New King James Version
Genesis 41:16
16So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Joseph answered Pharaoh, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."
- 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 brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. 15And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.” So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” 17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river. 18Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.
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 40:8And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”
- Numbers 12:6Then He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.
- 2 Kings 6:27And he said, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?”
- Daniel 2:18that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
- Daniel 4:2I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me.
- Acts 3:7And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
- Acts 14:14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, 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; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
- 2 Corinthians 3:5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,
- Genesis 37:14Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.
- Luke 19:42saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries