Genesis 40

¹ It happened some time later that the king of Egypt's cup-bearer and his baker offended their masterthe king of Egypt.

² Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cup-bearer and the chief baker,

³ and put them in custody in the house of the commander of the guard, in the gaol where Joseph was aprisoner.

⁴ The commander of the guard assigned Joseph to them to attend to their wants, and they remained incustody for some time.

⁵ Now both of them had dreams on the same night, each with its own meaning for the cup-bearer andthe baker of the king of Egypt, who were prisoners in the gaol.

⁶ When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they looked gloomy,

⁷ and he asked the two officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, 'Why these sadlooks today?'

⁸ They replied, 'We have each had a dream, but there is no one to interpret it.' 'Are not interpretationsGod's business?' Joseph asked them. 'Tel me about them.'

⁹ So the chief cup-bearer described his dream to Joseph, tel ing him, 'In my dream there was a vine infront of me.

¹⁰ On the vine were three branches; no sooner had it budded than it blossomed, and its clustersbecame ripe grapes.

¹¹ I had Pharaoh's cup in my hand; I picked the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and putthe cup into Pharaoh's hand.'

¹² 'This is what it means,' Joseph told him. 'The three branches are three days.

¹³ In another three days Pharaoh wil lift up your head by restoring you to your position. Then you wilhand Pharaoh his cup, as you did before, when you were his cup-bearer.

¹⁴ But be sure to remember me when things go wel with you, and keep faith with me by kindlyreminding Pharaoh about me, to get me out of this house.

¹⁵ I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews in the first place, and even here I have done nothingto warrant being put in the dungeon.'

¹⁶ The chief baker, seeing that the interpretation had been favourable, said to Joseph, 'I too had adream; there were three wicker trays on my head.

¹⁷ In the top tray there were al kinds of pastries for Pharaoh, such as a baker might make, and thebirds were eating them off the tray on my head.'

¹⁸ Joseph replied as fol ows, 'This is what it means: the three trays are three days.

¹⁹ In another three days Pharaoh wil lift up your head by hanging you on a gallows, and the birds willeat the flesh off your bones.'

²⁰ And so it happened; the third day was Pharaoh's birthday and he gave a banquet for al his officials.Of his officials he lifted up the head of the chief cup-bearer and the chief baker,

²¹ the chief cup-bearer by restoring him to his cup-bearing, so that he again handed Pharaoh his cup;

²² and by hanging the chief baker, as Joseph had explained to them.

²³ But the chief cup-bearer did not remember Joseph; he had forgotten him.