Genesis 41

Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Ref Now after two years had gone by, Pharaoh had a dream; and in his dream he was by the side of the Nile;

2 Ref And out of the Nile came seven cows, good-looking and fat, and their food was the river-grass.

3 Ref And after them seven other cows came out of the Nile, poor-looking and thin; and they were by the side of the other cows.

4 Ref And the seven thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows. Then Pharaoh came out of his sleep.

5 Ref But he went to sleep again and had a second dream, in which he saw seven heads of grain, full and good, all on one stem.

6 Ref And after them came up seven other heads, thin and wasted by the east wind.

7 Ref And the seven thin heads made a meal of the good heads. And when Pharaoh was awake he saw it was a dream.

8 Ref And in the morning his spirit was troubled; and he sent for all the wise men of Egypt and all the holy men, and put his dream before them, but no one was able to give him the sense of it.

9 Ref Then the chief wine-servant said to Pharaoh, The memory of my sin comes back to me now;

10 Ref Pharaoh had been angry with his servants, and had put me in prison in the house of the captain of the army, together with the chief bread-maker;

11 Ref And we had a dream on the same night, the two of us, and the dreams had a special sense.

12 Ref And there was with us a young Hebrew, the captain's servant, and when we put our dreams before him, he gave us the sense of them.

13 Ref And it came about as he said: I was put back in my place, and the bread-maker was put to death by hanging.

14 Ref Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they took him quickly out of prison; and when his hair had been cut and his dress changed, he came before Pharaoh.

15 Ref And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a dream, and no one is able to give me the sense of it; now it has come to my ears that you are able to give the sense of a dream when it is put before you.

16 Ref Then Joseph said, Without God there will be no answer of peace for Pharaoh.

17 Then Pharaoh said, In my dream I was by the side of the Nile:

18 Ref And out of the Nile came seven cows, fat and good-looking, and their food was the river-grass;

19 Then after them came seven other cows, very thin and poor-looking, worse than any I ever saw in the land of Egypt;

20 And the thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows who came up first;

21 Ref And even with the fat cows inside them they seemed as bad as before. And so I came out of my sleep.

22 And again in a dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, coming up on one stem:

23 Ref And then I saw seven other heads, dry, thin, and wasted by the east wind, coming up after them:

24 Ref And the seven thin heads made a meal of the seven good heads; and I put this dream before the wise men, but not one of them was able to give me the sense of it.

25 Ref Then Joseph said, These two dreams have the same sense: God has made clear to Pharaoh what he is about to do.

26 Ref The seven fat cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years: the two have the same sense.

27 Ref The seven thin and poor-looking cows who came up after them are seven years; and the seven heads of grain, dry and wasted by the east wind, are seven years when there will be no food.

28 Ref As I said to Pharaoh before, God has made clear to him what he is about to do.

29 Ref Seven years are coming in which there will be great wealth of grain in Egypt;

30 Ref And after that will come seven years when there will not be enough food; and the memory of the good years will go from men's minds; and the land will be made waste by the bad years;

31 Ref And men will have no memory of the good time because of the need which will come after, for it will be very bitter.

32 Ref And this dream came to Pharaoh twice, because this thing is certain, and God will quickly make it come about.

33 Ref And now let Pharaoh make search for a man of wisdom and good sense, and put him in authority over the land of Egypt.

34 Ref Let Pharaoh do this, and let him put overseers over the land of Egypt to put in store a fifth part of the produce of the land in the good years.

35 Ref And let them get together all the food in those good years and make a store of grain under Pharaoh's control for the use of the towns, and let them keep it.

36 Ref And let that food be kept in store for the land till the seven bad years which are to come in Egypt; so that the land may not come to destruction through need of food.

37 Ref And this seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.

38 Ref Then Pharaoh said to his servants, Where may we get such a man as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God?

39 Ref And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Seeing that God has made all this clear to you, there is no other man of such wisdom and good sense as you:

40 Ref You, then, are to be over my house, and all my people will be ruled by your word: only as king will I be greater than you.

41 Ref And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt.

42 Ref Then Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and he had him clothed with the best linen, and put a chain of gold round his neck;

43 Ref And he made him take his seat in the second of his carriages; and they went before him crying, Make way! So he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.

44 Ref Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without your order no man may do anything in all the land of Egypt.

45 Ref And Pharaoh gave Joseph the name of Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, the priest of On, to be his wife. So Joseph went through all the land of Egypt.

46 Ref Now Joseph was thirty years old when he came before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from before the face of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.

47 Ref Now in the seven good years the earth gave fruit in masses.

48 Ref And Joseph got together all the food of those seven years, and made a store of food in the towns: the produce of the fields round every town was stored up in the town.

49 Ref So he got together a store of grain like the sand of the sea; so great a store that after a time he gave up measuring it, for it might not be measured.

50 Ref And before the time of need, Joseph had two sons, to whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, gave birth.

51 Ref And to the first he gave the name Manasseh, for he said, God has taken away from me all memory of my hard life and of my father's house.

52 Ref And to the second he gave the name Ephraim, for he said, God has given me fruit in the land of my sorrow.

53 Ref And so the seven good years in Egypt came to an end.

54 Ref Then came the first of the seven years of need as Joseph had said: and in every other land they were short of food; but in the land of Egypt there was bread.

55 Ref And when all the land of Egypt was in need of food, the people came crying to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to the people, Go to Joseph, and whatever he says to you, do it.

56 Ref And everywhere on the earth they were short of food; then Joseph, opening all his store-houses, gave the people of Egypt grain for money; so great was the need of food in the land of Egypt.

