English Standard Version
Genesis 41:16
16Joseph answered Pharaoh, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."
Genesis 41:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
- New International Version (NIV)“I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)“It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”
Context of Genesis 41:16
14Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. 15And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." Joseph answered Pharaoh, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer." 17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Behold, in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile. 18Seven cows, plump and attractive, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass.
Read all of Genesis 41Genesis 41:16 word by word
וַיַּ֨עַן יוֹסֵ֧ף אֶת־פַּרְעֹ֛ה לֵאמֹ֖ר בִּלְעָדָ֑י אֱלֹהִ֕ים יַעֲנֶ֖ה אֶת־שְׁל֥וֹם פַּרְעֹֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 41:16
- Genesis 40:8They said to him, "We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them." And Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me."
- Numbers 12:6And he said, "Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream.
- 2 Kings 6:27And he said, "If the Lord will not help you, how shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the winepress?"
- Daniel 2:18and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
- Daniel 4:2It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.
- Acts 3:7And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
- Acts 14:14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out,
- 1 Corinthians 15:10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
- 2 Corinthians 3:5Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God,
- Genesis 37:14So he said to him, "Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word." So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
- Luke 19:42saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
Commentaries on Genesis 41:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16It is not in me, etc. - בלעדי biladai, without or independently of me - I am not essential to thy comfort, God himself has thee under his care. And he will send thee, or answer thee, peace; thou shalt have prosperity (שלום shelom ) howsoever ominous thy dreams may appear. By this answer he not only conciliated the mind of the king, but led him to expect his help from that God from whom alone all comfort, protection, and prosperity, must proceed.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-57Verses 1-57 - Joseph Was Exalted 1. יאר ye'or “river, canal,” mostly applied to the Nile. Some suppose the word to be Coptic. 2. אחוּ 'āchû “sedge, reed-grass, marsh-grass.” This word is probably Coptic. 8. חרטמים charṭumı̂ym ̓̀ exēgētai ̔͂ hierogrammateis “sacred scribes, hieroglyphs.” חרט chereṭ “stylus,” a graving tool. 43. אברך 'abrēk “bend the knee.” In this sense it is put for הברך habrēk imperative hiphil of ברך bārak Those who take the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-32Verses 9-32 God's time for the enlargement of his people is the fittest time. If the chief butler had got Joseph to be released from prison, it is probable he would have gone back to the land of the Hebrews. Then he had neither been so blessed himself, nor such a blessing to his family, as afterwards he proved. Joseph, when introduced to Pharaoh, gives honour to God. Pharaoh had dreamed that he stood upon the bank of the river Nile, and saw the kine, both…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16Joseph knew that only God could explain Pharaoh’s dreams (compare 40:8). He was sure God would reveal their meaning, as the dreams had a purpose (41:25, 28).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-1615-16. Pharaoh said, ... I have dreamed a dream--The king's brief statement of the service required brought out the genuine piety of Joseph; disclaiming all merit, he ascribed whatever gifts or sagacity he possessed to the divine source of all wisdom, and he declared his own inability to penetrate futurity; but, at the same time, he expressed his confident persuasion that God would reveal what was necessary to be known.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 41:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 41
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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