The Chief Cupbearer’s and Chief Baker’s Dreams

40:1-23

40 Then it happened after those things that the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and the baker sinned against their lord, against the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh broke out in anger against his two officials, against the chief of the cupbearers and against the chief of the bakers, 3 and he put them in custody in the house of the chief of the guards, in the round-house, the place where Joseph was bound. 4 And the chief of the guards assigned Joseph to them, so he attended them, and they were in custody for days.

5 Then the two of them dreamed a dream. Each had his own dream in the same night, and each man’s dream had its own interpretation. They were the cupbearer and the baker who belonged to the king of Egypt, who were bound in the round-house. 6 And Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them, and behold, they were upset. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in custody in the house of his master, saying, “Why are your faces sad today?” 8 And they said to him, “We dreamed a dream, but there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

9 Then the chief of the cupbearers told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “And behold, in my dream a grapevine was before me, 10 and on the grapevine were three branches. Then while it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Then the cup of Pharaoh was in my hand and I took the grapes and squeezed them into the cup of Pharaoh. Then I put the cup into the hand of Pharaoh.”

12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: The three branches are three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, according to the former custom when you were his cupbearer. 14 But if you remember me with you, when it goes well for you, then please show kindness to me, and mention me to Pharaoh, and get me out from this house. 15 For indeed, I was stolen from the land of the Hebrews. And also here I did not do anything that they should put me in the pit.”

16 And the chief of the bakers saw that he interpreted favorably, so he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head. 17 And in the top basket were all kinds of food for Pharaoh, baker’s goods, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18 Then Joseph responded and said, “This is its interpretation: The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

20 Then it happened on the third day, the day Pharaoh was born, that he made a feast for all his servants. And he lifted up the head of the chief of the cupbearers and the head of the chief of the bakers in the presence of his servants. 21 Then he restored the chief of the cupbearers to his position, and he put the cup into the hand of Pharaoh, 22 but the chief of the bakers he hanged, just as Joseph had interpreted for them.

23 However, the chief of the cupbearers did not remember Joseph but forgot him.