The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Now after these things the chief servant who had the care of the wine, and the chief bread-maker in Pharaoh's house, did something against Pharaoh's orders;
1
Some time later the king of Egypt's wine steward and his chief baker offended the king.
2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two servants, with the chief wine-servant and the chief bread-maker;
2
He was angry with these two officials
3 And he put them in prison under the care of the captain of the army, in the same prison where Joseph himself was shut up.
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and put them in prison in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same place where Joseph was being kept.
4 And the captain put them in Joseph's care, and he did what was needed for them; and they were kept in prison for some time.
4
They spent a long time in prison, and the captain assigned Joseph as their servant.
5 And these two had a dream on the same night; the chief wine-servant and the chief bread-maker of the king of Egypt, who were in prison, the two of them had dreams with a special sense.
5
One night there in prison the wine steward and the chief baker each had a dream, and the dreams had different meanings.
6 And in the morning when Joseph came to them he saw that they were looking sad.
6
When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were upset.
7 And he said to the servants of Pharaoh who were in prison with him, Why are you looking so sad?
7
He asked them, "Why do you look so worried today?"
8 Then they said to him, We have had a dream, and no one is able to give us the sense. And Joseph said, Does not the sense of dreams come from God? what was your dream?
8
They answered, "Each of us had a dream, and there is no one here to explain what the dreams mean." "It is God who gives the ability to interpret dreams," Joseph said. "Tell me your dreams."
9 Then the chief wine-servant gave Joseph an account of his dream, and said, In my dream I saw a vine before me;
9
So the wine steward said, "In my dream there was a grapevine in front of me
10 And on the vine were three branches; and it seemed as if it put out buds and flowers, and from them came grapes ready for cutting.
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with three branches on it. As soon as the leaves came out, the blossoms appeared, and the grapes ripened.
11 And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and crushing them into Pharaoh's cup, gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
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I was holding the king's cup; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into the cup and gave it to him."
12 Then Joseph said, This is the sense of your dream: the three branches are three days;
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Joseph said, "This is what it means: the three branches are three days.
13 After three days Pharaoh will give you honour, and put you back into your place, and you will give him his cup as you did before, when you were his wine-servant.
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In three days the king will release you, pardon you, and restore you to your position. You will give him his cup as you did before when you were his wine steward.
14 But keep me in mind when things go well for you, and be good to me and say a good word for me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison:
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But please remember me when everything is going well for you, and please be kind enough to mention me to the king and help me get out of this prison.
15 For truly I was taken by force from the land of the Hebrews; and I have done nothing for which I might be put in prison.
15
After all, I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here in Egypt I didn't do anything to deserve being put in prison."
16 Now when the chief bread-maker saw that the first dream had a good sense, he said to Joseph, I had a dream; and in my dream there were three baskets of white bread on my head;
16
When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the wine steward's dream was favorable, he said to Joseph, "I had a dream too; I was carrying three breadbaskets on my head.
17 And in the top basket were all sorts of cooked meats for Pharaoh; and the birds were taking them out of the baskets on my head.
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In the top basket there were all kinds of baked goods for the king, and the birds were eating them."
18 Then Joseph said, This is the sense of your dream: the three baskets are three days;
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Joseph answered, "This is what it means: the three baskets are three days.
19 After three days Pharaoh will take you out of prison, hanging you on a tree, so that your flesh will be food for birds.
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In three days the king will release you - and have your head cut off! Then he will hang your body on a pole, and the birds will eat your flesh."
20 Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his servants; and he gave honour to the chief wine-servant and the chief bread-maker among the others.
20
On his birthday three days later the king gave a banquet for all his officials; he released his wine steward and his chief baker and brought them before his officials.
21 And he put the chief wine-servant back in his old place; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
21
He restored the wine steward to his former position,
22 But the chief bread-maker was put to death by hanging, as Joseph had said.
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but he executed the chief baker. It all happened just as Joseph had said.
23 But the wine-servant did not keep Joseph in mind or give a thought to him.
23
But the wine steward never gave Joseph another thought - he forgot all about him.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.