¶ Ioseph expoundeth the dreames of the two pry∣soners.
CAPI. XL.
ANd it chaūced after this, that the chefe [ A] butler of the kyng of Egypt & his chefe baker had offended theyr lord the kyng of Egypt. And Pharao was angry with them and put them in warde in his chefe marshals house: euen in the pryson where Ioseph was bounde. And the chefe marshall gaue Ioseph a charge with them / & he serued them. And they contynued a season in warde.
And they dreamed eyther of them in one nyght:* 1.1 bothe the butler and the baker of the kynge of Egypte whiche were bounde in the pryson house, eyther of them his dreame, and [ B] eche mannes dreame of a sondrye interpreta∣cion. When Ioseph came in vnto them in the mornynge / and loked vpon them: Beholde, they were sadde. And he asked them sayinge, wherfore loke ye so sadly to daye? They an∣swered hym / we haue dreamed a dreame / and haue no man to declare it. And Ioseph sayde vnto them. Interpretynge belongeth to god,* 1.2 but tell me yet. And the chefe butler tolde his dreame to Ioseph, and sayd vnto hym. In my dreame me thought there stode a vyne before me / and in the vyne were thre braunches, and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shotte forthe: and the grapes therof waxed rype. And I had Pharaos cup in my hande, and toke of the grapes and wronge them in to Pharaos cuppe, and delyuered Pharaos cuppe in to his hande. And Ioseph sayd vnto hym / this is the interpretacion of it. The thre [ C] braunches are thre dayes: for within thre dayes shall Pharao lyfte vp thyne heed / and restore the vnto thyne offyce agayne / and thou shalte delyuer Pharaos cuppe in to his hand, after the olde maner, euen as thou dydest when thou wast his butler. But thynk on me when thou art in good case / and shewe mercy vnto me. And make mencion of me to Pha∣rao / and helpe to brynge me out of this house / for I was stollen out of the lande of the He∣brues, and here also haue I done nothynge at all wherfore they shold haue put me in to this dongeon. When the chefe baker sawe that he had well expowned it / he sayde vnto Ioseph / Me thought also in my dreme, that I had .iij. wyker baskettes on my heed. And in the vp∣permost basket, of all maner bake meates for Pharao. And the byrdes ate them out of the basket vpon my heed.
Ioseph answered and sayde: this is the in∣terpretacion therof. The thre baskettes are [ D] thre dayes / for this daye thre dayes shall Pha∣rao take thy heed from the / and shal hang the on a tree, and the byrdes shall eate thy flesshe from the.
And it came to passe the thyrde daye whiche was Pharaos* 1.3 byrth daye / that he made a