Genesis 45
45
Joseph Reveals His Identity
1Then Joseph was not able to control himself before all who were standing by him. And he cried out, “Make every man go out from me!” So no one stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2And he wept loudly,#Literally “he gave his voice with weeping” so that the Egyptians heard it and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” And his brothers were unable to answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. 4So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they drew near. And he said, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5So now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves#Literally “in your eyes” that you sold me here, for God sent me as deliverance before you. 6For these two years the famine has been in the midst of the land, but there will be five more years where there is no plowing or harvest. 7And God sent me before you all to preserve for you a remnant in the land and to keep alive among you many survivors. 8So now, you yourselves did not send me here, but God put me here as father to Pharaoh and as master of all his household, and a ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9Hurry, and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me and do not delay. 10You shall settle in the land of Goshen so that you will be near me, you and your children and your grandchildren, and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. 11And I will provide for you there, because there are still five years of famine—lest you and your household and all that you have become destitute.’ 12Now behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is I#Literally “it is my mouth” who am speaking to you. 13And you must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt and all that you have seen. Now hurry and bring my father here.” 14Then he fell upon the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. And afterward his brothers spoke with him. 16Then the report was heard in the house of Pharaoh, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” And it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers: ‘Do this—load your donkeys and go back to the land of Canaan, 18and take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ 19And you Joseph, are commanded to say this: ‘Do this! Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives, and bring your father and come! 20Do not worry#Literally “let not your eyes be troubled” about your possessions, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ ”
21And the sons of Israel did so. And Joseph gave them wagons at the word of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22To each and to all of them he gave sets of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of clothing. 23And to his father he sent as follows:#Literally “according to this” ten donkeys carrying the best of Egypt, and ten donkeys carrying grain and food and provisions for his father for the journey. 24Then he sent his brothers away, and when they departed he said to them, “Do not be agitated on the journey.” 25So they went up from Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. 26And they spoke to him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart went numb,#Or “became cold” because he did not believe him. 27Then they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them. And when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, then the spirit of Jacob their father revived. 28And Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
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Genesis 45
45
Joseph Reveals Who He Is
1Joseph could not control himself in front of his servants any longer, so 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.” When the brothers came close to him, he said to them, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold as a slave to go to Egypt. 5Now don’t be worried or 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 to make sure you have some descendants left on earth and 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, and 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 where you will be near me. Your children, your grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all that you have will also be near me. 11I will care for you during the next five years of hunger so that you and your family and all that you have will not starve.’
12“Now you can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that the one speaking to you is really Joseph. 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. 15And Joseph kissed all his brothers and cried as he hugged them. After this, his brothers talked with him.
16When the king of Egypt and his officers learned that Joseph’s brothers had come, they were very happy. 17So the king said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to load their animals and go back to the land of Canaan 18and 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 to bring their father back also. 20Tell them not to worry about bringing any of their things with them, because 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 food for their trip. 22He gave each brother a change of clothes, but he gave Benjamin five changes of clothes and about seven and one-half pounds of silver. 23Joseph also sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the best things from Egypt and ten female donkeys 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 and is the ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Their father was shocked and did not believe them. 27But when the brothers told him everything Joseph had said, and when Jacob saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him back to Egypt, he felt better. 28Israel said, “Now I believe you. My son Joseph is still alive, and I will go and see him before I die.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.