| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River. | 1At the end of two full years Pharaoh had a dream. As he was standing by the Nile, |
| 2In his dream he saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass. | 2seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. |
| 3Then he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile, but these were scrawny and thin. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank. | 3Then seven bad-looking, thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile, and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river. |
| 4Then the scrawny, thin cows ate the seven healthy, fat cows! At this point in the dream, Pharaoh woke up. | 4The bad-looking, thin cows ate the seven fine-looking, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. |
| 5But he fell asleep again and had a second dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain, plump and beautiful, growing on a single stalk. | 5Then he fell asleep again and had a second dream: There were seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, healthy and good. |
| 6Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were shriveled and withered by the east wind. | 6Then seven heads of grain, thin and burned by the east wind, were sprouting up after them. |
| 7And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream. | 7The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream. |
| 8The next morning Pharaoh was very disturbed by the dreams. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. When Pharaoh told them his dreams, not one of them could tell him what they meant. | 8In the morning he was troubled, so he called for all the diviner-priests of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him. |
| 9Finally, the king’s chief cup-bearer spoke up. “Today I have been reminded of my failure,” he told Pharaoh. | 9Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I recall my failures. |
| 10“Some time ago, you were angry with the chief baker and me, and you imprisoned us in the palace of the captain of the guard. | 10Pharaoh was enraged with his servants, and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards--me and the chief baker. |
| 11One night the chief baker and I each had a dream, and each dream had its own meaning. | 11We each had a dream one night; each of us had a dream with its own meaning. |
| 12There was a young Hebrew man with us in the prison who was a slave of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he told us what each of our dreams meant. | 12Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant of the captain of the guards, was with us there. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us. |
| 13And everything happened just as he had predicted. I was restored to my position as cup-bearer, and the chief baker was executed and impaled on a pole.” | 13It happened just as he had said to us--Pharaoh restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker." |
| 14Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh. | 14Then Pharaoh summoned Joseph. So they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; he shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came before Pharaoh. |
| 15Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means. But I have heard that when you hear about a dream you can interpret it.” | 15Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard about you, that you can interpret dreams." |
| 16“It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.” | 16Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "It is not within my power, but God will speak concerning the welfare of Pharaoh." |
| 17So Pharaoh told Joseph his dream. “In my dream,” he said, “I was standing on the bank of the Nile River, | 17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream I was standing by the edge of the Nile. |
| 18and I saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass. | 18Then seven fat and fine-looking cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. |
| 19But then I saw seven sick-looking cows, scrawny and thin, come up after them. I’ve never seen such sorry-looking animals in all the land of Egypt. | 19Then seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows as these in all the land of Egypt! |
| 20These thin, scrawny cows ate the seven fat cows. | 20The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven fat cows. |
| 21But afterward you wouldn’t have known it, for they were still as thin and scrawny as before! Then I woke up. | 21When they had eaten them, no one would have known that they had done so, for they were just as bad-looking as before. Then I woke up. |
| 22“In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, full and beautiful, growing on a single stalk. | 22I also saw in my dream seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good. |
| 23Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were blighted, shriveled, and withered by the east wind. | 23Then seven heads of grain, withered and thin and burned with the east wind, were sprouting up after them. |
| 24And the shriveled heads swallowed the seven healthy heads. I told these dreams to the magicians, but no one could tell me what they mean.” | 24The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. So I told all this to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning." |
| 25Joseph responded, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God is telling Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do. | 25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. |
| 26The seven healthy cows and the seven healthy heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity. | 26The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. Both dreams have the same meaning. |
| 27The seven thin, scrawny cows that came up later and the seven thin heads of grain, withered by the east wind, represent seven years of famine. | 27The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent seven years of famine. |
| 28“This will happen just as I have described it, for God has revealed to Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do. | 28This is just what I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. |
| 29The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout the land of Egypt. | 29Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. |
| 30But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten in Egypt. Famine will destroy the land. | 30But seven years of famine will occur after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate the land. |
| 31This famine will be so severe that even the memory of the good years will be erased. | 31The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. |
| 32As for having two similar dreams, it means that these events have been decreed by God, and he will soon make them happen. | 32The dream was repeated to Pharaoh because the matter has been decreed by God, and God will make it happen soon. |
| 33“Therefore, Pharaoh should find an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt. | 33"So now Pharaoh should look for a wise and discerning man and give him authority over all the land of Egypt. |
| 34Then Pharaoh should appoint supervisors over the land and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years. | 34Pharaoh should do this--he should appoint officials throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. |
| 35Have them gather all the food produced in the good years that are just ahead and bring it to Pharaoh’s storehouses. Store it away, and guard it so there will be food in the cities. | 35They should gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh's authority they should store up grain so the cities will have food, and they should preserve it. |
| 36That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come to the land of Egypt. Otherwise this famine will destroy the land.” Joseph Made Ruler of Egypt | 36This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine." |
| 37Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials. | 37This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials. |
| 38So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” | 38So Pharaoh asked his officials, "Can we find a man like Joseph, one in whom the Spirit of God is present?" |
| 39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. | 39So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning as you are! |
| 40You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.” | 40You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. Only I, the king, will be greater than you. |
| 41Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.” | 41"See here," Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I place you in authority over all the land of Egypt." |
| 42Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck. | 42Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph's. He clothed him with fine linen clothes and put a gold chain around his neck. |
| 43Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt. | 43Pharaoh had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command, and they cried out before him, "Kneel down!" So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. |
| 44And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.” | 44Pharaoh also said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your permission no one will move his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt." |
| 45Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah. He also gave him a wife, whose name was Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. So Joseph took charge of the entire land of Egypt. | 45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt. |
| 46He was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And when Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, he inspected the entire land of Egypt. | 46Now Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by Pharaoh and was in charge of all the land of Egypt. |
| 47As predicted, for seven years the land produced bumper crops. | 47During the seven years of abundance the land produced large, bountiful harvests. |
| 48During those years, Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the cities. | 48Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and stored it in the cities. In every city he put the food gathered from the fields around it. |
| 49He piled up huge amounts of grain like sand on the seashore. Finally, he stopped keeping records because there was too much to measure. | 49Joseph stored up a vast amount of grain, like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it because it was impossible to measure. |
| 50During this time, before the first of the famine years, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. | 50Two sons were born to Joseph before the famine came. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, was their mother. |
| 51Joseph named his older son Manasseh, for he said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.” | 51Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, "Certainly God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's house." |
| 52Joseph named his second son Ephraim, for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.” | 52He named the second child Ephraim, saying, "Certainly God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." |
| 53At last the seven years of bumper crops throughout the land of Egypt came to an end. | 53The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end. |
| 54Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. The famine also struck all the surrounding countries, but throughout Egypt there was plenty of food. | 54Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. There was famine in all the other lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food. |
| 55Eventually, however, the famine spread throughout the land of Egypt as well. And when the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told them, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.” | 55When all the land of Egypt experienced the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the people of Egypt, "Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you." |
| 56So with severe famine everywhere, Joseph opened up the storehouses and distributed grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. | 56While the famine was over all the earth, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. |
| 57And people from all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe throughout the world. | 57People from every country came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe throughout the earth. |
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