“I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It isn’t in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
- KJV And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
- NKJV So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
- NASB Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “It has nothing to do with me; God will give Pharaoh an answer for his own good.”
- NLT “It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joseph humbly denies any power of his own, declaring that God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.
Overview
Joseph deflects all credit from himself and points to God as the true source of interpretation. His humility and faith shine in the highest court of Egypt. This God-centered confession models how believers should testify to the Lord's work rather than their own gifts.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 2 Cor 3:5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
- Gen 40:8“We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
- Dan 2:47The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”
- Acts 3:12And when Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you surprised by this? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
- Num 12:6He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
- Dan 2:18–23urging them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
- Dan 4:2I am pleased to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.
- Acts 3:7Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were made strong.
- 1 Cor 15:10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
- Dan 2:28–30But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:
- Acts 14:14–15But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul found out about this, they tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd, shouting,
- 2 Kgs 6:27He answered, “If the LORD does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress?”
- Luke 19:42and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.
- Gen 37:14Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem,
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 41:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.