45 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.

And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.

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.

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.

Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

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.

And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

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.

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:

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:

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.

12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto 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.

14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.

15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked 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.

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;

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.

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.

20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is your's.

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.

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.

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.

24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.

25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,

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.

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:

28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

45 1 Joseph maketh himself known to his brethren. 8 He showeth that all was done by God’s providence. 18 Pharaoh commandeth him to send for his father. 24 Joseph exhorteth his brethren to concord.

Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all that stood by him, but he cried, [a]Have forth every man from me. And there tarried not one with him, while Joseph uttered himself unto his brethren.

And he wept, and cried, so that the Egyptians heard: the house of Pharaoh heard also.

Then Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph: doth my father yet live? But his brethren could not answer him, for they were astonished at his presence.

Again, Joseph said to his brethren, Come near, I pray you, to me. And they came near. And he said, (A)I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

Now therefore be not [b]sad, neither grieved with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: (B)For God did send me before you for your preservation.

For now two years of famine have been through the land, and five years are behind, wherein neither shall be earing nor harvest.

Wherefore God sent me before you to preserve your posterity in this land, and to save you alive by a great deliverance.

Now then you sent not me hither, but [c]God, who hath made me a father unto Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Haste you and go up to my father, and tell him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down to me, tarry not.

10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and shalt be near me, thou and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy sheep, and thy beasts, and all that thou hast.

11 Also I will nourish thee there (for yet remain five years of famine) lest thou perish through poverty, thou and thy household, and all that thou hast.

12 And behold, your eyes do see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that [d]my mouth speaketh to you.

13 Therefore tell my father of all mine honor in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen, and make haste, and bring my father hither.

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

15 Moreover, he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and afterward his brethren talked with him.

16 ¶ And the [e]tidings came to Pharaoh’s house, so that they said, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.

17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Say to thy brethren, This do ye, laid your beasts and depart, go to the land of Canaan,

18 And take your father, and your household, and come to me, and I will give you the [f]best of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat of the [g]fat of the land.

19 And I command thee, Thus do ye, take you chariots out of the land of Egypt for your children, and for your wives, and bring your father and come.

20 Also [h]regard not your stuff: for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.

21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them chariots according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he gave them vittles also for the journey.

22 He gave them all, none except, change of raiment: but unto Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five suits of raiment.

23 And unto his father [i]likewise he sent ten he asses laden with the best things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with wheat, and bread and meat for his father by the way.

24 So sent he his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, [j]Fall not out by the way.

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

26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he also is governor over all the land of Egypt, and Jacob’s heart [k]failed: for he believed them not.

27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: but when he saw the chariots, which Joseph had sent to carry him, then the spirit of Jacob their father revived.

28 And Israel said, I have enough: Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him yet I die.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 45:1 Not that he was ashamed of his kindred, but that he would cover his brethren’s fault.
  2. Genesis 45:5 This example teacheth that we must by all means comfort them, which are truly humbled and wounded for their sins.
  3. Genesis 45:8 Albeit God detest sin, yet he turneth man’s wickedness to serve to his glory.
  4. Genesis 45:12 That is, that I speak in your own language, and have none interpreter.
  5. Genesis 45:16 Hebrew, voice.
  6. Genesis 45:18 The most plentiful ground.
  7. Genesis 45:18 The chiefest fruits and commodities.
  8. Genesis 45:20 Hebrew, let not your eyes spare your vessel.
  9. Genesis 45:23 Or, he sent as much, to wit, silver as verse 22, and ten asses.
  10. Genesis 45:24 Seeing he had remitted the fault done toward him, he would not that they should accuse one another.
  11. Genesis 45:26 As one between hope and fear.

Joseph Makes Himself Known

45 Then Joseph could no longer control himself(A) before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!”(B) So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. And he wept(C) so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.(D)

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?”(E) But his brothers were not able to answer him,(F) because they were terrified at his presence.(G)

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.”(H) When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!(I) And now, do not be distressed(J) and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here,(K) because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.(L) For two years now there has been famine(M) in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant(N) on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.[a](O)

“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.(P) He made me father(Q) to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.(R) Now hurry(S) back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay.(T) 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen(U) and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have.(V) 11 I will provide for you there,(W) because five years of famine(X) are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’(Y)

12 “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin,(Z) that it is really I who am speaking to you.(AA) 13 Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt(AB) and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.(AC)

14 Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin(AD) embraced him,(AE) weeping. 15 And he kissed(AF) all his brothers and wept over them.(AG) Afterward his brothers talked with him.(AH)

16 When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had come,(AI) Pharaoh and all his officials(AJ) were pleased.(AK) 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals(AL) and return to the land of Canaan,(AM) 18 and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt(AN) and you can enjoy the fat of the land.’(AO)

19 “You are also directed to tell them, ‘Do this: Take some carts(AP) from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. 20 Never mind about your belongings,(AQ) because the best of all Egypt(AR) will be yours.’”

21 So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them carts,(AS) as Pharaoh had commanded, and he also gave them provisions for their journey.(AT) 22 To each of them he gave new clothing,(AU) but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels[b] of silver and five sets of clothes.(AV) 23 And this is what he sent to his father: ten donkeys(AW) loaded with the best things(AX) of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey.(AY) 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way!”(AZ)

25 So they went up out of Egypt(BA) and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.(BB) 26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.”(BC) Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them.(BD) 27 But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts(BE) Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “I’m convinced!(BF) My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”(BG)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 45:7 Or save you as a great band of survivors
  2. Genesis 45:22 That is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms