1 In those days, after the death of Yitsḥaq, 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 commanded and caused a scarcity of food on the whole earth.
2 At that time Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim was sitting on his throne in the land of Mitsrayim, and lay in his bed and dreamed dreams. And Pharaoh saw in his dream that he was standing by the bank of the river of Mitsrayim.
3 And while he was standing he looked and see, seven fat and fine looking cows came up out of the river.
4 And seven other cows, lean of flesh and ugly, came up after them, and the seven ugly ones swallowed up the fine looking ones, but their appearance was still ugly as at first.
5 And he awoke, and he slept again and he dreamed a second time. And he looked and see, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, complete and good, and seven lean heads scorched by the east wind sprang up after them, and the lean heads swallowed up the full ones. And Pharaoh awoke out of his dream.
6 And in the morning the sovereign remembered his dreams, and his spirit was sadly troubled because of his dreams. And the sovereign hastened and sent and called for all the magicians of Mitsrayim, and the wise men, and they came and stood before Pharaoh.
7 And the sovereign said to them, “I have dreamed dreams, and there is none to interpret them.” And they said to the sovereign, “Relate your dreams to your servants and let us hear them.”
8 And the sovereign related his dreams to them, and they all answered and said with one voice to the sovereign, “May the sovereign live forever! And this is the interpretation of your dreams:
9 “The seven good cows which you saw signify seven daughters that will be born to you in the latter days, and the seven cows which you saw come up after them, and swallowed them up, are for a sign that the daughters which will be born to you will all die in the lifetime of the sovereign.
10 “And that which you saw in the second dream of seven complete good heads of grain coming up on one stalk, this is their interpretation: that you will build for yourself in the latter days seven cities throughout the land of Mitsrayim. And that which you saw of the seven blasted heads of grain springing up after them and swallowing them up while you saw them with your eyes, is for a sign that the cities which you will build will all be destroyed in the latter days, in the lifetime of the sovereign.”
11 And when they spoke these words the sovereign did not incline his ear to their words, neither did he fix his heart on them, for the sovereign knew in his wisdom that they did not give a proper interpretation of the dreams. And when they had finished speaking before the sovereign, the sovereign answered them, saying, “What is this matter that you have spoken to me? Indeed you have spoken falsehood and spoken lies! Now therefore, give the proper interpretation of my dreams, that you may not die.”
12 And the sovereign commanded after this, and he sent and called again for other wise men, and they came and stood before the sovereign. And the sovereign related his dreams to them, and they all answered him according to the first interpretation. And the sovereign’s wrath was kindled and he was very wroth, and the sovereign said to them, “Indeed you speak lies and speak falsehood in what you have said!”
13 And the sovereign commanded that a decree should be made throughout the land of Mitsrayim, saying, “It is determined by the sovereign and his great men, that any wise man who knows and understands the interpretation of dreams, and will not come before the sovereign this day shall die.
14 “And to the man that will declare to the sovereign the proper interpretation of his dreams, there shall be given him all that he will require from the sovereign.” And all the wise men of the land of Mitsrayim came before the sovereign, together with all the magicians and sorcerers that were in Mitsrayim and in Goshen, in Ra’meses, in Taḥpanḥes, in Tso’ar, and in all the places on the borders of Mitsrayim, and they all stood before the sovereign.
15 And all the nobles and the princes, and the attendants belonging to the sovereign, came together from all the cities of Mitsrayim, and they all sat before the sovereign. And the sovereign related his dreams before the wise men, and the princes, and all that sat before the sovereign were astonished at the vision.
16 And all the wise men who were before the sovereign were greatly divided in their interpretation of his dreams; some of them interpreted them to the sovereign, saying, “The seven good cows are seven sovereigns, who from the sovereign’s issue will be raised over Mitsrayim.
17 “And the seven ugly cows are seven princes, who will stand up against them in the latter days and destroy them. And the seven heads of grain are the seven great princes belonging to Mitsrayim, who will fall into the hands of the seven less powerful princes of their enemies, in the battles of our master the sovereign.”
18 And some of them interpreted to the sovereign in this manner, saying, “The seven good cows are the strong cities of Mitsrayim, and the seven ugly cows are the seven nations of the land of Kena’an, who will come against the seven cities of Mitsrayim in the latter days and destroy them.
19 “And that which you saw in the second dream, of seven good and bad heads of grain, is a sign that the reign of Mitsrayim will again return to your seed as at first.
