The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 At the end of two years, Pharaoh had a dream: he was standing beside the Nile River;
1
Now after two years had gone by, Pharaoh had a dream; and in his dream he was by the side of the Nile;
2 and there came up out of the river seven cows, sleek and fat; and they began feeding in swamp grass.
2
And out of the Nile came seven cows, good-looking and fat, and their food was the river-grass.
3 After them, there came up out of the river seven more cows, miserable-looking and lean; and they stood by the other cows at the edge of the river.
3
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 Then the miserable-looking and lean cows ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. At this point Pharaoh woke up.
4
And the seven thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows. Then Pharaoh came out of his sleep.
5 But he went to sleep again and dreamt a second time: seven full, ripe ears of grain grew out of a single stalk.
5
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 After them, seven ears, thin and blasted by the east wind, sprang up.
6
And after them came up seven other heads, thin and wasted by the east wind.
7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven full, ripe ears. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it had been a dream.
7
And the seven thin heads made a meal of the good heads. And when Pharaoh was awake he saw it was a dream.
8 In the morning he found himself so upset that he summoned all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one there could interpret them for him.
8
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 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today reminds me of something wherein I am at fault:
9
Then the chief wine-servant said to Pharaoh, The memory of my sin comes back to me now;
10 Pharaoh was angry with his officials and put me in the prison of the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker.
10
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 One night both I and he had dreams, and each man's dream had its own meaning.
11
And we had a dream on the same night, the two of us, and the dreams had a special sense.
12 There was with us a young man, a Hebrew, a servant of the captain of the guard; and we told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us -he interpreted each man's dream individually.
12
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 And it came about as he interpreted to us-I was restored to my office, and he was hanged."
13
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 Then Pharaoh summoned Yosef, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh.
14
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 Pharaoh said to Yosef, "I had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; but I've heard it said about you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it."
15
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 Yosef answered Pharaoh, "It isn't in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer that will set his mind at peace."
16
Then Joseph said, Without God there will be no answer of peace for Pharaoh.
17 Pharaoh said to Yosef, "In my dream, I stood at the edge of the river;
17
Then Pharaoh said, In my dream I was by the side of the Nile:
18 and there came up out of the river seven cows, fat and sleek; and they began feeding in the swamp grass.
18
And out of the Nile came seven cows, fat and good-looking, and their food was the river-grass;
19 After them, there came up out of the river seven more cows, poor, miserable-looking and lean -I've never seen such bad-looking cows in all the land of Egypt!
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 Then the lean and miserablelooking cows ate up the first seven fat cows.
20
And the thin cows made a meal of the seven fat cows who came up first;
21 But after they had eaten them up, one couldn't tell that they had eaten them; because they were as miserable-looking as before. At this point I woke up.
21
And even with the fat cows inside them they seemed as bad as before. And so I came out of my sleep.
22 But I dreamed again and saw seven full, ripe ears of grain growing out of a single stalk.
22
And again in a dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, coming up on one stem:
23 After them, seven ears, thin and blasted by the east wind, sprang up.
23
And then I saw seven other heads, dry, thin, and wasted by the east wind, coming up after them:
24 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven ripe ears. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me."
24
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 Yosef said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are the same: God has told Pharaoh what he is about to do.
25
Then Joseph said, These two dreams have the same sense: God has made clear to Pharaoh what he is about to do.
26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain are seven years - the dreams are the same.
26
The seven fat cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years: the two have the same sense.
27 Likewise the seven lean and miserable-looking cows that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted by the east wind - there will be seven years of famine.
27
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 This is what I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.
28
As I said to Pharaoh before, God has made clear to him what he is about to do.
29 Here it is: there will be seven years of abundance throughout the whole land of Egypt;
29
Seven years are coming in which there will be great wealth of grain in Egypt;
30 but afterwards, there will come seven years of famine; and Egypt will forget all the abundance. The famine will consume the land,
30
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 and the abundance will not be known in the land because of the famine that will follow, because it will be truly terrible.
31
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 Why was the dream doubled for Pharaoh? Because the matter has been fixed by God, and God will shortly cause it to happen.
32
And this dream came to Pharaoh twice, because this thing is certain, and God will quickly make it come about.
33 "Therefore, Pharaoh should look for a man both discreet and wise to put in charge of the land of Egypt.
33
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 Pharaoh should do this, and he should appoint supervisors over the land to receive a twenty percent tax on the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.
34
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 They should gather all the food produced during these good years coming up and set aside grain under the supervision of Pharaoh to be used for food in the cities, and they should store it.
35
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 This will be the land's food supply for the seven years of famine that will come over the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish as a result of the famine."
36
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 The proposal seemed good both to Pharaoh and to all his officials.
37
And this seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.
38 Pharaoh said to his officials, "Can we find anyone else like him? The Spirit of God lives in him!"
38
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 So Pharaoh said to Yosef, "Since God has shown you all this - there is no one as discerning and wise as you -
39
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 you will be in charge of my household; all my people will be ruled by what you say. Only when I rule from my throne will I be greater than you."
40
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 Pharaoh said to Yosef, "Here, I place you in charge of the whole land of Egypt."
41
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt.
42 Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Yosef's hand, had him clothed in fine linen with a gold chain around his neck
42
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 and had him ride in his second best chariot; and they cried before him, "Bow down!" Thus he placed him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.
43
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 Pharaoh said to Yosef, "I, Pharaoh, decree that without your approval no one is to raise his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt."
44
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without your order no man may do anything in all the land of Egypt.
45 Pharaoh called Yosef by the name Tzafnat-Pa'neach and gave him as his wife Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On. Then Yosef went out through all the land of Egypt.
45
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 Yosef was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt; then he left Pharaoh's presence and traveled through all the land of Egypt.
46
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 During the seven years of abundance, the earth brought forth heaps of produce.
47
Now in the seven good years the earth gave fruit in masses.
48 He collected all the food of these seven years in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities - the food grown in the fields outside each city he stored in that city.
48
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 Yosef stored grain in quantities like the sand on the seashore, so much that they stopped counting, because it was beyond measure.
49
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 Two sons were born to Yosef before the year of famine came; Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On bore them to him.
50
And before the time of need, Joseph had two sons, to whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, gave birth.
51 Yosef called the firstborn M'nasheh [causing to forget], "Because God has caused me to forget all the troubles I suffered at the hands of my family."
51
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 The second he called Efrayim [fruit], "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortune."
52
And to the second he gave the name Ephraim, for he said, God has given me fruit in the land of my sorrow.
53 The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt ended;
53
And so the seven good years in Egypt came to an end.
54 and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Yosef had said. There was famine in all lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food.
54
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 When the whole land of Egypt started feeling the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food, and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Yosef, and do what he tells you to do."
55
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 The famine was over all the earth, but then Yosef opened all the storehouses and sold food to the Egyptians, since the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.
56
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 Moreover all countries came to Egypt to Yosef to buy grain, because the famine was severe throughout the earth.
57
And all lands sent to Egypt, to Joseph, to get grain, for the need was great over all the earth.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.