Genesis 45
45
1And Joseph hath not been able to refrain himself before all those standing by him, and he calleth, ‘Put out every man from me;’ and no man hath stood with him when Joseph maketh himself known unto his brethren,
2and he giveth forth his voice in weeping, and the Egyptians hear, and the house of Pharaoh heareth.
3And Joseph saith unto his brethren, ‘I [am] Joseph, is my father yet alive?’ and his brethren have not been able to answer him, for they have been troubled at his presence.
4And Joseph saith unto his brethren, ‘Come nigh unto me, I pray you,’ and they come nigh; and he saith, ‘I [am] Joseph, your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt;
5and now, be not grieved, nor let it be displeasing in your eyes that ye sold me hither, for to preserve life hath God sent me before you.
6‘Because these two years the famine [is] in the heart of the land, and yet [are] five years, [in] which there is neither ploughing nor harvest;
7and God sendeth me before you, to place of you a remnant in the land, and to give life to you by a great escape;
8and now, ye — ye have not sent me hither, but God, and He doth set me for a father to Pharaoh, and for lord to all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
9‘Haste, and go up unto my father, then ye have said to him, Thus said Joseph thy son, God hath set me for lord to all Egypt; come down unto me, stay not,
10and thou hast dwelt in the land of Goshen, and been near unto me, thou and thy sons, and thy son's sons, and thy flock, and thy herd, and all that thou hast,
11and I have nourished thee there — for yet [are] five years of famine — lest thou become poor, thou and thy household, and all that thou hast.
12‘And lo, your eyes are seeing, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that [it is] my mouth which is speaking unto you;
13and ye have declared to my father all my honour in Egypt, and all that ye have seen, and ye have hasted, and have brought down my father hither.’
14And he falleth on the neck of Benjamin his brother, and weepeth, and Benjamin hath wept on his neck;
15and he kisseth all his brethren, and weepeth over them; and afterwards have his brethren spoken with him.
16And the sound hath been heard in the house of Pharaoh, saying, ‘Come have the brethren of Joseph;’ and it is good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants,
17and Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, ‘Say unto thy brethren, This do ye: lade your beasts, and go, enter ye the land of Canaan,
18and take your father, and your households, and come unto me, and I give to you the good of the land of Egypt, and eat ye the fat of the land.
19‘Yea, thou — thou hast been commanded: this do ye, take for yourselves out of the land of Egypt, waggons for your infants, and for your wives, and ye have brought your father, and come;
20and your eye hath no pity on your vessels, for the good of all the land of Egypt [is] yours.’
21And the sons of Israel do so, and Joseph giveth waggons to them by the command of Pharaoh, and he giveth to them provision for the way;
22to all of them hath he given — to each changes of garments, and to Benjamin he hath given three hundred silverlings, and five changes of garments;
23and to his father he hath sent thus: ten asses bearing of the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses bearing corn and bread, even food for his father for the way.
24And he sendeth his brethren away, and they go; and he saith unto them, ‘Be not angry in the way.’
25And they go up out of Egypt, and come in to the land of Canaan, unto Jacob their father,
26and they declare to him, saying, ‘Joseph [is] yet alive,’ and that he [is] ruler over all the land of Egypt; and his heart ceaseth, for he hath not given credence to them.
27And they speak unto him all the words of Joseph, which he hath spoken unto them, and he seeth the waggons which Joseph hath sent to bear him away, and live doth the spirit of Jacob their father;
28and Israel saith, ‘Enough! Joseph my son [is] yet alive; I go and see him before I die.’
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Genesis 45: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Genesis 45
45
1-2Joseph couldn’t hold himself in any longer, keeping up a front before all his attendants. He cried out, “Leave! Clear out—everyone leave!” So there was no one with Joseph when he identified himself to his brothers. But his sobbing was so violent that the Egyptians couldn’t help but hear him. The news was soon reported to Pharaoh’s palace.
3Joseph spoke to his brothers: “I am Joseph. Is my father really still alive?” But his brothers couldn’t say a word. They were speechless—they couldn’t believe what they were hearing and seeing.
4-8“Come closer to me,” Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. “I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don’t feel badly, don’t blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn’t you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt.
9-11“Hurry back to my father. Tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says: I’m master of all of Egypt. Come as fast as you can and join me here. I’ll give you a place to live in Goshen where you’ll be close to me—you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and anything else you can think of. I’ll take care of you there completely. There are still five more years of famine ahead; I’ll make sure all your needs are taken care of, you and everyone connected with you—you won’t want for a thing.’
12-13“Look at me. You can see for yourselves, and my brother Benjamin can see for himself, that it’s me, my own mouth, telling you all this. Tell my father all about the high position I hold in Egypt, tell him everything you’ve seen here, but don’t take all day—hurry up and get my father down here.”
14-15Then Joseph threw himself on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. He then kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Only then were his brothers able to talk with him.
16The story was reported in Pharaoh’s palace: “Joseph’s brothers have come.” It was good news to Pharaoh and all who worked with him.
17-18Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘This is the plan: Load up your pack animals; go to Canaan, get your father and your families and bring them back here. I’ll settle you on the best land in Egypt—you’ll live off the fat of the land.’
19-20“Also tell them this: ‘Here’s what I want you to do: Take wagons from Egypt to carry your little ones and your wives and load up your father and come back. Don’t worry about having to leave things behind; the best in all of Egypt will be yours.’”
21-23And they did just that, the sons of Israel. Joseph gave them the wagons that Pharaoh had promised and food for the trip. He outfitted all the brothers in brand-new clothes, but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and several suits of clothes. He sent his father these gifts: ten donkeys loaded with Egypt’s best products and another ten donkeys loaded with grain and bread, provisions for his father’s journey back.
24Then he sent his brothers off. As they left he told them, “Take it easy on the journey; try to get along with each other.”
25-28They left Egypt and went back to their father Jacob in Canaan. When they told him, “Joseph is still alive—and he’s the ruler over the whole land of Egypt!” he went numb; he couldn’t believe his ears. But the more they talked, telling him everything that Joseph had told them and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back, the blood started to flow again—their father Jacob’s spirit revived. Israel said, “I’ve heard enough—my son Joseph is still alive. I’ve got to go and see him before I die.”
* * *
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.