Font Size
Genesis 41-42
Darby Translation
Genesis 41-42
Darby Translation
41 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river.
2 And behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fine-looking and fat-fleshed, and they fed in the reed-grass.
3 And behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, bad-looking and lean-fleshed, and stood by the kine on the bank of the river.
4 And the kine that were bad-looking and lean-fleshed ate up the seven kine that were fine-looking and fat. And Pharaoh awoke.
5 And he slept and dreamed the second time; and behold, seven ears of corn grew up on one stalk, fat and good.
6 And behold, seven ears, thin and parched with the east wind, sprung up after them.
7 And the thin ears devoured the seven fat and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke; and behold, it was a dream.
8 And it came to pass in the morning, that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the scribes of Egypt, and all the sages who were therein, and Pharaoh told them his dream; but [there was] none to interpret them to Pharaoh.
9 Then spoke the chief of the cup-bearers to Pharaoh, saying, I remember mine offences this day.
10 Pharaoh was wroth with his bondmen, and put me in custody into the captain of the life-guard's house, me and the chief of the bakers.
11 And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each according to the interpretation of his dream.
12 And there was there with us a Hebrew youth, a bondman of the captain of the life-guard, to whom we told [them], and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each he interpreted according to his dream.
13 And it came to pass, just as he interpreted to us, so it came about: me has he restored to my office, and him he hanged.
14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph; and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. And he shaved [himself], and changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh.
15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have dreamt a dream, and there is none to interpret it. And I have heard say of thee, thou understandest a dream to interpret it.
16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood on the bank of the river.
18 And behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat-fleshed and of fine form, and they fed in the reed-grass.
19 And behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor, and very ill-formed, and lean-fleshed—such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness.
20 And the lean and bad kine ate up the seven first fat kine;
21 and they came into their belly, and it could not be known that they had come into their belly; and their look was bad, as at the beginning. And I awoke.
22 And I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears came up on one stalk, full and good.
23 And behold, seven ears, withered, thin, parched with the east wind, sprung up after them;
24 and the thin ears devoured the seven good ears. And I told it to the scribes; but there was none to make it known to me.
25 And Joseph said to Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God will do he has made known to Pharaoh.
26 The seven fine kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.
27 And the seven lean and bad kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears, parched with the east wind, will be seven years of famine.
28 This is the word which I have spoken to Pharaoh: what God is about to do he has let Pharaoh see.
29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout the land of Egypt.
30 And there will arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will waste away the land.
31 And the plenty will not be known afterwards in the land by reason of that famine; for it will be very grievous.
32 And as regards the double repetition of the dream to Pharaoh, it is that the thing is established by God, and God will hasten to do it.
33 And now let Pharaoh look himself out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
34 Let Pharaoh do [this]: let him appoint overseers over the land, and take the fifth part of the land of Egypt during the seven years of plenty,
35 and let them gather all the food of these coming good years, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, for food in the cities, and keep [it].
36 And let the food be as store for the land for the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt, that the land perish not through the famine.
37 And the word was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his bondmen.
38 And Pharaoh said to his bondmen, Shall we find [one] as this, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
39 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has made all this known to thee, there is none [so] discreet and wise as thou.
40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according to thy commandment shall all my people regulate themselves; only concerning the throne will I be greater than thou.
41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in clothes of byssus, and put a gold chain on his neck.
43 And he caused him to ride in the second chariot that he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee! and he set him over all the land of Egypt.
44 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.
45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah, and gave him as wife Asnath the daughter of Potipherah the priest in On. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh, and passed through the whole land of Egypt.
47 And in the seven years of plenty the land brought forth by handfuls.
48 And he gathered up all the food of the seven years that was in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities; the food of the fields of the city, which were round about it, he laid up in it.
49 And Joseph laid up corn as sand of the sea exceeding much, until they left off numbering; for it was without number.
50 And to Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asnath the daughter of Potipherah the priest in On bore to him.
51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh—For God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.
52 And the name of the second he called Ephraim—For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.
53 And the seven years of plenty that were in the land of Egypt were ended;
54 and the seven years of the dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said. And there was dearth in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
55 And all the land of Egypt suffered from the dearth. And the people cried to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, Go to Joseph: what he says to you, that do.
56 And the famine was on all the earth. And Joseph opened every place in which there was [provision], and sold grain to the Egyptians; and the famine was grievous in the land of Egypt.
