Genesis 41:28-54

28This is what your dreams mean. As I said, God has shown Pharaoh what he will do.

29There will be plenty of food for seven years all over the land of Egypt.

30But then seven years of famine will follow. People will forget about the seven years when they had plenty of food. The famine will destroy the land of Egypt.

31No one will remember the seven good years, because the famine will be so bad.

32God gave you two dreams with the same meaning because these things will certainly happen. God will cause them to happen very soon.

33Now Pharaoh should look for a clever man. He should look for a man who knows what is right and wrong. Tell him to rule over the land of Egypt.

34This is what you should do: Choose some officers. Give them authority to store food during the good years when there is plenty. They must take a fifth part of all the food that grows everywhere in Egypt. They must store the extra food during the good years that will come soon. Give these officers authority to store and to take care of the food in the cities.

36Then you will be ready for the seven years of famine that will happen everywhere in Egypt. The people in Egypt will have enough food, and the famine will not destroy the land.’

37Pharaoh and his officers thought that Joseph's idea was good.

38Pharaoh said to his officers, ‘This man has the Spirit of God in him. We will never find anyone else like him.’

39So Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘God himself has helped you to know all these things. So there is no one who is as wise and clever as you are.

40I will give you authority in my palace. All my people will do whatever you tell them to do. Only I will be greater than you, because I am the king.’

41Pharaoh also said to Joseph, ‘I give you authority in the whole land of Egypt.’

42Then Pharaoh took his king's ring from his finger and he put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed Joseph in beautiful clothes made of linen. He put a gold chain round Joseph's neck.

43Pharaoh gave Joseph a chariot to ride in. It showed that Joseph was Pharaoh's most important officer. Only Pharaoh had more authority. As Joseph travelled, his servants shouted to the people, ‘Bend your knees to respect Joseph!’ In this way Pharaoh gave Joseph authority over everything in the land of Egypt.

44Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I rule Egypt as Pharaoh. But nobody who lives anywhere in Egypt will do anything, unless you tell them to.’

45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave Asenath to Joseph to be his wife. She was the daughter of Potiphera, who was a priest in Heliopolis. Everyone knew that Joseph had authority in all the land of Egypt.

46Joseph was 30 years old when he began to serve Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Joseph then left Pharaoh's palace and he travelled all over Egypt.

47During the seven good years, lots of food grew in the land.

48Joseph got all the extra food that grew in the seven good years. He stored it in Egypt's cities, near the fields where it had grown.

49In this way, Joseph stored a lot of food. The food grains were as many as the sand by the sea! Joseph stopped counting how much food he had stored because there was too much food to measure.

50Before the years of famine arrived, Joseph became the father of two sons. Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, a priest in Heliopolis, was their mother.

51Joseph called his firstborn son Manasseh. Joseph said, ‘God has made me forget all the trouble that my family has given to me.’

52Joseph called his second son Ephraim. Joseph said, ‘God has given children to me in the land where I have received pain.’

53The seven good years with plenty of food in Egypt, came to an end.

54The seven years of famine began, in the same way that Joseph had said would happen. There was a famine in all the other countries too. But in Egypt, the people still had food to eat.