20 “And in his reign the people of the cities of Mitsrayim will turn against the seven cities of Kena’an who are stronger than they are, and will destroy them, and the reign of Mitsrayim will return to your seed.”
21 And some of them said to the sovereign, “This is the interpretation of your dreams: the seven good cows are seven sovereignesses, whom you will take for wives in the latter days, and the seven ugly cows signify that those women will all die in the lifetime of the sovereign.
22 “And the seven good and bad heads of grain which you saw in the second dream are fourteen children. And it will be in the latter days that they will stand up and fight among themselves, and seven of them will smite the seven that are more powerful.”
23 And some of them spoke these words to the sovereign, saying, “The seven good cows signify that seven children will be born to you, but they will slay seven of your children’s children in the latter days. And the seven good heads of grain which you saw in the second dream, are those princes against whom seven other less powerful princes will fight and destroy them in the latter days, and avenge your children’s cause, and the reign will again return to your seed.”
24 And the sovereign heard all the words of the wise men of Mitsrayim and their interpretation of his dreams, but none of them pleased the sovereign.
25 And the sovereign knew in his wisdom that they did not altogether speak rightly in all these words, for this was from 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 to overturn the words of the wise men of Mitsrayim, in order that Yosĕph might go out from the prison, and in order that he should become great in Mitsrayim.
26 And the sovereign saw that none among all the wise men and magicians of Mitsrayim spoke rightly to him, and the sovereign’s wrath was kindled, and his wrath burned within him.
27 And the sovereign commanded that all the wise men and magicians should go out from before him. And they all went out from before the sovereign with shame and disgrace.
28 And the sovereign commanded that a decree be sent throughout Mitsrayim to slay all the magicians that were in Mitsrayim, and not one of them should be allowed to live.
29 And the captains of the guards belonging to the sovereign rose up, and each man drew his sword, and they began to smite the magicians of Mitsrayim, and the wise men.
30 And after this Meroḏ, chief cupbearer to the sovereign, came and bowed down before the sovereign and sat before him.
31 And the cupbearer said to the sovereign, “May the sovereign live forever, and his reign be exalted in the land!
32 “You were wroth with your servant in those days, now two years past, and placed me in confinement, and I was for some time in confinement, the chief baker and I.
33 “And there was with us an Iḇri servant belonging to the captain of the guard – his name was Yosĕph – for his master had been wroth with him and placed him in the prison, and he attended us there.
34 “And in some time after when we were in confinement, we dreamed dreams in one night, the chief baker and I. We dreamed, each man according to the interpretation of his dream.
35 “And we came in the morning and told them to that servant, and he interpreted to us our dreams. To each man according to his dream, he rightly interpreted.
36 “And it came to be as he interpreted to us, so was the event; there were not any of his words that fell to the ground.
37 “And now therefore my master and sovereign, do not slay the people of Mitsrayim for naught. See, that slave is still imprisoned in the house by the captain of the guard, his master in the prison.
38 “If it pleases the sovereign let him send for him that he may come before you, and he will make known to you the right interpretation of the dream which you dreamed.”
39 And the sovereign heard the words of the chief cupbearer, and the sovereign ordered that the wise men of Mitsrayim should not be slain.
40 And the sovereign ordered his servants to bring Yosĕph before him, and the sovereign said to them, “Go to him and do not frighten him lest he be confused and will not know to speak properly.”
41 And the servants of the sovereign went to Yosĕph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. And the sovereign’s servants shaved him, and he changed his prison garment and he came before the sovereign.
42 And the sovereign was sitting on his royal throne in a princely dress girded around with a golden shoulder garment. And the fine gold which was on it sparkled, and the emerald and the ruby and the turquoise, together with all the precious stones that were on the sovereign’s head, dazzled the eye. And Yosĕph wondered greatly at the sovereign.
43 And the throne on which the sovereign sat was covered with gold and silver, and with shoham stones, and it had seventy steps.
44 And it was their custom throughout the land of Mitsrayim, that every man who came to speak to the sovereign, if he was a prince or one that was esteemed in the sight of the sovereign, he went up to the sovereign’s throne as far as the thirty-first step, and the sovereign would go down to the thirty-sixth step, and speak with him.
45 If he was one of the common people, he went up to the third step, and the sovereign would go down to the fourth and speak to him. And their custom was, moreover, that any man who understood to speak in all the seventy languages, he went up the seventy steps, and went up till he reached the sovereign and spoke.
