Chapter 40

¹It happened after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord, the king of Egypt. ²Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. ³He put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. ⁴The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he took care of them. They stayed in prison many days. ⁵They both dreamed a dream, each man his dream, in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison. ⁶Joseph came in to them in the morning, and saw them, and saw that they were sad. ⁷He asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”

⁸They said to him, “We have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it.”

Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Please tell it to me.”

⁹The chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream, behold, a vine was in front of me, ¹⁰and in the vine were three branches. It was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters of it brought forth ripe grapes. ¹¹Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”

¹²Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days. ¹³Within three more days, Pharaoh will lift up your head, and restore you to your office. You will give Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, the way you did when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴But remember me when it will be well with you, and show kindness, please, to me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. ¹⁵For indeed, I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.”

¹⁶When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head. ¹⁷In the uppermost basket there was all kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸Joseph answered, “This is the interpretation of it. The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹Within three more days, Pharaoh will lift up your head from off you, and will hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from off you.” ²⁰It happened 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 cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. ²¹He restored the chief cupbearer to his position again, and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand; ²²but he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. ²³Yet the chief cupbearer didn’t remember Joseph, but forgot him.