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, and 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, but 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 that came up out of the river and ate the grass.
19. Then I saw seven more cows come out of the river that were thin and lean and ugly—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 looked just 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 and 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.”
25. Then Joseph said to the king, “Both of these dreams mean the same thing. God is telling you what he is about to do.
26. The seven good cows stand for seven years, and the seven good heads of grain stand for seven years. Both dreams mean the same thing.
27. The seven thin and ugly cows stand for seven years, and the seven thin heads of grain burned by the hot east wind stand for seven years of hunger.
28. This will happen as I told you. God is showing the king what he is about to do.