| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river. | 1When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, |
| 2Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. | 2when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. |
| 3Then 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. | 3After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. |
| 4And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke. | 4And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. |
| 5He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good. | 5He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. |
| 6Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. | 6After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted--thin and scorched by the east wind. |
| 7And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream. | 7The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream. |
| 8Now 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 its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh. | 8In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him. |
| 9Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day. | 9Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. |
| 10When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, | 10Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. |
| 11we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. | 11Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. |
| 12Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream. | 12Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. |
| 13And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.” | 13And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled." |
| 14Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. | 14So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. |
| 15And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.” | 15Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." |
| 16So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” | 16"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." |
| 17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river. | 17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, |
| 18Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. | 18when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. |
| 19Then 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. | 19After them, seven other cows came up--scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. |
| 20And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. | 20The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. |
| 21When 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. | 21But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up. |
| 22Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven heads came up on one stalk, full and good. | 22"In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. |
| 23Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. | 23After them, seven other heads sprouted--withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. |
| 24And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.” | 24The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me." |
| 25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: | 25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. |
| 26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one. | 26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. |
| 27And 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 seven years of famine. | 27The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. |
| 28This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. | 28"It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. |
| 29Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; | 29Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, |
| 30but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land. | 30but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. |
| 31So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. | 31The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. |
| 32And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. | 32The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. |
| 33“Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. | 33"And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. |
| 34Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. | 34Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. |
| 35And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. | 35They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. |
| 36Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.” | 36This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine." |
| 37So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. | 37The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. |
| 38And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?” | 38So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?" |
| 39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. | 39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. |
| 40You shall be 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.” | 40You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. 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.” | 41So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt." |
| 42Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off 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. | 42Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. |
| 43And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt. | 43He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, "Make way!" Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. |
| 44Pharaoh 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.” | 44Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt." |
| 45And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. | 45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt. |
| 46Joseph 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. | 46Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh's presence and traveled throughout Egypt. |
| 47Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. | 47During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully. |
| 48So 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. | 48Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. |
| 49Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable. | 49Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure. |
| 50And 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. | 50Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. |
| 51Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” | 51Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, "It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." |
| 52And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.” | 52The second son he named Ephraim and said, "It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." |
| 53Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, | 53The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, |
| 54and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. | 54and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. |
| 55So 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; whatever he says to you, do.” | 55When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph and do what he tells you." |
| 56The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. | 56When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. |
| 57So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands. | 57And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
|
