Genesis 45
45
1And Joseph could not control himself before all them that stood by him, and he cried, Put every man out from me! And no man stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brethren. 2And he raised his voice in weeping; and the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard. 3And Joseph said to his brethren, I am Joseph. Does my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him, for they were troubled at his presence. 4And Joseph said to his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5And now, be not grieved, and be not angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither, for God#GodHebrew: Elohim sent me before you to preserve life. 6For the famine has been these two years in the land; and yet there are five years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. 7So God#GodHebrew: Elohim sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance. 8And now it was not you that sent me here, but God#GodHebrew: Elohim and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and governor over all the land of Egypt. 9Haste and go up to my father, and say to him, Thus says thy son Joseph: God#GodHebrew: Elohim has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, tarry not. 10And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near to me, thou, and thy sons, and thy sons' sons, and thy sheep, and thy cattle, and all that thou hast. 11And there will I maintain thee; for yet there are five years of famine; in order that thou be not impoverished, thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast. 12And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth which speaks to you. 13And tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen, and haste and bring down my father hither. 14And he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15And he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them; and after that his brethren talked with him.
16And the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come. And it was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his bondmen. 17And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Say to thy brethren, Do this: load your beasts and depart, go into the land of Canaan, 18and take your father and your households, and come to me; and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. 19And thou art commanded — this do: take waggons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and take up your father, and come. 20And let not your eye regret your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt shall be yours. 21And the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them waggons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. 22To each one of them all he gave changes of clothing; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. 23And to his father he sent this: ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with corn and bread, and food for his father by the way. 24And he sent his brethren away, and they departed. And he said to them, Do not quarrel on the way.
25And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. 26And they told him, saying, Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And his heart fainted, for he did not believe them. 27And they spoke to him all the words of Joseph, which he had spoken to them. And he saw the waggons that Joseph had sent to carry him. And the spirit of Jacob their father revived. 28And Israel said, It is enough: Joseph my son is yet alive; I will go and see him before I die.
First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Genesis 45
45
Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is
1 #
Ac 7.13. Since Joseph could no longer control his feelings in front of his servants, he sent them out of the room. When he was alone with his brothers, he told them, “I am Joseph.” 2Then he cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him and told about it in the king's#45.2 the king: See the note at 12.15. palace.
3Joseph asked his brothers if his father was still alive, but they were too frightened to answer. 4Joseph told them to come closer to him, and when they did, he said:
Yes, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. 5Don't worry or blame yourselves for what you did. God is the one who sent me ahead of you to save lives.
6There has already been a famine for two years, and for five more years no one will plow fields or harvest grain. 7But God sent me on ahead of you to keep your families alive and to save you in this wonderful way. 8After all, you weren't really the ones who sent me here—it was God. He made me the highest official in the king's court and placed me over all Egypt.
9 #
Ac 7.14. Now hurry back and tell my father that his son Joseph says, “God has made me ruler of Egypt. Come here as quickly as you can. 10You will live near me in the region of Goshen with your children and grandchildren, as well as with your sheep, goats, cattle, and everything else you own. 11I will take care of you there during the next five years of famine. But if you don't come, you and your family and your animals will starve to death.”
12All of you, including my brother Benjamin, can tell by what I have said that I really am Joseph. 13Tell my father about my great power here in Egypt and about everything you have seen. Hurry and bring him here.
14Joseph and Benjamin hugged each other and started crying. 15Joseph was still crying as he kissed each of his other brothers. After this, they started talking with Joseph.
16When it was told in the palace that Joseph's brothers had come, the king and his officials were happy. 17So the king said to Joseph:
Tell your brothers to load their donkeys and return to Canaan. 18Tell them to bring their father and their families here. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they can eat and enjoy everything that grows there. 19Also tell your brothers to take some wagons from Egypt for their wives and children to ride in. And be sure they bring their father. 20They can leave their possessions behind, because they will be given the best of everything in Egypt.
21Jacob's sons agreed to do what the king had said. And Joseph gave them wagons and food for their trip home, just as the king had ordered. 22Joseph gave some new clothes to each of his brothers, but to Benjamin he gave five new outfits and 300 pieces of silver. 23To his father he sent ten donkeys loaded with the best things in Egypt, and ten other donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other food for the return trip. 24Then he sent his brothers off and told them, “Don't argue on the way home!”
25Joseph's brothers left Egypt, and when they arrived in Canaan, 26they told their father that Joseph was still alive and was the ruler of Egypt. But their father was so surprised that he could not believe them. 27Then they told him everything Joseph had said. When he saw the wagons Joseph had sent, he felt much better 28and said, “Now I can believe you! My son Joseph must really be alive, and I will get to see him before I die.”
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
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