 For I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here without any fault was cast into the dungeon.
16 The chief baker seeing that he had wisely interpreted the dream, said: I also dreamed a dream, That I had three baskets of meal upon my head:
17 And that in one basket which was uppermost, I carried all meats that are made by the art of baking, and that the birds ate out of it.
18 Joseph answered: This is the interpretation of the dream: The three baskets are yet three days:
19 After which Pharao will take thy head from thee, and hang thee on a cross, and the birds shall tear thy flesh.
20 The third day after this was the birthday of Pharao: and he made a great feast for his servants, and at the banquet remembered the chief butler, and the chief baker.
21 And he restored the one to his place to present him the cup:
22 The other he hanged on a gibbet, that the truth of the interpreter might be shewn.
23 But the chief butler, when things prospered with him, forgot his interpreter.
Genesis 40
New King James Version
The Prisoners’ Dreams
40 It came to pass after these things that the (A)butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was (B)angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. 3 (C)So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. 4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while.
5 Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, (D)had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation. 6 And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were [a]sad. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, (E)“Why do you look so sad today?”
8 And they said to him, (F)“We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.”
So Joseph said to them, (G)“Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”
9 Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, 10 and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. 11 Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
12 And Joseph said to him, (H)“This is the interpretation of it: The three branches (I)are three days. 13 Now within three days Pharaoh will (J)lift up your head and restore you to your [b]place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. 14 But (K)remember me when it is well with you, and (L)please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. 15 For indeed I was (M)stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; (N)and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three [c]white baskets on my head. 17 In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”
18 So Joseph answered and said, (O)“This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. 19 (P)Within three days Pharaoh will lift [d]off your head from you and (Q)hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”
20 Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s (R)birthday, that he (S)made a feast for all his servants; and he (T)lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. 21 Then he (U)restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and (V)he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22 But he (W)hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but (X)forgot him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 40:6 dejected
- Genesis 40:13 position
- Genesis 40:16 Or baskets of white bread
- Genesis 40:19 Lit. up
Genesis 40
English Standard Version
Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners' Dreams
40 Some time after this, the (A)cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 (B)and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.
5 And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. 7 So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, (C)“Why are your faces downcast today?” 8 They said to him, (D)“We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, (E)“Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, 10 and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.” 12 Then Joseph said to him, (F)“This is its interpretation: (G)the three branches are three days. 13 In three days Pharaoh will (H)lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. 14 Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. 15 For (I)I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and (J)here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, 17 and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” 18 And Joseph answered and said, (K)“This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. 19 (L)In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and (M)hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you.”
20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh's (N)birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and (O)lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21 (P)He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and (Q)he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. 22 But he (R)hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
