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The Holy Bible

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The Book of Genesis

Chapter 40

  

The Cupbearer and the Baker

1
SOME

time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt.  2  Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,  3  and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined.  4  The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to them, and he attended them. And they remained in custody for some time.

5 One night while they were both still in prison, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt each had a dream, and each dream had its own meaning.

6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled.  7  So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?”

8“We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell me your dreams.”

9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph. He said, “In my dream there was a vine in front of me,  10  and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out, and its clusters ripened into grapes.  11  Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

12  “This is its interpretation,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days.  13  Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.  14  But when all goes well for you, remember me and show me kindness. Please mention me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison.  15  For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in this dungeon.”

16  When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favourable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream. There were three baskets of bread on my head.  17  In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18  “This is its interpretation,” Joseph replied. “The three baskets are three days.  19  Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from off you, and hang you on a tree. Then the birds will eat the flesh from off your body.”

20  On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the head of chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the presence of his officials.  21  Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he again placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand,  22  but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.  23  Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.