12. A young Hebrew man was in the prison with us. He was a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he explained their meanings to us. He told each man the meaning of his dream.
13. Things happened exactly as he said they would: I was given back my old position, and the baker was hanged.”
14. So the king called for Joseph. The guards quickly brought him out of the prison. He shaved, put on clean clothes and went before the king.
15. The king said to Joseph, “I have had a dream. But no one can explain its meaning to me. I have heard that you can explain a dream when someone tells it to you.”
16. Joseph answered the king, “I am not able to explain the meaning of dreams. God will do this for the king.”
17. Then the king said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile River.
18. I saw seven fat and beautiful cows. They came up out of the river and ate the grass.
19. Then I saw seven more cows come out of the river. They were thin and lean and ugly. They were the worst looking cows I have seen in all the land of Egypt.
20. And these thin and ugly cows ate the first seven fat cows.
21. But after they had eaten the seven cows, no one could tell they had eaten them. They just looked as thin and ugly as they did in the beginning. Then I woke up.
22. “I had another dream. I saw seven full and good heads of grain growing on one stalk.
23. Then seven more heads of grain sprang up after them. But these heads were thin and ugly. They were burned by the hot east wind.
24. Then the thin heads ate the seven good heads. I told this dream to the magicians. But no one could explain its meaning to me.”