Genesis 40

¹Whanne these thingis weren doon so, it bifelde that twei geldyngis, the boteler and the baker `of the kyng of Egipt, synneden to her lord.

²And Farao was wrooth ayens hem, for the toon was `souereyn to boteleris, the tother was `souereyn to bakeris.

³And he sente hem in to the prisoun of the prince of knyytis, in which also Joseph was boundun.

⁴And the keper of the prisoun bitook hem to Joseph, which also `mynystride to hem. Sumdel of tyme passide, and thei weren hooldun in kepyng, and bothe sien a dreem in o nyyt,

⁵bi couenable expownyng to hem.

⁶And whanne Joseph hadde entrid to hem eerli, and hadde seyn hem sori,

⁷he axide hem, and seide, Whi is youre `face soriere to dai than it ys wont?

⁸Whiche answeriden, We seiyen a dreem, and `noon is that expowneth to vs. And Joseph seide to hem, Whether expownyng is not of God? Telle ye to me what ye han seyn.

⁹The `souereyn of boteleris telde first his dreem; Y seiy that a vyne bifore me,

¹⁰in which weren thre siouns, wexide litil and litil in to buriounnyngis, and that aftir flouris grapys wexiden ripe,

¹¹and the cuppe of Farao was in myn hond; therfor Y took the grapis, and presside out in to the cuppe which Y helde, and Y yaf drynk to Farao.

¹²Joseph answerde, This is the expownyng of the dreem; thre siouns ben yit thre daies,

¹³aftir whiche Farao schal haue mynde of thi seruyce, and he schal restore thee in to the firste degree, and thou schal yyue to hym the cuppe, bi thin office, as thou were wont to do bifore.

¹⁴Oneli haue thou mynde on me, whanne it is wel to thee, and thou schalt do merci with me, that thou make suggestioun to Farao, that he lede me out of this prisoun;

¹⁵for theefli Y am takun awei fro the lond of Ebrews, and here Y am sent innocent in to prisoun.

¹⁶The `maister of bakeris seiye that Joseph hadde expowned prudentli the dreem, and he seide, And Y seiy a dreem, that Y hadde thre panyeris of mele on myn heed,

¹⁷and Y gesside that Y bar in o panyere, that was heiyere, alle metis that ben maad bi craft of bakers, and that briddis eeten therof.

¹⁸Joseph answerde, This is the expownyng of the dreem; thre panyeris ben yit thre daies,

¹⁹aftir whiche Farao schal take awei thin heed, and he schal hange thee in a cros, and briddis schulen todrawe thi fleischis.

²⁰Fro thennus the thridde dai was the dai of birthe of Farao, which made a greet feeste to hise children, and hadde mynde among metis on the maistir `of boteleris, and on the prince of bakeris;

²¹and he restoride the oon in to his place, that he schulde dresse cuppe to `the kyng,

²²and he hangide `the tothir in a gebat, that the treuthe of `the expownere schulde be preued.

²³And netheles whanne prosperitees bifelden, the `souereyn of boteleris foryat `his expownere.

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?

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.

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:

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.