57 Ref And all lands sent to Egypt, to Joseph, to get grain, for the need was great over all the earth.

American Standard-ASV1901 (ASV)

1 Ref And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.

2 Ref And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, well-favored and fat-fleshed; and they fed in the reed-grass.

3 Ref And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed, and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.

4 Ref And the ill-favored and lean-fleshed kine did eat up the seven well-favored and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.

5 Ref And he slept and dreamed a second time: and, behold, seven ears of grain came up upon one stalk, rank and good.

6 Ref And, behold, seven ears, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.

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

8 Ref And 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 the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

9 Ref Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day:

10 Ref Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker:

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

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

13 Ref And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.

14 Ref Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.

15 Ref And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that when thou hearest a dream thou canst interpret it.

16 Ref And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

17 And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the brink of the river:

18 Ref and, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat-fleshed and well-favored: and they fed in the reed-grass:

19 and, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:

20 and the lean and ill-favored kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:

21 Ref and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill-favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

22 And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up upon one stalk, full and good:

23 Ref and, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, `and' blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:

24 Ref and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears: and I told it unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.

25 Ref And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: what God is about to do he hath declared unto Pharaoh.

26 Ref The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

27 Ref And the seven lean and ill-favored kine that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind; they shall be seven years of famine.

28 Ref That is the thing which I spake unto Pharaoh: what God is about to do he hath showed unto Pharaoh.

29 Ref Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:

30 Ref and there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;

31 Ref and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine which followeth; for it shall be very grievous.

32 Ref And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

33 Ref Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.

34 Ref Let Pharaoh do `this', and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.

35 Ref And let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it.

36 Ref And the food shall be for a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.

37 Ref And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.

38 Ref And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the spirit of God is?

39 Ref And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all of this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou:

40 Ref thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

41 Ref And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.

42 Ref And Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;

43 Ref and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he set him over all the land of Egypt.

44 Ref And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.

45 Ref And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera priest of On. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

46 Ref And Joseph 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.

47 Ref And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.

48 Ref And 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: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same.

49 Ref And Joseph laid up grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left off numbering; for it was without number.

50 Ref And unto Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bare unto him.

51 Ref And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: For, `said he', God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.

52 Ref And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.

53 Ref And the seven years of plenty, that was in the land of Egypt, came to an end.

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

55 Ref And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.

56 Ref And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the store-houses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine was sore in the land of Egypt.

57 Ref And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was sore in all the earth.

World English Bible (WEB)

1 Ref It happened at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.

2 Ref Behold, there came up out of the river seven cattle, well-favored and fat-fleshed, and they fed in the reed-grass.

3 Ref Behold, seven other cattle came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed, and stood by the other cattle on the brink of the river.

4 Ref The ill-favored and lean-fleshed cattle ate up the seven well-favored and fat cattle. So Pharaoh awoke.

5 Ref He slept and dreamed a second time: and, behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, healthy and good.

6 Ref Behold, seven heads of grain, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.

7 Ref The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy and full ears. Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.

8 Ref It happened in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men of it. Pharaoh told them his dream, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

9 Ref Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, "I remember my faults today.

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

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

12 Ref There was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. To each man according to his dream he interpreted.

13 Ref It happened, as he interpreted to us, so it was: he restored me to my office, and he hanged him."

14 Ref Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothing, and came in to Pharaoh.

15 Ref Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."

16 Ref Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "It isn't in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace."

17 Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I stood on the brink of the river:

18 Ref and, behold, there came up out of the river seven cattle, fat-fleshed and well-favored. They fed in the reed-grass,

19 and, behold, seven other cattle came up after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for ugliness.

20 The lean and ill-favored cattle ate up the first seven fat cattle,

21 Ref and when they had eaten them up, it couldn't be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ill-favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

22 I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, full and good:

23 Ref and, behold, seven heads of grain, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.

24 Ref The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. I told it to the magicians; but there was no one who could explain it to me."

25 Ref Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh.

26 Ref The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. The dream is one.

27 Ref The seven lean and ill-favored cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted with the east wind; they will be seven years of famine.

28 Ref That is the thing which I spoke to Pharaoh. What God is about to do he has shown to Pharaoh.

29 Ref Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt.

30 Ref There will arise after them seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land,

31 Ref and the plenty will not be known in the land by reason of that famine which follows; for it will be very grievous.

32 Ref The dream was doubled to Pharaoh, because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

33 Ref Now therefore let Pharaoh look for a discreet and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.

34 Ref Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt's produce in the seven plenteous years.

35 Ref Let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it.

36 Ref The food will be for a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt; that the land not perish through the famine."

37 Ref The thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.

38 Ref Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?"

39 Ref Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Because God has shown you all of this, there is none so discreet and wise as you.

40 Ref You shall be over my house, and according to your word will all my people be ruled. Only in the throne I will be greater than you."

41 Ref Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Behold, I have set you over all the land of Egypt."

42 Ref Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in robes of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck,

43 Ref and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had. They cried before him, "Bow the knee!" He set him over all the land of Egypt.

44 Ref Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and without you shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt."

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

46 Ref Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

47 Ref In the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth abundantly.

48 Ref 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: the food of the field, which was round about every city, he laid up in the same.

49 Ref Joseph laid up grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he stopped counting, for it was without number.

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

51 Ref Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh,{"Manasseh" sounds like the Hebrew for "forget."} "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house."

52 Ref The name of the second, he called Ephraim{"Ephraim" sounds like the Hebrew for "twice fruitful."}: "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."

53 Ref The seven years of plenty, that was in the land of Egypt, came to an end.

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

55 Ref When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do."

56 Ref The famine was over all the surface of the earth. Joseph opened all the store-houses, and sold to the Egyptians. The famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

57 Ref All countries came into Egypt, to Joseph, to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all the earth.

Chapter 41 of 50

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