And it happened that after two full years Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he was standing by the Nile. And behold, seven cows, well built and fat, were coming up from the Nile, and they grazed among the reeds. And behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and gaunt, and they stood beside those cows on the bank of the Nile. And the ugly and gaunt cows ate the seven well built and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke. And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time, and behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were coming out of one stalk. And behold, seven thin ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. And the thin ears of grain swallowed up the seven plump and full ears of grain. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And it happened that in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called all of the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men, and Pharaoh told his dream to them. But they had no interpretation for Pharaoh. Then the chief of the cupbearers spoke with Pharaoh, saying, "I remember my sins today. Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the house of the chief of the guard. And we dreamed a dream one night, I and he, each with a dream that had a meaning. And there with us was a young man, a Hebrew servant of the chief of the guard, and we told him the dream, and he interpreted our dreams for us, each according to his dream he interpreted. And it happened just as he interpreted to us, so it was. He restored me to my office, and him he hanged." Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they brought him quickly from the prison. And he shaved and changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I dreamed a dream, but there is none to interpret it. Now, I have heard concerning you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." Then Joseph answered Pharaoh saying, "It is not in my power; God will answer concerning the well-being of Pharaoh." And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Now in my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile, and behold, seven cows, well built and fat, were coming up from the Nile, and they grazed among the reeds. And behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, very ugly and gaunt—never have I seen any as them in all the land of Egypt for ugliness. And the thin and ugly cows ate the former seven healthy cows. But when they went into their bellies it could not be known that they went into their bellies, for their appearance was as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. Then I saw in my dream and behold, seven ears of grain were coming out of one stalk, full and good. And behold, seven withered ears of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. And the thin ears of grain swallowed up the seven good ears of grain. And I told the magicians, but there was none to explain it to me." Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows, they are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain, they are seven years. The dreams are one. And the seven thin and ugly cows coming up after them, they are seven years, and the seven empty ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, they are also seven years of famine. This is the word that I have spoken to Pharaoh; God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. Then seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will consume the land. Abundance in the land will not be known because of the famine that follows, for it will be very heavy. Now concerning the repetition of the dream twice to Pharaoh, it is because the matter is established by God, and God will do it quickly. Now then, let Pharaoh select a man who is discerning and wise, and let him set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint supervisors over the land, and let him take one-fifth from the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. Then let them gather all the food of these coming good years and let them pile up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. Then the food shall be as a deposit for the land for the seven years of the famine that will be in the land of Egypt, that the land will not perish on account of the famine."

And the plan was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. Then Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this in whom is the spirit of God?" Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all of this known to you there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and to your word all my people shall submit. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you." Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his finger and put it on the finger of Joseph. And he clothed him with garments of fine linen, and he put a chain of gold around his neck. And he had him ride in his second chariot. And they cried out before him, "Kneel!" And Pharaoh set him over all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your consent no one will lift his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt." And Pharaoh called the name of Joseph Zaphenath-paneah and gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as a wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and traveled through the whole land of Egypt. And the land produced a plenty in the seven years of abundance. And he gathered all the food of the seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt. And he stored the food in the cities. The food of the field that surrounded each city he stored in its midst. And Joseph piled up grain like the sand of the sea in great abundance until he stopped counting it, for it could not be counted. Before the years of famine came, Asenath, daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore two sons to him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, for he said, "God has caused me to forget all my hardship and all my father’s house." And the name of the second he called Ephraim, for he said, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortune." And the seven years of abundance which were in the land of Egypt came to an end. And the seven years of famine began to come as Joseph had said. And there was famine in all of the countries, but in the land of Egypt there was food. And when all the land of Egypt was hungry the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. And Pharaoh said to all the land of Egypt, "Go to Joseph; what he says to you, you must do." And the famine was over the whole land, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold food to the Egyptians. And the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. And every land came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, for the famine was severe in every land.

When Jacob realized that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?" Then he said, "Look, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us there that we may live and not die." And the ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, for he feared harm would come to him. Then the sons of Israel went to buy grain amid those other people who went as well, for there was famine in the land of Canaan. Now Joseph was the governor over the land. He was the one who sold food to all the people of the land. And the brothers of Joseph came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger to them. And he spoke with them harshly and said to them, "From where have you come?" And they said, "From the land of Canaan to buy food." And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed concerning them, and he said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!" And they said to him, "No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. We all are sons of one man. We are honest men. We, your servants, are not spies." Then he said to them, "No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land." Then they said, "We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, but behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more." But Joseph said to them, "It is what I said to you—you are spies. By this you shall be tested. By the life of Pharaoh you will not go out from here unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, but you will be kept in prison so that your words might be tested to see if there is truth with you. And if not, by the life of Pharaoh surely you are spies." Then he gathered them into the prison for three days. On the third day Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live; I fear God. If you are honest, let one of your brothers be kept in prison where you are now being kept, but the rest of you go, carry grain for the famine for your households. You must bring your youngest brother to me, and then your words will be confirmed and you will not die." And they did so. Then each said to his brother, "Surely we are guilty on account of our brother when we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded for mercy to us and we would not listen. Therefore this trouble has come to us." Then Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not say to you, do not sin against the boy? But you did not listen, and now, behold, his blood has been sought." Now they did not know that Joseph understood, for the interpreter was between them. And he turned away from them and wept. Then he returned to them and spoke to them, and took Simeon from them and tied him up in front of them. Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to return their money to each sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them. Then they loaded their grain upon their donkeys and went away from there. And one of them later opened his sack to give fodder to his donkey at the lodging place and saw his money—behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. And he said to his brothers, "My money was returned and moreover, behold, it is in my sack!" Then their hearts failed them and each of them trembled and said, "What is this God has done to us?"

And when they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan they told him everything that had happened to them, saying, "The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us as if we were spying out the land. But we said to him, ‘We are honest; we are not spies. We are twelve brothers, the sons of our father. One is no more and the youngest is with our father now in the land of Canaan.’ Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest. Leave one brother with me, and take food for the famine in your households and go. And bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies but you are honest. And I will give your brother back to you, and you will trade in the land.’" And it happened that when they emptied their sacks, behold, each one’s pouch of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw the pouches of their money, they were greatly distressed. And Jacob their father said to them, "You have bereaved me—Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and Benjamin you would take! All of this is against me! Then Reuben said to his father, "You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hand and I myself will return him to you." But he said, "My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone remains. If harm meets him on the journey that you would take, you would bring down my gray head in sorrow to Sheol."

And when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome purchased fragrant spices so that they could go and anoint him. And very early in the morning on the first day of the week they came to the tomb after the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" And when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away (for it was very large). And as they were going into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was crucified. He has been raised, he is not here! See the place where they laid him! But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you." And they went out and fled from the tomb, because trembling and amazement had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

[[So they promptly reported all the things they had been commanded to those around Peter. And after these things, Jesus himself also sent out through them from the east even as far as the west the holy and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.]]

[[Now early on the first day of the week, after he rose, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had expelled seven demons. She went out and announced it to those who were with him while they were mourning and weeping. And those, when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, refused to believe it. And after these things, he appeared in a different form to two of them as they were walking, while they were going out into the countryside. And these went and reported it to the others, and they did not believe them. And later, while they were reclining at table, he appeared to the eleven. And he reprimanded their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had been raised. And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who refuses to believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will expel demons, they will speak in new tongues, they will pick up snakes. And if they drink any deadly poison it will never hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will get well."

Then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed everywhere, while the Lord was working together with them and confirming the message through the accompanying signs.]]