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.’
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Genesis 45
45
Joseph Reveals Who He Is
1Joseph could not control himself in front of his servants any longer. He cried out, “Have everyone leave me.” When only the brothers were left with Joseph, he told them who he was. 2Joseph cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him. And the people in the king’s palace heard about it. 3He said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But the brothers could not answer him, because they were very afraid of him.
4So Joseph said to them, “Come close to me.” So the brothers came close to him. And he said to them, “I am your brother Joseph. You sold me as a slave to go to Egypt. 5Now don’t be worried. Don’t be angry with yourselves because you sold me here. God sent me here ahead of you to save people’s lives. 6No food has grown on the land for two years now. And there will be five more years without planting or harvest. 7So God sent me here ahead of you. This was to make sure you have some descendants left on earth. And it was to keep you alive in an amazing way. 8So it was not you who sent me here, but God. God has made me the highest officer of the king of Egypt. I am in charge of his palace. I am the master of all the land of Egypt.
9“So leave quickly and go to my father. Tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all Egypt. Come down to me quickly. 10Live in the land of Goshen. You will be near me. Also your children, your grandchildren, your flocks and herds and all that you have will be near me. 11I will care for you during the next five years of hunger. In this way, you and your family and all that you have will not starve.’
12“Now you can see for yourselves. The one speaking to you is really Joseph. And my brother Benjamin can see this. 13So tell my father about how powerful I have become in Egypt. Tell him about everything you have seen. Now hurry and bring him back to me.” 14Then Joseph hugged his brother Benjamin and cried. And Benjamin cried also. 15Then Joseph kissed all his brothers. He cried as he hugged them. After this, his brothers talked with him.
16The king of Egypt and his officers learned that Joseph’s brothers had come. And they were very happy about this. 17So the king said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to load their animals and go back to the land of Canaan. 18Tell them to bring their father and their families back here to me. I will give them the best land in Egypt. And they will eat the best food we have here. 19Tell them to take some wagons from Egypt for their children and their wives. And tell them to bring their father back also. 20Tell them not to worry about bringing any of their things with them. We will give them the best of what we have in Egypt.”
21So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as the king had ordered. And he gave them food for their trip. 22He gave each brother a change of clothes. But he gave Benjamin five changes of clothes. And Joseph gave him about seven and one-half pounds of silver. 23Joseph also sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the best things from Egypt. And he sent ten female donkeys. They were loaded with grain, bread and other food for his father on his trip back. 24Then Joseph told his brothers to go. As they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way home.”
25So the brothers left Egypt and went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26They told him, “Joseph is still alive. He is the ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Their father was shocked and did not believe them. 27But the brothers told him everything Joseph had said. Then Jacob saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back to Egypt. Now Jacob felt better. 28Jacob, also called Israel, said, “Now I believe you. My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
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