And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the {Hebrew: Yeor, that is, the Nile}river.
And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, well-favored and fat-fleshed; and they fed in the reed-grass.
And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed, and stood by the other kine upon the brink of the river.
And the ill-favored and lean-fleshed kine did eat up the seven well-favored and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
And he slept and dreamed a second time: and, behold, seven ears of grain came up upon one stalk, {Hebrew: fat.}rank and good.
And, behold, seven ears, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.
And the thin ears swallowed up the seven {Hebrew: fat.}rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.
And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the {Or, sacred scribes}magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.
Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I {Or, will make mention of}do remember my faults this day:
Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker:
and we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.
And there was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret.
And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; {Or, I was restored…and he was hanged}me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.
Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that when thou hearest a dream thou canst interpret it.
And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the brink of the river:
and, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat-fleshed and well-favored: and they fed in the reed-grass:
and, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:
and the lean and ill-favored kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:
and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill-favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up upon one stalk, full and good:
and, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:
and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears: and I told it unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.
And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: what God is about to do he hath declared unto Pharaoh.
The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.
And the seven lean and ill-favored kine that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind; they shall be seven years of famine.
That is the thing which I spake unto Pharaoh: what God is about to do he hath showed unto Pharaoh.
Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
and there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;
and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine which followeth; for it shall be very grievous.
And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.
And let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it.
And the food shall be for a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.
And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.
And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the spirit of God is?
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all of this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou:
thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people {Or, order themselves Or, do homage}be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
And Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of {Or, cotton}fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, {Abrech, probably an Egyptian word, similar in sound to the Hebrew word meaning to kneel.}Bow the knee: and he set him over all the land of Egypt.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.
And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera priest of On. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.
And he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same.
And Joseph laid up grain as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left off numbering; for it was without number.
And unto Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bare unto him.
And Joseph called the name of the first-born {That is, Making to forget.}Manasseh: For, said he, God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.
And the name of the second called he {From a Hebrew word signifying to be fruitful.}Ephraim: For God hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.
And the seven years of plenty, that was in the land of Egypt, came to an end.
And the seven years of famine began to come, according as Joseph had said: and there was famine in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do.
And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the store-houses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine was sore in the land of Egypt.
And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was sore in all the earth.
Querverweise zu 1. Mose 41,8 1Mo 41,8
And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and saw them, and, behold, they were sad.
Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers: and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did in like manner with their {Or, secret arts}enchantments.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, {Greek: Magi. Compare Esther 1:13; Daniel 2:12; Acts 13:6, 8.}Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,
And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell it me, I pray you.
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.
And the magicians of Egypt did in like manner with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart {Hebrew: was strong.}was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Jehovah had spoken.
And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and he was mighty in his words and works.
He frustrateth the devices of the crafty,So that their hands {Or, can perform nothing of worth}cannot perform their enterprise.
I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the {Or, imaginations}thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
And the magicians did in like manner with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness;And the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken dumb for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king answered and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine adversaries.
And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: and there were lice upon man, and upon beast.
The {Or, counsel Or, secret}friendship of Jehovah is with them that fear him; {Or, And his covenat, to make them know it}And he will show them his covenant.
Then the king's {Aramaic: brightness.}countenance was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart {Hebrew: was strong.}was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Jehovah had spoken.
The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the counsel of the wisest counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?
Where then are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now; and let them know what Jehovah of hosts hath purposed concerning Egypt.
The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Memphis are deceived; they have caused Egypt to go astray, that are the corner-stone of her tribes.
{Aramaic: Hitherto.}Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my {Aramaic: brightness.}countenance was changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.
therefore, behold, I will {Or, again do Hebrew: add to do.}proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
And I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days; then I rose up, and did the king's business: and I wondered at the vision, {Or, but there was none to make it understood}but none understood it.
Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor unto the wizards; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am Jehovah your God.
Then spake the Chaldeans to the king {Or, in Aramaic.}in the Syrian language, {Chapter 2:4-7, 28 is in Aramaic.}O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, {Or, The word is gone forth from me}The thing is gone from me: if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
But if ye show the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream and the interpretation thereof.
They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would {Aramaic: buy the time.}gain time, because ye see {Or, the word is gone forth from me: that if &c.}the thing is gone from me.
But if ye make not known unto me the dream, there is but one law for you; for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof.
The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter, forasmuch as no king, {Or, be he never so great and powerful, hath &c.}lord, or ruler, hath asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
I heard, and my body trembled,My lips quivered at the voice;Rottenness entereth into my bones, and I tremble in my place;Because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, {Or, When there shall come up against the people he that invadeth them}For the coming up of the people that invadeth us.
And the soul that turneth unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto the wizards, to play the harlot after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show unto the king;
When thou art come into the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
There shall not be found with thee any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that useth divination, one that practiseth augury, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer,
or a charmer, or a consulter with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
For whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah: and because of these abominations Jehovah thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Thou shalt be perfect with Jehovah thy God.
For these nations, that thou shalt dispossess, hearken unto them that practise augury, and unto diviners; but as for thee, Jehovah thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living should they seek unto the dead?
Then came in all the king's wise men; but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation.
And the spirit of Egypt shall {Hebrew: be emptied.}fail in the midst of it; and I will {Hebrew: swallow up.}destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the {Or, whisperers}charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
For it is written, {Isaiah 29:14.}I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,And the discernment of the discerning will I bring to nought.
therefore, behold, I will {Or, again do Hebrew: add to do.}proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Let no man deceive himself. If any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this {Or, age}world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, {Job 5:13.}He that taketh the wise in their craftiness:
and again, {Psalms 94:11.}The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain.
Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest {Or, strike terror}prevail.
Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels: let now the {Hebrew: dividers of the heavens.}astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from the things that shall come upon thee.
And in every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his realm.
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.
The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spake and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, {Or, thy father, O King}the king, I say, thy father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
And certain also of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, What would this babbler say? others, He seemeth to be a setter forth of {Or, foreign divinities}strange {Greek: demons.}gods: because he {See marginal note on chapter 5:42.}preached Jesus and the resurrection.