Pharaoh had 2 dreams

12 years later, Pharaoh, the big boss of Egypt, he had a dream. In his dream, he stood next to the Nile River,

2and he saw 7 cows coming up from the river. Those 7 cows were good-looking and fat, and they started to eat the long grass that was beside the river.

3After that, another 7 cows came up from the river. Those other 7 cows were ugly and skinny, and they stood beside the river next to the 7 fat cows.

4Then those 7 ugly, skinny cows, they ate the 7 good-looking, fat cows. That was the end of Pharaoh’s dream, and he woke up.

5Then Pharaoh went to sleep again, and he had another dream. In his dream, he saw a plant that grows seeds for food, called wheat. That wheat plant had 1 stick part, and on top were 7 groups of wheat seeds growing on it. Each group had lots of good big seeds.

6After that, another 7 groups of seeds started to grow. But they were small and dry, because a hot dry wind blew on them.

7Then those 7 groups of small dry seeds, they ate the 7 groups of good big seeds, like a person eats food. That was the end of Pharaoh’s dream, and he thought it was real. Then he woke up, and he knew that it was a dream.

8The next morning, Pharaoh felt very worried, because he didn’t know what those 2 dreams meant. So he said to some of his workers, “You know, there are some men here in Egypt country that can do magic, and there are some other men that are really wise. Go and get all those men, and bring them here. I want somebody to tell me what my dreams mean.” So Pharaoh’s workers went and got all those men, and they brought them to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh told them about those 2 dreams that he had. But none of those men understood what the dreams meant.

9Pharaoh’s wine-boss was there, and he remembered that time when he had a dream in the jail, and he remembered that Joseph told him what his dream meant. So that wine-boss said to Pharaoh, “Sir, now I remember a time that I did the wrong thing.

10You know, some time ago, you got really angry with me and your bread-boss. You put us in jail, and your most important soldier guarded us.

11Then one night, me and that bread-boss, we both had dreams. We knew that those dreams showed things that will happen later on, but we didn’t know what they meant.

12But there was a young man with us in the jail. He was from the Hebrew tribe, and he worked for that important soldier, the one that guarded us. We told that young man about our dreams, and he told us what they meant. He said to me, ‘Your dream shows that Pharaoh will get you to work for him again.’ And he said to the bread-boss, ‘Your dream shows that Pharaoh will get his soldiers to kill you.’

13And everything happened just like that young man said. Soon after that, you got me to work for you again. But you got your soldiers to kill the bread-boss and hang his body on a pole.”

Joseph told Pharaoh what his dreams meant

14Then Pharaoh sent some of his workers to go and get Joseph. Those workers quickly went and took Joseph out of the jail. Then Joseph got ready to go and see Pharaoh. He cut his hair, and he shaved his beard, and he put on clean clothes. Then he went and stood in front of Pharaoh.

15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and nobody can tell me what it means. But somebody told me that you can understand dreams. They said that if somebody tells you about their dream, you can say what it means.”

16Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Sir, I can’t do that by myself. God is the one that lets me understand people’s dreams. He will show me what your dream means, and it will be good for you to hear it.”

17So Pharaoh told Joseph about his dream. He said, “In my dream, I stood next to the Nile River.

18Then 7 cows came up from the river. Those 7 cows were good-looking and fat, and they started to eat the long grass that was beside the river.

19After that, another 7 cows came up from the river. Those other cows looked really weak and sick, and they were very ugly and skinny. They were more ugly and skinny than any cows I saw in Egypt country.

20Then those 7 ugly, skinny cows, they ate those 7 good-looking, fat cows, those ones that came up first from the river.

21But after that, those ugly, skinny cows looked just the same as before. They were still very ugly and skinny, even though they ate those fat cows. That was the end of my dream, and I woke up.”

22Then Pharaoh said, “I went to sleep again, and I had another dream. In my dream, I saw a wheat plant. That wheat plant had 1 stick part with 7 groups of wheat seeds growing on top, and they had lots of good big seeds.

23After that, another 7 groups of seeds started to grow. They were small and dry, because a hot dry wind blew on them.

24Then those 7 groups of small dry seeds, they ate the 7 groups of good big seeds, like a person eats food. That was the end of my dream.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I talked to the men that can do magic, and I told them about those dreams that I had. But they don’t know what my dreams mean.”

25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Sir, both those dreams mean the same thing. God gave you those dreams to show you what he is going to do next.”

26Then Joseph told Pharaoh what those dreams meant. First Joseph said, “Those 7 good-looking, fat cows that you saw in your dream, they are like a picture of 7 good years. And those 7 groups of good big seeds on the wheat plant, they are like a picture of 7 good years too. Both those dreams mean the same thing.”

27Then Joseph said, “And you know those 7 ugly, skinny cows, those ones that came up from the river later on, they are like a picture of 7 dry years with no rain and no food plants growing. And you know those 7 small groups of seeds on the wheat plant. They were dry, because a hot dry wind blew on them. Well, they are like a picture of those 7 dry years too.”

28Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Sir, God gave you those dreams to show you what he is going to do next, just like I said.

29For 7 years, there will be lots and lots of food everywhere in Egypt country.

30But after that, there will be 7 dry years. There will be no rain and no food plants growing anywhere in Egypt. Those dry years will be bad for the whole country. All the people in Egypt, they will forget about that time when there was lots and lots of food.

31Those dry years will be so bad, it will be just like those 7 good years never happened.

32Sir, God is going to make those things happen, for sure. And he’s going to make them happen soon. That’s the reason why he gave you 2 dreams about them.”

33Then Joseph said, “Sir, now I will tell you what you have to do. You have to pick a man that is really wise and thinks properly. And you have to put that man in charge of Egypt country.

34Then you have to pick some other men to work for him. And those men have to go all over Egypt country, and they have to gather up food from all the farms. Every time the farmers have food plants with seeds that are ready to make flour, those workers have to say to the farmers, ‘This is what Pharaoh says you have to do. Split up that food into 5 piles, and give one pile to us.’ Then those workers have to put that food in big sheds in the towns, and they have to look after it. They have to keep on doing that for 7 years, while there is lots and lots of food in Egypt country.

36At the end of those 7 good years, there will be 7 dry years. There will be no rain, and no food plants will grow in Egypt country. But all the people in Egypt country, they can eat the food that is in those sheds, and they can keep on doing that for those 7 dry years, so that they will not die.”

Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of Egypt country

37Pharaoh and all his workers listened to Joseph, and they all liked Joseph’s idea.

38And Pharaoh said to his workers, “Now I know that this man has God’s spirit in him. There isn’t anybody else like him.”

39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “God showed you what is going to happen, and he told you what to do. So I know that you are more wise than everybody else. You really know how to think properly.

40So now I will make you my most important worker, and all the people in Egypt will have to do what you say. I will be the only one that is more important than you, because I am the big boss.”

41After Pharaoh said those things, he said to Joseph, “Now I’m putting you in charge of all of Egypt country.”

42Pharaoh was wearing a ring with a special mark on it. That ring showed that Pharaoh was the big boss. So Pharaoh took off that special ring, and he put it on Joseph’s finger, to show that Joseph was in charge.

43Then Pharaoh got a special trailer with horses pulling it, and he got Joseph to ride in that special trailer to show that he was the 2nd boss over Egypt country. Pharaoh’s soldiers went with Joseph, and they shouted out to all the people, “Joseph is coming. Show him respect.” In that way, Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all of Egypt country.

44Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am the big boss, and you are my most important worker. If anybody in Egypt country wants to do something, they have to ask you first, and you can say yes or no.”

45Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a name in the Egypt language. That name was Zafenath-Pania. Pharaoh also gave Joseph a woman to marry. That woman’s name was Asenath, and her father’s name was Potifera. He was a ceremony leader for the Egypt people, at the town called Onn. That’s the story about how Joseph became Pharaoh’s most important worker, and he started to be in charge of Egypt country. At that time, Joseph was 30 years old. Then Joseph left Pharaoh’s house, and he went all around Egypt country.

Joseph got the Egypt people to put food in sheds

47The next 7 years were really good years in Egypt country, because lots and lots of food grew on the land.

48So for those 7 years, Joseph told the Egypt people to get food from the farms and take it into the towns. And the people did what Joseph said. Everywhere in Egypt country, the people got food from the farms, and they took that food into the towns that were near the farms. Then they put that food into big sheds, to keep it safe.

49There was so much food in those sheds that nobody could count it, just like nobody can count all those little bits of sand that are at the beaches by the sea.

Joseph had 2 sons

50Joseph’s wife was called Asenath, and her father’s name was Potifera. He was a ceremony leader for the Egypt people, at the town called Onn. Joseph and Asenath had 2 sons. Both those sons were born at the time when there was still lots of food growing in Egypt country.

51Joseph named his 1st son Manasseh. That name means he let me forget. Joseph said, “You see, God was good to me. He let me forget about all that trouble I had, and he even let me forget that I miss my family.”

52Joseph named his 2nd son Ephraim. That name means he let me have kids. Joseph said, “You see, God was good to me. He let me have kids in this country, even though I had lots of trouble here.”

There was no rain and no food plants

53For those 7 years, lots and lots of food plants grew in Egypt country. But at the end of those 7 good years, the rain stopped coming.

54Then the 7 dry years started. There was no rain, and the food plants stopped growing. It happened just like Joseph said. The same thing happened in all the other countries around Egypt too. There was no rain and no food plants growing in those countries, so the people in those countries didn’t have enough food. But there was still lots of food in those big sheds in Egypt.

55This is what happened in Egypt country at the time when the rain stopped coming. It got dry all over Egypt country, and the food plants everywhere stopped growing. It got really bad, and all the Egypt people started to get hungry. So they went to Pharaoh, and they said to him, “Please, please give us food.” Then Pharaoh said to all the Egypt people, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.” So they went to Joseph, and they asked him for food. Then Joseph got his workers to go to all the towns in Egypt country and open those big sheds. There was lots of food in those sheds from the 7 good years. So Joseph’s workers started to sell that food to the Egypt people.

57And there was no rain in other countries too. It was really bad everywhere. So the people that lived in those other countries, they went to Egypt, and they bought food from Joseph’s workers too.