Genesis 40

1And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.

2And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.

3And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.

4And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them: and they continued a season in ward.

5And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison.

6And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad.

7And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day?footnote a

8And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.

9And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;

10And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:

11And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.

12And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days:

13Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.footnote b

14But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:footnote c

15For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.

16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head:footnote d

17And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.footnote e

18And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days:

19Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.footnote f

20And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.footnote g

21And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:

22But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.

23Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

The Cupbearer and the Baker

1Some time later, the king’s cupbearer and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3and imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard, the same prison where Joseph was confined. 4The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he became their personal attendant.
After they had been in custody for some time, 5both of these men—the Egyptian king’s cupbearer and baker, who were being held in the prison—had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning.

6When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were distraught. 7So he asked the officials of Pharaoh who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so downcast today?”

8“We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.”
Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

9So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream: “In my dream there was a vine before me, 10and on the vine were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into his cup, and placed the cup in his hand.”

12Joseph replied, “This is the interpretation: The three branches are three days. 13Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did when you were his cupbearer. 14But when it goes well for you, please remember me and show me kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh, that he might bring me out of this prison. 15For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which they should have put me in this dungeon.”

16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: There were three baskets of white bread on my head. 17In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18Joseph replied, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days. 19Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree.footnote a Then the birds will eat the flesh of your body.”

20On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he held a feast for all his officials, and in their presence he lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. 21Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22But Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had described to them in his interpretation.footnote b

23The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot all about him.