But after them: that is, “then,” “after that,” or “following those years of plenty.”

All the plenty will be forgotten: all the plenty may be expressed as “the years of good crops” or “the years with plenty to eat.” Be forgotten may need to be expressed actively as “the people will forget….”

Famine will consume the land: this clause is the reason for forgetting the abundant years. The hunger and famine will be so great that people will not remember the time when they had plenty to eat. In many languages famine is called a “hungry time.” Consume, which is literally “eat,” means to destroy or ruin, or to afflict people. The land is not just the ground, soil, or earth, but refers more generally to the people and their country, which suggests both the political realm and its people. Consume the land is an expression that retains the images of the two dreams that the king had. If it is not possible to keep the figure, then an expression such as Good News Translation‘s “will ruin the country” will be useful.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .