Help QuickNav Adv. Options
NLT

NLT

Click to Change

Return to Top

Return to Top

Printer Icon

Print

Copy
Copy Options
Format by: Verse Paragraph
Strong's
Red Letter
Audio Bibles
Copy Options
Cite Print
The Blue Letter Bible

Genesis 41 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Choose a new font size and typeface
Audio Bibles
Pharaoh’s Dreams

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:1

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:1 - Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:2

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:2 - In his dream he saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:3

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:3 - Then he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile, but these were scrawny and thin. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:4

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:4 - Then the scrawny, thin cows ate the seven healthy, fat cows! At this point in the dream, Pharaoh woke up.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:5

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:5 - But he fell asleep again and had a second dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain, plump and beautiful, growing on a single stalk.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:6

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:6 - Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were shriveled and withered by the east wind.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:7

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:7 - And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:8

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:8 - The next morning Pharaoh was very disturbed by the dreams. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. When Pharaoh told them his dreams, not one of them could tell him what they meant.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:9

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:9 - Finally, the king’s chief cup-bearer spoke up. “Today I have been reminded of my failure,” he told Pharaoh.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:10

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:10 - “Some time ago, you were angry with the chief baker and me, and you imprisoned us in the palace of the captain of the guard.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:11

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:11 - One night the chief baker and I each had a dream, and each dream had its own meaning.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:12

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:12 - There was a young Hebrew man with us in the prison who was a slave of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he told us what each of our dreams meant.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:13

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:13 - And everything happened just as he had predicted. I was restored to my position as cup-bearer, and the chief baker was executed and impaled on a pole.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:14

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:14 - Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:15

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:15 - Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means. But I have heard that when you hear about a dream you can interpret it.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:16

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:16 - “It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:17

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:17 - So Pharaoh told Joseph his dream. “In my dream,” he said, “I was standing on the bank of the Nile River,

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:18

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:18 - and I saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:19

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:19 - But then I saw seven sick-looking cows, scrawny and thin, come up after them. I’ve never seen such sorry-looking animals in all the land of Egypt.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:20

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:20 - These thin, scrawny cows ate the seven fat cows.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:21

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:21 - But afterward you wouldn’t have known it, for they were still as thin and scrawny as before! Then I woke up.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:22

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:22 - “Then I fell asleep again, and I had another dream. This time I saw seven heads of grain, full and beautiful, growing on a single stalk.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:23

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:23 - Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were blighted, shriveled, and withered by the east wind.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:24

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:24 - And the shriveled heads swallowed the seven healthy heads. I told these dreams to the magicians, but no one could tell me what they mean.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:25

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:25 - Joseph responded, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God is telling Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:26

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:26 - The seven healthy cows and the seven healthy heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:27

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:27 - The seven thin, scrawny cows that came up later and the seven thin heads of grain, withered by the east wind, represent seven years of famine.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:28

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:28 - “This will happen just as I have described it, for God has revealed to Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:29

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:29 - The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout the land of Egypt.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:30

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:30 - But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten in Egypt. Famine will destroy the land.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:31

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:31 - This famine will be so severe that even the memory of the good years will be erased.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:32

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:32 - As for having two similar dreams, it means that these events have been decreed by God, and he will soon make them happen.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:33

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:33 - “Therefore, Pharaoh should find an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:34

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:34 - Then Pharaoh should appoint supervisors over the land and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:35

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:35 - Have them gather all the food produced in the good years that are just ahead and bring it to Pharaoh’s storehouses. Store it away, and guard it so there will be food in the cities.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:36

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:36 - That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come to the land of Egypt. Otherwise this famine will destroy the land.”
Joseph Made Ruler of Egypt

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:37

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:37 - Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:38

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:38 - So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:39

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:39 - Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:40

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:40 - You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:41

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:41 - Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:42

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:42 - Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:43

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:43 - Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:44

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:44 - And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:45

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:45 - Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah.[fn] He also gave him a wife, whose name was Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.[fn] So Joseph took charge of the entire land of Egypt.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:46

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:46 - He was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And when Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, he inspected the entire land of Egypt.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:47

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:47 - As predicted, for seven years the land produced bumper crops.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:48

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:48 - During those years, Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the cities.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:49

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:49 - He piled up huge amounts of grain like sand on the seashore. Finally, he stopped keeping records because there was too much to measure.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:50

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:50 - During this time, before the first of the famine years, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:51

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:51 - Joseph named his older son Manasseh,[fn] for he said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:52

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:52 - Joseph named his second son Ephraim,[fn] for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:53

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:53 - At last the seven years of bumper crops throughout the land of Egypt came to an end.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:54

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:54 - Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. The famine also struck all the surrounding countries, but throughout Egypt there was plenty of food.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:55

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:55 - Eventually, however, the famine spread throughout the land of Egypt as well. And when the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told them, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.”

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:56

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:56 - So with severe famine everywhere, Joseph opened up the storehouses and distributed grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt.

Tools

Unchecked Copy Box Gen 41:57

Unchecked Copy BoxGen 41:57 - And people from all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe throughout the world.
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
Zaphenath-paneah probably means “God speaks and lives.”
Greek version reads of Heliopolis; also in 41:50.
Manasseh sounds like a Hebrew term that means “causing to forget.”
Ephraim sounds like a Hebrew term that means “fruitful.”
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

BLB Searches
Search the Bible
NLT
  [?]

Advanced Options

Other Searches

Multi-Verse Retrieval
x
NLT
Daily Devotionals
x

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

Daily Bible Reading Plans
x

Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

One-Year Plans

Two-Year Plan

Genesis Chapter 41 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras