Genesis 45

Chapter 45

Joseph Deals Kindly with His Brothers

¹Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, “Have everyone go out from me.” So there ¹was no man with him ^awhen Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

^2aHe ¹wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it.

³Then Joseph said to his brothers, “^aI am Joseph! ^bIs my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for ^cthey were dismayed at his presence.

⁴Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come ¹closer to me.” And they came closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you ^asold into Egypt.

⁵“Now do not be grieved or angry ¹with yourselves, because ^ayou sold me here, for ^bGod sent me before you to preserve life.

⁶“For the famine has been in the land ^athese two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.

⁷“^aGod sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great ¹deliverance.

⁸“Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a ^afather to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

⁹“Hurry and go up to my father, and ^asay to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay.

¹⁰“You shall ¹live in the land of ^aGoshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have.

¹¹“There I will also ^aprovide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished.” ’

¹²“Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you.

¹³“Now you must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and ^abring my father down here.”

¹⁴Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and ^awept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.

¹⁵He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶Now when ^athe ¹news was heard in Pharaoh’s house ²that Joseph’s brothers had come, it ³pleased Pharaoh and his servants.

¹⁷Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and ¹go to the land of Canaan,

¹⁸and take your father and your households and come to me, and ^aI will give you the ¹best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat of the land.’

¹⁹“Now you are ordered, ‘Do this: ¹take ^awagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come.

²⁰‘Do not ¹concern yourselves with your goods, for the ²best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ ”

²¹Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them ^awagons according to the ¹command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey.

²²To ¹each of them he gave ^achanges of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and ^bfive changes of garments.

²³To his father he sent ¹as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the ²best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and sustenance for his father ³on the journey.

²⁴So he sent his brothers away, and ¹as they departed, he said to them, “Do not ²quarrel on the journey.”

²⁵Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob.

²⁶They told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But ¹he was stunned, for ^ahe did not believe them.

²⁷When they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and when he saw the ^awagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

²⁸Then Israel said, “It is enough; my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”