The Cupbearer and the Baker
1 After these things, the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cup bearer and the chief baker. 3 He put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. 4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he took care of them. They stayed in prison many days. 5 They both had dreams, each of them having his dream on the same night and each man’s dream having its own interpretation.
6 Joseph went to them in the morning and seeing them, he noticed that they were sad. 7 He asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”
8 They said to him, “We both had dreams, and there is no one who can interpret them.”
Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Please tell it to me.”
9 The chief cup bearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream, a vine was in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. It was as though it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters produced ripe grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”
12 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 office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, the way you did when you were his cup bearer. 14 But remember me when it is going well for you. Please show kindness to me and make mention of me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 15 For indeed, I was stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.”
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was dreaming, and three baskets of white bread were on my head. 17 In the uppermost basket there were all kinds of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”
18 Joseph answered, “This is its interpretation. The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head from off of you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat the flesh off of you.”
20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants, and he lifted up the head of the chief cup bearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21 He restored the chief cup bearer to his position again, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand; 22 but he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief cup bearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.