Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had devoured them, for they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke.
Parallel translations
- WEB and when they had eaten them up, it couldn’t be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ugly, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
- KJV And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
- BSB When they had devoured them, however, no one could tell that they had done so; their appearance was as ugly as it had been before. Then I awoke.
- NKJV When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke.
- NLT But afterward you wouldn’t have known it, for they were still as thin and scrawny as before! Then I woke up.
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
Even after eating the fat cattle, the thin ones looked as gaunt as before, and Pharaoh awoke.
Overview
The famine pictured here is so severe that the years of plenty leave no lasting relief. This detail, added in the retelling, stresses how completely scarcity will swallow up abundance. It signals the desperate need for the wise preparation Joseph will counsel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ezek 3:3He said to me, “Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I give you.” Then I ate it; and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
- Rev 10:9–10I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. He said to me, “Take it, and eat it up. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”
- Isa 9:20One will devour on the right hand, and be hungry; and he will eat on the left hand, and they will not be satisfied. Everyone will eat the flesh of his own arm:
- Ps 37:19They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 41:21 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.