Joseph interprets the dreams
1Some time after this it happened that the cupbearer of the king of Egypt, who prepared the drinks for Pharaoh, and his chief baker offended their lord. 2Pharaoh was angry with his two officers 3and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was kept. 4So the captain of the guard appointed Joseph to attend to their needs, for they were under arrest for some time.
5One night both of them dreamed, each one his own dream, and each dream had its own meaning. As the two officers were with Joseph in custody in his master’s house, 6when Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were troubled. 7So he questioned them, “Why do you look sad today?” 8They answered, “Both of us have had a dream, but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Is it not God who interprets dreams? Tell me what they were.”
9Then the chief cupbearer told Joseph what his dream had been. “In my dream there was a vine in front of me 10and on the vine there were three branches. As it grew and flowered, its clusters ripened into grapes. 11Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and placed the cup in his hand.”
12Joseph said to him, “Here’s the interpretation: the three branches are three days. 13Within three days Pharaoh will release you and restore you to your office and you will place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as before when you were his cupbearer. 14But when things go well with you, remember me and be kind enough to speak my name to Pharaoh and get me out of this place, 15for I was, in fact, kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews and even here I have done nothing to deserve imprisonment.”
16The chief baker, seeing that the interpretation was favorable, said to Joseph, “In my dream I had on my head three baskets of cakes. 17In the top basket there were all kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it from the basket above my head.” 18Joseph said, “The three baskets are three days, 19and before three days have passed Pharaoh will take off your head and hang you on a tree and the birds will eat your flesh.”
20It so happened that on the third day, Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his officers and remembered the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. 21The cupbearer was restored to his office and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand; 22but the chief baker was hanged, as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
