Genesis 45
1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
Joseph was not able to control his feelings any longer. He did not want to cry in front of his servants, so he said to them loudly, “All of you go outside!” After they went outside, there was no one else there with Joseph when he told his brothers who he was.
2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
He cried so loudly that the people of Egypt who were outside heard it, and even the people in the king’s palace heard it.
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I [am] Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is our father still alive?” But his brothers were not able to reply, because they were frightened because of what he said.
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I [am] Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me!” When they came closer, he said, “I am your brother Joseph! I am the one you sold to traders who brought me here to Egypt!
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
But now, do not be distressed, and do not be angry with yourselves for having sold me to people who brought me here, because it was to save you from dying [because of the famine] that God sent me here ahead of you.
6 For these two years [hath] the famine [been] in the land: and yet [there are] five years, in the which [there shall] neither [be] earing nor harvest.
There has been a famine in this country for two years, and it will continue for five more years, so that no one will plow ground, and there will be no crops to harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
But God sent me here ahead of you, to keep you from starving, and to make sure that your descendants will survive.
8 So now [it was] not you [that] sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Therefore, it was not you who sent me here; it was God who sent me here! He has caused me to become like a father to the king. I am in charge of everything in his palace and the governor of everyone in Egypt!
9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
Now return to my father quickly, and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has caused me to become the governor over the whole land of Egypt. Come down to me immediately!
10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
You can live in the Goshen region. You and your children and your grandchildren, your sheep and goats and cattle, and everything that you own, will be near me.
11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet [there are] five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
Since there will be five more years of famine, I will make sure that you have food. If you do not come here, you and your family and all of your servants will starve. [EUP]”’
12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that [it is] my mouth that speaketh unto you.
“Look closely, and all of you can see, including my brother Benjamin, that it is really I, Joseph, who am speaking to you.
13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
Go and tell my father about how greatly I am honored here in Egypt. And tell him about everything else that you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly!”
14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
Then he threw his arms around his [younger] brother Benjamin’s neck and cried. And Benjamin hugged him and cried.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
And then as he kissed his older brothers [on their cheeks], he cried. After that, his brothers started to talk with him.
16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
Someone went to the palace and told the news that Joseph’s brothers had come. The king and all his officials were pleased.
17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
The king said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers this: ‘Put loads of grain on your animals and return to the Canaan region.
18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
Then bring your father and your families back here. I will give you the best land in Egypt, and you will have the best food in the land to eat.’
19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
“Also tell this to your brothers: ‘Take some carts from Egypt to carry your children and your wives, and get them and your father and come back here quickly.
20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt [is] yours.
Do not worry about bringing your possessions, because the best things in Egypt will be yours. Because of that, you will not need to bring any of your things from Canaan.’”
21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
Jacob’s sons did what the king suggested. Joseph gave them carts and food to eat along the way, as the king had ordered.
22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred [pieces] of silver, and five changes of raiment.
To each of them he gave new clothes, but he gave 300 pieces of silver and five sets of new clothes to Benjamin!
23 And to his father he sent after this [manner; ] ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.
And this is what he sent to his father: Ten male donkeys, loaded with some of the best goods that come from Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other food for his father’s trip to Egypt.
24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
Then he sent his brothers on their way, saying to them “Do not quarrel along the way!”
25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
So they left Egypt and came to their father Jacob in Canaan.
26 And told him, saying, Joseph [is] yet alive, and he [is] governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.
One of them told him, “Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is the governor over all of Egypt!” Jacob was extremely astonished; he could not believe that it was true.
27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:
But they told him everything that Joseph had said to them, and Jacob saw the carts that Joseph had sent to carry him and his family and possessions to Egypt. Then their father Jacob’s shock ended.
28 And Israel said, [It is] enough; Joseph my son [is] yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
He said, “What you have said is enough to convince me! My son Joseph is still alive, and I will go and see him before I die!”
