Genesis 41

1At the end of two full years, Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.

2And behold, seven cows were coming up from the Nile, beautiful in appearance and fat in flesh, and they were grazing in the reed grass.

3And behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly in appearance and thin in flesh, and they stood beside the cows on the bank of the Nile.

4Then the cows ugly in appearance and thin in flesh ate the seven cows beautiful in appearance and fat, and Pharaoh awoke.

5Then he slept and dreamed a second time, and behold, seven ears of grain were coming up on one stalk, plump and good.

6And behold, seven thin ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, were sprouting up after them.

7And the thin ears swallowed up the seven healthy and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.

8In the morning, his spirit was troubled, so he sent and called all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

9Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “Today I remember my offenses.”

10Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and he put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker.

11And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; each man dreamed according to the interpretation of his dream.

12And there with us was a young Hebrew man, a servant of the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; he interpreted each man's dream according to his dream.

13And it happened just as he interpreted for us, so it was: me he restored to my office, but him he hanged.

14Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. He shaved, changed his clothes, and came to Pharaoh.

15And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one to interpret it. But I have heard it said about you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it.”

16Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will answer for Pharaoh’s well-being.”

17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile.”

18And behold, seven cows were coming up from the Nile, healthy in flesh and beautiful in form, and they grazed in the reeds.

19And behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly in appearance and thin in flesh. I had not seen any like them in all the land of Egypt for ugliness.

20And the thin and ugly cows ate up the first seven healthy cows.

21And they went into their bellies, but it was not known that they had gone into their bellies, and their appearance was bad, just as at the beginning. Then I awoke.

22And I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears of grain were coming up on one stalk, full and good.

23And behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, were sprouting after them.

24And the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. Then I told the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.

25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one; what God is doing he has declared to Pharaoh.”

26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain are seven years; it is one dream.

27And the seven thin and bad cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads of grain, scorched by the east wind, will be seven years of famine.

28This is the matter that I spoke to Pharaoh: what God is doing he has shown to Pharaoh.

29Look, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout all the land of Egypt.

30Then seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will consume the land.

31And the abundance in the land will not be known because of that famine afterward, for it will be very severe.

32And as for the dream being repeated to Pharaoh twice, it is because the matter is fixed by God, and God is hastening to do it.

33Now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man, and appoint him over the land of Egypt.

34Let Pharaoh do this: let him appoint overseers over the land and take a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

35Let them gather all the food of these coming good years, and let them store up grain under Pharaoh’s authority as food in the cities, and let them keep it.

36That food shall be a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine that will be in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not be cut off by the famine.

37The matter seemed good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.

38Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the spirit of God?”

39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.”

40You shall be over my house, and all my people shall obey your command. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.

41And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

42Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

43He had him ride in the second chariot that he had, and they cried out before him, “Abrek!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt.

44Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without you no man will lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.”

45And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On, as a wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

46Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from before Pharaoh and traveled through all the land of Egypt.

47During the seven years of abundance, the land produced by handfuls.

48And he gathered all the food of the seven years that were in the land of Egypt, and he put the food in the cities. In each city he put the food from the fields around it.

49And Yoseph stored up grain, like the sand of the sea, in very great abundance, until he stopped counting, because there was no number.

50Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.

51Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, for he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.”

52And he named the second Ephraim, for God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.

53Then the seven years of abundance that had been in the land of Egypt came to an end.

54And the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. And there was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

55And all the land of Egypt became hungry, and the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all Egypt, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.”

56And the famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all that was in them and sold grain to Egypt, and the famine grew severe in the land of Egypt.

57And all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all the earth.