46 And any man who could not complete the seventy, he went up as many steps as the languages which he knew to speak in.
47 And it was customary in those days in Mitsrayim that no one should reign over them, but one who understood to speak in the seventy languages.
48 And when Yosĕph came before the sovereign he bowed down to the ground before the sovereign, and he went up to the third step, and the sovereign sat on the fourth step and spoke with Yosĕph.
49 And the sovereign said to Yosĕph, “I dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter to interpret it properly, and I commanded this day that all the magicians of Mitsrayim and the wise men thereof, should come before me, and I related my dreams to them, and no one has properly interpreted them to me.
50 “And after this, I heard this day concerning you, that you are a wise man, and can rightly interpret every dream that you hear.”
51 And Yosĕph answered Pharaoh, saying, “Let Pharaoh relate his dreams that he dreamed; indeed the interpretations belong to Elohim.” And Pharaoh related his dreams to Yosĕph, the dream of the cows, and the dream of the heads of grain, and the sovereign said no more.
52 And Yosĕph was then clothed with the Ruaḥ of Elohim before the sovereign, and he knew all the matters that would befall the sovereign from that day on, and he knew the right interpretation of the sovereign’s dream, and he spoke before the sovereign.
53 And Yosĕph found favour in the sight of the sovereign, and the sovereign inclined his ears and his heart, and he heard all the words of Yosĕph. And Yosĕph said to the sovereign, “Do not think that they are two dreams, for it is only one dream. For that which Elohim has chosen to do throughout the land He has shown to the sovereign in his dream, and this is the right interpretation of your dream:
54 “The seven good cows and heads of grain are seven years, and the seven ugly cows and heads of grain are also seven years; it is one dream.
55 “See, in the seven years that are coming there will be a great plenty throughout the land, and after that the seven years of scarcity of food will follow them, a very grievous scarcity of food. And all the plenty will be forgotten from the land, and the scarcity of food will consume the inhabitants of the land.
56 “The sovereign dreamed one dream, and the dream was therefore repeated to Pharaoh because the matter is established by Elohim, and Elohim will shortly bring it to pass.
57 “Now therefore I will give you counsel and deliver your being and the beings of the inhabitants of the land from the evil of the scarcity of food: that you seek throughout your reign for a man very discerning and wise, who knows all the affairs of a reign, and appoint him as overseer over the land of Mitsrayim.
58 “And let the man whom you place over Mitsrayim appoint officers under him, that they gather in all the food of the good years that are coming, and let them lay up grain and deposit it in your appointed stores.
59 “And let them keep that food for the seven years of scarcity of food, that it may be found for you and your people and your whole land, and that you and your land not be cut off by the scarcity of food.
60 “Let all the inhabitants of the land, every man, also be ordered that they gather in the produce of his field, of all kinds of food during the seven good years, and that they place it in their stores, that it may be found for them in the days of the scarcity of food and that they may live on it.
61 “This is the proper interpretation of your dream, and this is the counsel given to save your being and the beings of all your subjects.”
62 And the sovereign answered and said to Yosĕph, “Who says, and who knows that your words are right?” And he said to the sovereign, “This shall be a sign for you regarding all my words, that they are true and that my advice is good for you:
63 “Behold your wife sits this day upon the birth-stool, and she will bear you a son and you will rejoice with him. When your child shall have come out from his mother’s womb, your first-born son that has been born two years ago shall die, and you will be comforted in the child that will be born to you this day.”
64 And Yosĕph finished speaking these words to the sovereign, and he bowed down to the sovereign and he went out. And when Yosĕph had gone out from the sovereign’s presence, the signs which Yosĕph had spoken to the sovereign came to be on that day.
65 And the sovereigness bore a son on that day, and the sovereign heard the good news about his son, and he rejoiced. And when the reporter had gone out from the sovereign’s presence, the sovereign’s servants found the first-born son of the sovereign fallen dead on the ground.
66 And there was great lamentation and noise in the sovereign’s house, and the sovereign heard it, and he said, “What is this noise and lamentation that I have heard in the house?” and they told the sovereign that his first-born son had died; then the sovereign knew that all Yosĕph’s words that he had spoken were true, and the sovereign was comforted for his son by the child that was born to him on that day as Yosĕph had spoken.