7After a time, his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8But he refused. He said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master gives no thought to anything in this house, and all that he owns he has placed in my hands. 9He wields no more authority in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except yourself, since you are his wife. How then could I do this most wicked thing, and sin before God?” 10And much as she coaxed Joseph day after day, he did not yield to her request to lie beside her, to be with her.
11One such day, he came into the house to do his work. None of the household being there inside, 12she caught hold of him by his garment and said, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in her hand and got away and fled outside. 13When she saw that he had left it in her hand and had fled outside, 14she called out to her servants and said to them, “Look, he had to bring us a Hebrew to dally with us! This one came to lie with me; but I screamed loud. 15And when he heard me screaming at the top of my voice, he left his garment with me and got away and fled outside.” 16She kept his garment beside her, until his master came home. 17Then she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew slave whom you brought into our house came to me to dally with me; 18but when I screamed at the top of my voice, he left his garment with me and fled outside.”
19When his master heard the story that his wife told him, namely, “Thus and so your slave did to me,” he was furious. 20So Joseph’s master had him put in prison, where the king’s prisoners were confined. But even while he was there in prison, 21the LORD was with Joseph: He extended kindness to him and disposed the chief jailer favorably toward him. 22The chief jailer put in Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in that prison, and he was the one to carry out everything that was done there. 23The chief jailer did not supervise anything that was in Joseph’sa charge, because the LORD was with him, and whatever he did the LORD made successful.
40 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt gave offense to their lord the king of Egypt. 2Pharaoh was angry with his two courtiers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3and put them in custody, in the house of the chief steward, in the same prison house where Joseph was confined. 4The chief steward assigned Joseph to them, and he attended them.
When they had been in custody for some time, 5both of them—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—dreamed in the same night, each his own dream and each dream with its own meaning. 6When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were distraught. 7He asked Pharaoh’s courtiers, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, saying, “Why do you appear downcast today?” 8And they said to him, “We had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” So Joseph said to them, “Surely God can interpret! Tell me [your dreams].”
9Then the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph. He said to him, “In my dream, there was a vine in front of me. 10On the vine were three branches. It had barely budded, when out came its blossoms and its clus-ters ripened into grapes. 11Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” 12Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: The three branches are three days. 13In three days Pharaoh will pardon youa and restore you to your post; you will place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, as was your custom formerly when you were his cupbearer. 14But think of me when all is well with you again, and do me the kindness of mentioning me to Pharaoh, so as to free me from this place. 15For in truth, I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews; nor have I done anything here that they should have put me in the dungeon.”
16When the chief baker saw how favorably he had interpreted, he said to Joseph, “In my dream, similarly, there were three openwork basketsb on my head. 17In the uppermost basket were all kinds of food for Pharaoh that a baker prepares; and the birds were eating it out of the basket above my head.” 18Joseph answered, “This is its interpretation: The three baskets are three days. 19In three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale you upon a pole; and the birds will pick off your flesh.”
20On the third day—his birthday—Pharaoh made a banquet for all his officials, and he singled outc his chief cupbearer and his chief baker from among his officials. 21He restored the chief cupbearer to his cupbearing, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand; 22but the chief baker he im-paled—just as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23Yet the chief cupbearer did not think of Joseph; he forgot him.
41 After two years’ time, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, 2when out of the Nile there came up seven cows, handsome and sturdy, and they grazed in the reed grass. 3But presently, seven other cows came up from the Nile close behind them, ugly and gaunt, and stood beside the cows on the bank of the Nile; 4and the ugly gaunt cows ate up the seven handsome sturdy cows. And Pharaoh awoke.
5He fell asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven ears of grain, solid and healthy, grew on a single stalk. 6But close behind them sprouted seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind. 7And the thin ears swallowed up the seven solid and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke: it was a dream!
8Next morning, his spirit was agitated, and he sent for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men; and Pharaoh told them his dreams, but none could interpret them for Pharaoh.
9The chief cupbearer then spoke up and said to Pharaoh, “I must make mention today of my offenses. 10Once Pharaoh was angry with his serv-ants, and placed me in custody in the house of the chief steward, together with the chief baker. 11We had dreams the same night, he and I, each of us a dream with a meaning of its own. 12A Hebrew youth was there with us, a servant of the chief steward; and when we told him our dreams, he interpreted them for us, telling each of the meaning of his dream. 13And as he interpreted for us, so it came to pass: I was restored to my post, and the other was impaled.”
14Thereupon Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was rushed from the dungeon. He had his hair cut and changed his clothes, and he appeared before Pharaoh. 15And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it. Now I have heard it said of you that for you to hear a dream is to tell its meaning.” 16Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “Not I! God will see to Pharaoh’s welfare.”
17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18when out of the Nile came up seven sturdy and well-formed cows and grazed in the reed grass. 19Presently there followed them seven other cows, scrawny, ill-formed, and emaciated—never had I seen their likes for ugliness in all the land of Egypt! 20And the seven lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven cows, the sturdy ones; 21but when they had consumed them, one could not tell that they had consumed them, for they looked just as bad as before. And I awoke. 22In my other dream, I saw seven ears of grain, full and healthy, growing on a single stalk; 23but right behind them sprouted seven ears, shriveled, thin, and scorched by the east wind. 24And the thin ears swallowed the seven healthy ears. I have told my magicians, but none has an explanation for me.”
25And Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same: God has told Pharaoh what He is about to do. 26The seven healthy cows are seven years, and the seven healthy ears are seven years; it is the same dream. 27The seven lean and ugly cows that followed are seven years, as are
