New Living Translation

New King James Version

Joseph Interprets Two Dreams

Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their royal master.

The Prisoners’ Dreams

It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt.

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Pharaoh became angry with these two officials,

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And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker.

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and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard.

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So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined.

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They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them.

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And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while.

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While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning.

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Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation.

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When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset.

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And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were [a]sad.

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“Why do you look so worried today?” he asked them.

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So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”

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And they replied, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.”
“Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.”

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And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.”
So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”

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So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream first. “In my dream,” he said, “I saw a grapevine in front of me.

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Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me,

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The vine had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes.

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and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes.

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I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

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Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

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“This is what the dream means,” Joseph said. “The three branches represent three days.

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And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days.

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Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer.

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Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your [b]place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler.

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And please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place.

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But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.

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For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in prison, but I did nothing to deserve it.”

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For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”

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When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given the first dream such a positive interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I had a dream, too. In my dream there were three baskets of white pastries stacked on my head.

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When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three [c]white baskets on my head.

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The top basket contained all kinds of pastries for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them from the basket on my head.”

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In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”

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“This is what the dream means,” Joseph told him. “The three baskets also represent three days.

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So Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days.

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Three days from now Pharaoh will lift you up and impale your body on a pole. Then birds will come and peck away at your flesh.”

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Within three days Pharaoh will lift [d]off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

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Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he prepared a banquet for all his officials and staff. He summoneda his chief cup-bearer and chief baker to join the other officials.

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Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.

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He then restored the chief cup-bearer to his former position, so he could again hand Pharaoh his cup.

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Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.

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But Pharaoh impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had predicted when he interpreted his dream.

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But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.

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Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.

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Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Parallel

New Living Translation

New King James Version

Genesis 40

Genesis 40