45Genesis 45

Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is

1Joseph was no longer able to control his feelings in front of his servants, so he ordered them all to leave the room. No one else was with him when Joseph told his brothers who he was.Select Genesis 45:1

2He cried with such loud sobs that the Egyptians heard it, and the news was taken to the king's palace.Select Genesis 45:2

3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But when his brothers heard this, they were so terrified that they could not answer.Select Genesis 45:3

4Then Joseph said to them, “Please come closer.” They did, and he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.Select Genesis 45:4

5Now do not be upset or blame yourselves because you sold me here. It was really God who sent me ahead of you to save people's lives.Select Genesis 45:5

6This is only the second year of famine in the land; there will be five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor reaping.Select Genesis 45:6

7God sent me ahead of you to rescue you in this amazing way and to make sure that you and your descendants survive.Select Genesis 45:7

8So it was not really you who sent me here, but God. He has made me the king's highest official. I am in charge of his whole country; I am the ruler of all Egypt.Select Genesis 45:8

9“Now hurry back to my father and tell him that this is what his son Joseph says: ‘God has made me ruler of all Egypt; come to me without delay.Select Genesis 45:9

10You can live in the region of Goshen, where you can be near me—you, your children, your grandchildren, your sheep, your goats, your cattle, and everything else that you have.Select Genesis 45:10

11If you are in Goshen, I can take care of you. There will still be five years of famine; and I do not want you, your family, and your livestock to starve.’”Select Genesis 45:11

12Joseph continued, “Now all of you, and you too, Benjamin, can see that I am really Joseph.Select Genesis 45:12

13Tell my father how powerful I am here in Egypt and tell him about everything that you have seen. Then hurry and bring him here.”Select Genesis 45:13

14He threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and began to cry; Benjamin also cried as he hugged him.Select Genesis 45:14

15Then, still weeping, he embraced each of his brothers and kissed them. After that, his brothers began to talk with him.Select Genesis 45:15

16When the news reached the palace that Joseph's brothers had come, the king and his officials were pleased.Select Genesis 45:16

17He said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to load their animals and to return to the land of Canaan.Select Genesis 45:17

18Let them get their father and their families and come back here. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they will have more than enough to live on.Select Genesis 45:18

19Tell them also to take wagons with them from Egypt for their wives and small children and to bring their father with them.Select Genesis 45:19

20They are not to worry about leaving their possessions behind; the best in the whole land of Egypt will be theirs.”Select Genesis 45:20

21Jacob's sons did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons, as the king had ordered, and food for the trip.Select Genesis 45:21

22He also gave each of them a change of clothes, but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes.Select Genesis 45:22

23He sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the best Egyptian goods and ten donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and other food for the trip.Select Genesis 45:23

24He sent his brothers off and as they left, he said to them, “Don't quarrel on the way.”Select Genesis 45:24

25They left Egypt and went back home to their father Jacob in Canaan.Select Genesis 45:25

26“Joseph is still alive!” they told him. “He is the ruler of all Egypt!” Jacob was stunned and could not believe them.Select Genesis 45:26

27But when they told him all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to take him to Egypt, he recovered from the shock.Select Genesis 45:27

28“My son Joseph is still alive!” he said. “This is all I could ask for! I must go and see him before I die.”Select Genesis 45:28