Genesis 40 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Joseph Interprets Two Dreams

Gen 40:1Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their royal master.

Gen 40:2Pharaoh became angry with these two officials,

Gen 40:3and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard.

Gen 40:4They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them.

Gen 40:5

Gen 40:5While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning.

Gen 40:6

Gen 40:6When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset.

Gen 40:7

Gen 40:7“Why do you look so worried today?” he asked them.

Gen 40:8

Gen 40:8And 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.”

Gen 40:9

Gen 40:9So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream first. “In my dream,” he said, “I saw a grapevine in front of me.

Gen 40:10

Gen 40:10The vine had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes.

Gen 40:11

Gen 40:11I 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.”

Gen 40:12

Gen 40:12“This is what the dream means,” Joseph said. “The three branches represent three days.

Gen 40:13

Gen 40:13Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer.

Gen 40:14

Gen 40:14And 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.

Gen 40:15

Gen 40:15For 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.”

Gen 40:16

Gen 40:16When 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.

Gen 40:17

Gen 40:17The top basket contained all kinds of pastries for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them from the basket on my head.”

Gen 40:18

Gen 40:18“This is what the dream means,” Joseph told him. “The three baskets also represent three days.

Gen 40:19

Gen 40:19Three 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.”

Gen 40:20

Gen 40:20Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he prepared a banquet for all his officials and staff. He summoned[fn] his chief cup-bearer and chief baker to join the other officials.

Gen 40:21

Gen 40:21He then restored the chief cup-bearer to his former position, so he could again hand Pharaoh his cup.

Gen 40:22

Gen 40:22But Pharaoh impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had predicted when he interpreted his dream.

Gen 40:23

Gen 40:23Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

(40:20)

Hebrew He lifted up the head of.

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