57 And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph, to buy [grain], because the famine was grievous on the whole earth.
42 And Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
2 And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down thither and buy [grain] for us from thence, in order that we may live, and not die.
3 And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy [grain] out of Egypt.
4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest mischief may befall him.
5 So the sons of Israel came to buy [grain] among those that came; for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6 And Joseph, he was the governor over the land—he it was that sold [the corn] to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brethren came and bowed down to him, the face to the earth.
7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and knew them; but he made himself strange to them, and spoke roughly to them, and said to them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan, to buy food.
8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they did not know him.
9 And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamt of them; and he said to them, Ye are spies: to see the exposed places of the land ye are come.
10 And they said to him, No, my lord; but to buy food are thy servants come.
11 We are all one man's sons; we are honest: thy servants are not spies.
12 And he said to them, No; but to see the exposed places of the land are ye come.
13 And they said, Thy servants were twelve brethren, sons of one man, in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
14 And Joseph said to them, That is it that I have spoken to you, saying, Ye are spies.
15 By this ye shall be put to the proof: as Pharaoh lives, ye shall not go forth hence, unless your youngest brother come hither!
16 Send one of you, that he may fetch your brother, but ye shall be imprisoned, and your words shall be put to the proof, whether the truth is in you; and if not, as Pharaoh lives, ye are spies.
17 And he put them in custody three days.
18 And Joseph said to them the third day, This do, that ye may live: I fear God.
19 If ye are honest, let one of your brethren remain bound in the house of your prison, but go ye, carry grain for the hunger of your households;
20 and bring your youngest brother to me, in order that your words be verified, and that ye may not die. And they did so.
21 Then they said one to another, We are indeed guilty concerning our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw when he besought us, and we did not hearken; therefore this distress is come upon us.
22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Do not sin against the lad? But ye did not hearken; and now behold, his blood also is required.
23 And they did not know that Joseph understood, for the interpreter was between them.
24 And he turned away from them, and wept. And he returned to them, and spoke to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him before their eyes.
25 And Joseph gave orders to fill their vessels with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way. And thus did they to them.
26 And they loaded their asses with their grain, and departed thence.
27 And one of them opened his sack to give his ass food in the inn, and saw his money, and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack.
28 And he said to his brethren, My money is returned [to me], and behold, it is even in my sack. And their heart failed [them], and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this [that] God has done to us?
29 And they came into the land of Canaan, to Jacob their father, and told him all that had befallen them, saying,
30 The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us, and treated us as spies of the land.
31 And we said to him, We are honest; we are not spies:
32 we are twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
33 And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, Hereby shall I know that ye are honest: leave one of your brethren with me, and take [for] the hunger of your households, and go,
34 and bring your youngest brother to me, and I shall know that ye are not spies, but are honest. Your brother will I give up to you; and ye may trade in the land.
35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that behold, every man had his bundle of money in his sack; and they saw their bundles of money, they and their father, and were afraid.
36 And Jacob their father said to them, Ye have bereaved me of children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin! All these things are against me.
37 And Reuben spoke to his father, saying, Slay my two sons if I bring him not back to thee: give him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
38 But he said, My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left; and if mischief should befall him by the way in which ye go, then would ye bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to Sheol.
Genesis 41-42
New International Version
Genesis 41-42
New International Version
Pharaoh’s Dreams
41 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream:(A) He was standing by the Nile,(B) 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat,(C) and they grazed among the reeds.(D) 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.(E)
5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain,(F) healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind.(G) 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up;(H) it had been a dream.
8 In the morning his mind was troubled,(I) so he sent for all the magicians(J) and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.(K)
9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings.(L) 10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants,(M) and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard.(N) 11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.(O) 12 Now a young Hebrew(P) was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard.(Q) We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream.(R) 13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.(S)”
14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon.(T) When he had shaved(U) and changed his clothes,(V) he came before Pharaoh.
15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it.(W) But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”(X)
16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”(Y)
17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,(Z) 18 when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds.(AA) 19 After 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. 20 The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. 21 But 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.
