Genesis 45

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. ₂He cried with such loud sobs that the Egyptians heard it, and the news was taken to the king's palace. 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. ₄Then Joseph said to them, “Please come closer.” They did, and he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 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. ₆This is only the second year of famine in the land; there will be five more years in which there will be neither ploughing nor reaping. ₇God sent me ahead of you to rescue you in this amazing way and to make sure that you and your descendants survive. 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.

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. 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. 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.’ ”

₁₂Joseph continued, “Now all of you, and you too, Benjamin, can see that I am really Joseph. 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.”

₁₄He threw his arms round his brother Benjamin and began to cry; Benjamin also cried as he hugged him. ₁₅Then, still weeping, he embraced each of his brothers and kissed them. After that, his brothers began to talk with him.

₁₆When the news reached the palace that Joseph's brothers had come, the king and his officials were pleased. ₁₇He said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to load their animals and to return to the land of Canaan. 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. ₁₉Tell them also to take wagons with them from Egypt for their wives and small children and to bring their father with them. ₂₀They are not to worry about leaving their possessions behind; the best in the whole land of Egypt will be theirs.”

₂₁Jacob's sons did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons, as the king had ordered, and food for the journey. ₂₂He also gave each of them a change of clothes, but he gave Benjamin 300 pieces of silver and five changes of clothes. ₂₃He sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the best Egyptian goods and ten donkeys loaded with corn, bread, and other food for the journey. ₂₄He sent his brothers off and as they left, he said to them, “Don't quarrel on the way.”

₂₅They left Egypt and went back home to their father Jacob in Canaan. ₂₆“Joseph is still alive!” they told him. “He is the ruler of all Egypt!” Jacob was stunned and could not believe them.

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. 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.”