Genesis 45 (New American Standard)

Joseph Deals Kindly with His Brothers

1 Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, "Have everyone go out from me." So there ^awas no man with him ¹when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 ²He ^bwept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it. 3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "³I am Joseph ! ⁴Is my father still alive ?" But his brothers could not answer him, for ⁵they were dismayed at his presence. 4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come ^ccloser to me." And they came ^dcloser. And he said, "I am your brother Joseph, whom you ⁶sold into Egypt. 5 "Now do not be grieved or angry ^ewith yourselves, because ⁷you sold me here, for ⁸God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 "For the famine has been in the land ⁹these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 "¹⁰God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great ^fdeliverance. 8 "Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God ; and He has made me a ¹¹father 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 ¹²say 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 ^glive in the land of ¹³Goshen, 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 ¹⁴provide 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 ¹⁵bring my father down here." 14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and ¹⁶wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him. 16 Now when ¹⁷the ^hnews was heard in Pharaoh's house ⁱthat Joseph's brothers had come, it ^jpleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this : load your beasts and ^kgo to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households and come to me, and ¹⁸I will give you the ^lbest of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat of the land.' 19 "Now you are ordered, 'Do this : ^mtake ¹⁹wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come. 20 'Do not ⁿconcern yourselves with your goods, for the ^obest of all the land of Egypt is yours.' " 21 Then the sons of Israel did so ; and Joseph gave them ²⁰wagons according to the ^pcommand of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To ^qeach of them he gave ²¹changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and ²²five changes of garments. 23 To his father he sent ^ras follows : ten donkeys loaded with the ^sbest things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and sustenance for his father ^ton the journey. 24 So he sent his brothers away, and ^uas they departed, he said to them, "Do not ^vquarrel on the journey." 25 Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 They told him, saying, "Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." But ^whe was stunned, for ²³he did not believe them. 27 When they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and when he saw the ²⁴wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 Then Israel said, "It is enough ; my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."