22 “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. 23 After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. 24 The 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.(AB)”
25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same.(AC) God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.(AD) 26 The seven good cows(AE) are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The 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.(AF)
28 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.(AG) 29 Seven years of great abundance(AH) are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine(AI) will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land.(AJ) 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided(AK) by God, and God will do it soon.(AL)
33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man(AM) and put him in charge of the land of Egypt.(AN) 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners(AO) over the land to take a fifth(AP) of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.(AQ) 35 They 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.(AR) 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt,(AS) so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”
37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials.(AT) 38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God[a]?”(AU)
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you,(AV) there is no one so discerning and wise as you.(AW) 40 You shall be in charge of my palace,(AX) and all my people are to submit to your orders.(AY) Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.(AZ)”
Joseph in Charge of Egypt
41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”(BA) 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring(BB) from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes(BC) of fine linen(BD) and put a gold chain around his neck.(BE) 43 He had him ride in a chariot(BF) as his second-in-command,[b](BG) and people shouted before him, “Make way[c]!”(BH) Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.(BI)
44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.”(BJ) 45 Pharaoh gave Joseph(BK) the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest(BL) of On,[d](BM) to be his wife.(BN) And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.
46 Joseph was thirty years old(BO) when he entered the service(BP) of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout Egypt. 47 During the seven years of abundance(BQ) the land produced plentifully. 48 Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities.(BR) In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. 49 Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea;(BS) it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.
50 Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.(BT) 51 Joseph named his firstborn(BU) Manasseh[e](BV) and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” 52 The second son he named Ephraim[f](BW) and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful(BX) in the land of my suffering.”
53 The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine(BY) began,(BZ) just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. 55 When all Egypt began to feel the famine,(CA) the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.”(CB)
56 When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians,(CC) for the famine(CD) was severe throughout Egypt.(CE) 57 And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph,(CF) because the famine was severe everywhere.(CG)
Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
42 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt,(CH) he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” 2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us,(CI) so that we may live and not die.”(CJ)
3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain(CK) from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin,(CL) Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.(CM) 5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain,(CN) for there was famine in the land of Canaan(CO) also.(CP)
6 Now Joseph was the governor of the land,(CQ) the person who sold grain to all its people.(CR) So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.(CS) 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them.(CT) “Where do you come from?”(CU) he asked.
“From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”
8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.(CV) 9 Then he remembered his dreams(CW) about them and said to them, “You are spies!(CX) You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”(CY)
10 “No, my lord,(CZ)” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food.(DA) 11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servants(DB) are honest men,(DC) not spies.(DD)”
12 “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”(DE)
13 But they replied, “Your servants(DF) were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan.(DG) The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”(DH)
14 Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies!(DI) 15 And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives,(DJ) you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.(DK) 16 Send one of your number to get your brother;(DL) the rest of you will be kept in prison,(DM) so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth.(DN) If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!(DO)” 17 And he put them all in custody(DP) for three days.
18 On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:(DQ) 19 If you are honest men,(DR) let one of your brothers stay here in prison,(DS) while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households.(DT) 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me,(DU) so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.
21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother.(DV) We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress(DW) has come on us.”
22 Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy?(DX) But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting(DY) for his blood.”(DZ) 23 They did not realize(EA) that Joseph could understand them,(EB) since he was using an interpreter.
24 He turned away from them and began to weep,(EC) but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.(ED)
25 Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain,(EE) to put each man’s silver back in his sack,(EF) and to give them provisions(EG) for their journey.(EH) After this was done for them, 26 they loaded their grain on their donkeys(EI) and left.
27 At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey,(EJ) and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack.(EK) 28 “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.”
Their hearts sank(EL) and they turned to each other trembling(EM) and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”(EN)
29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan,(EO) they told him all that had happened to them.(EP) They said, 30 “The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us(EQ) and treated us as though we were spying on the land.(ER) 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies.(ES) 32 We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’(ET)
33 “Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go.(EU) 34 But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men.(EV) Then I will give your brother back to you,(EW) and you can trade[g] in the land.(EX)’”
35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver!(EY) When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened.(EZ) 36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more,(FA) and now you want to take Benjamin.(FB) Everything is against me!(FC)”
37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care,(FD) and I will bring him back.”(FE)
38 But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead(FF) and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him(FG) on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave(FH) in sorrow.(FI)”
Footnotes
- Genesis 41:38 Or of the gods
- Genesis 41:43 Or in the chariot of his second-in-command; or in his second chariot
- Genesis 41:43 Or Bow down
- Genesis 41:45 That is, Heliopolis; also in verse 50
- Genesis 41:51 Manasseh sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for forget.
- Genesis 41:52 Ephraim sounds like the Hebrew for twice fruitful.
- Genesis 42:34 Or move about freely
Darby Translation (DARBY)
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
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.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.