Bible in Basic English
And now let Pharaoh make search for a man of wisdom and good sense, and put him in authority over the land of Egypt.
Let Pharaoh do this, and let him put overseers over the land of Egypt to put in store a fifth part of the produce of the land in the good years.
And let them get together all the food in those good years and make a store of grain under Pharaoh's control for the use of the towns, and let them keep it.
And let that food be kept in store for the land till the seven bad years which are to come in Egypt; so that the land may not come to destruction through need of food.
And this seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.
Then Pharaoh said to his servants, Where may we get such a man as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God?
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Seeing that God has made all this clear to you, there is no other man of such wisdom and good sense as you:
You, then, are to be over my house, and all my people will be ruled by your word: only as king will I be greater than you.
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and he had him clothed with the best linen, and put a chain of gold round his neck;
And he made him take his seat in the second of his carriages; and they went before him crying, Make way! So he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without your order no man may do anything in all the land of Egypt.
And Pharaoh gave Joseph the name of Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, the priest of On, to be his wife. So Joseph went through all the land of Egypt.
Now Joseph was thirty years old when he came before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from before the face of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.
Now in the seven good years the earth gave fruit in masses.
And Joseph got together all the food of those seven years, and made a store of food in the towns: the produce of the fields round every town was stored up in the town.
So he got together a store of grain like the sand of the sea; so great a store that after a time he gave up measuring it, for it might not be measured.
And before the time of need, Joseph had two sons, to whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, gave birth.
And to the first he gave the name Manasseh, for he said, God has taken away from me all memory of my hard life and of my father's house.
And to the second he gave the name Ephraim, for he said, God has given me fruit in the land of my sorrow.
And so the seven good years in Egypt came to an end.
Then came the first of the seven years of need as Joseph had said: and in every other land they were short of food; but in the land of Egypt there was bread.
And when all the land of Egypt was in need of food, the people came crying to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to the people, Go to Joseph, and whatever he says to you, do it.
And everywhere on the earth they were short of food; then Joseph, opening all his store-houses, gave the people of Egypt grain for money; so great was the need of food in the land of Egypt.
And all lands sent to Egypt, to Joseph, to get grain, for the need was great over all the earth.
— Genesis 41:33-1964, Bible in Basic English
““So now Pharaoh should look for a wise and discerning man and give him authority over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh should do this– he should appoint officials throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority they should store up grain so the cities will have food, and they should preserve it. This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine.” This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials. So Pharaoh asked his officials,“Can we find a man like Joseph, one in whom the Spirit of God is present?” So Pharaoh said to Joseph,“Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning as you are! You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. Only I, the king, will be greater than you. “See here,” Pharaoh said to Joseph,“I place you in authority over all the land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph’s. He clothed him with fine linen clothes and put a gold chain around his neck. Pharaoh had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command, and they cried out before him,“Kneel down!” So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh also said to Joseph,“I am Pharaoh, but without your permission no one will move his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.” Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt. Now Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by Pharaoh and was in charge of all the land of Egypt. During the seven years of abundance the land produced large, bountiful harvests. Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and stored it in the cities. In every city he put the food gathered from the fields around it. Joseph stored up a vast amount of grain, like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it because it was impossible to measure. Two sons were born to Joseph before the famine came. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, was their mother. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying,“Certainly God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s house.” He named the second child Ephraim, saying,“Certainly God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.” The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end. Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. There was famine in all the other lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food. When all the land of Egypt experienced the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the people of Egypt,“Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” While the famine was over all the earth, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. People from every country came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe throughout the earth.”
And after that will come seven years when there will not be enough food; and the memory of the good years will go from men's minds; and the land will be made waste by the bad years;
And men will have no memory of the good time because of the need which will come after, for it will be very bitter.
And this dream came to Pharaoh twice, because this thing is certain, and God will quickly make it come about.
And now let Pharaoh make search for a man of wisdom and good sense, and put him in authority over the land of Egypt.
Let Pharaoh do this, and let him put overseers over the land of Egypt to put in store a fifth part of the produce of the land in the good years.
And let them get together all the food in those good years and make a store of grain under Pharaoh's control for the use of the towns, and let them keep it.
And let that food be kept in store for the land till the seven bad years which are to come in Egypt; so that the land may not come to destruction through need of food.
And this seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.
Then Pharaoh said to his servants, Where may we get such a man as this, a man in whom is the spirit of God?
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Seeing that God has made all this clear to you, there is no other man of such wisdom and good sense as you:
You, then, are to be over my house, and all my people will be ruled by your word: only as king will I be greater than you.
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have put you over all the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and he had him clothed with the best linen, and put a chain of gold round his neck;
And he made him take his seat in the second of his carriages; and they went before him crying, Make way! So he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without your order no man may do anything in all the land of Egypt.
And Pharaoh gave Joseph the name of Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, the priest of On, to be his wife. So Joseph went through all the land of Egypt.
Now Joseph was thirty years old when he came before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from before the face of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.
Now in the seven good years the earth gave fruit in masses.
And Joseph got together all the food of those seven years, and made a store of food in the towns: the produce of the fields round every town was stored up in the town.
So he got together a store of grain like the sand of the sea; so great a store that after a time he gave up measuring it, for it might not be measured.
And before the time of need, Joseph had two sons, to whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, gave birth.
And to the first he gave the name Manasseh, for he said, God has taken away from me all memory of my hard life and of my father's house.
And to the second he gave the name Ephraim, for he said, God has given me fruit in the land of my sorrow.
And so the seven good years in Egypt came to an end.
Then came the first of the seven years of need as Joseph had said: and in every other land they were short of food; but in the land of Egypt there was bread.
And when all the land of Egypt was in need of food, the people came crying to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to the people, Go to Joseph, and whatever he says to you, do it.
And everywhere on the earth they were short of food; then Joseph, opening all his store-houses, gave the people of Egypt grain for money; so great was the need of food in the land of Egypt.
And all lands sent to Egypt, to Joseph, to get grain, for the need was great over all the earth.