Genesis 45
45
Joseph Reveals Who He Is
1Joseph could not control himself in front of his servants any longer, so he cried out, “Have everyone leave me.” When only the brothers were left with Joseph, he told them who he was. 2Joseph cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and the people in the king’s palace heard about it. 3He said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But the brothers could not answer him, because they were very afraid of him.
4So Joseph said to them, “Come close to me.” When the brothers came close to him, he said to them, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold as a slave to go to Egypt. 5Now don’t be worried or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. God sent me here ahead of you to save people’s lives. 6No food has grown on the land for two years now, and there will be five more years without planting or harvest. 7So God sent me here ahead of you to make sure you have some descendants left on earth and to keep you alive in an amazing way. 8So it was not you who sent me here, but God. God has made me the highest officer of the king of Egypt. I am in charge of his palace, and I am the master of all the land of Egypt.
9“So leave quickly and go to my father. Tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all Egypt. Come down to me quickly. 10Live in the land of Goshen where you will be near me. Your children, your grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all that you have will also be near me. 11I will care for you during the next five years of hunger so that you and your family and all that you have will not starve.’
12“Now you can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that the one speaking to you is really Joseph. 13So tell my father about how powerful I have become in Egypt. Tell him about everything you have seen. Now hurry and bring him back to me.” 14Then Joseph hugged his brother Benjamin and cried, and Benjamin cried also. 15And Joseph kissed all his brothers and cried as he hugged them. After this, his brothers talked with him.
16When the king of Egypt and his officers learned that Joseph’s brothers had come, they were very happy. 17So the king said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to load their animals and go back to the land of Canaan 18and bring their father and their families back here to me. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they will eat the best food we have here. 19Tell them to take some wagons from Egypt for their children and their wives and to bring their father back also. 20Tell them not to worry about bringing any of their things with them, because we will give them the best of what we have in Egypt.”
21So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as the king had ordered and food for their trip. 22He gave each brother a change of clothes, but he gave Benjamin five changes of clothes and about seven and one-half pounds of silver. 23Joseph also sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the best things from Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and other food for his father on his trip back. 24Then Joseph told his brothers to go. As they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way home.”
25So the brothers left Egypt and went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26They told him, “Joseph is still alive and is the ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Their father was shocked and did not believe them. 27But when the brothers told him everything Joseph had said, and when Jacob saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him back to Egypt, he felt better. 28Israel said, “Now I believe you. My son Joseph is still alive, and I will go and see him before I die.”
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Genesis 45: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Genesis 45
45
Chapter 45
Joseph says who he is
1After Judah said this, Joseph could not control himself. He did not want to cry in front of all his servants. So he shouted, ‘Make everyone go away from me!’ So there was no one still there with Joseph, except his brothers. Then he told his brothers who he was. 2Joseph wept loudly, so that the Egyptians heard him. All the people in Pharaoh's house knew about it.
3Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers could not answer him because they were too frightened. They could see Joseph was there in front of them! #45:3 The brothers were frightened because they had sold Joseph, as a slave. They did not know what Joseph would do to them.
4Then Joseph said to them, ‘Come near to me.’ So they did that. He said, ‘I am your brother Joseph. I am the one that you sold to become a slave in Egypt! 5But do not be upset. Do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me like that. No! It was God who sent me here! He sent me here before you came. He did that so that I could save people's lives. 6There has been a famine for two years already. No food will grow for another five years. 7But God sent me to come here before you. Because of that, your family would stay alive. God would do a great thing to save you and your descendants. 8So you did not really send me here. It was God who did that! He made me Pharaoh's most important officer, as if I am his father. I take care of everything in Pharaoh's palace. I have authority to rule over all of Egypt. #45:8 Joseph knew that God had a plan for everything that had happened to him in Egypt. God wanted Jacob and his family to stay alive when there was a famine. 9Now hurry back to my father. Say to him, “This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord over all Egypt. Come here to me. Come now. 10You can live in the region called Goshen. You, your children and your grandchildren can live there. You can bring your sheep, goats and cows, together with everything that you have. In Goshen you will all be near me. 11I will take care of you there. I will give food to you, because there will be five more years of famine. If you do not come here, you and all your family and servants will become very poor.” ’
12Joseph continued to say to his brothers, ‘As I speak to you now, you can all see clearly that I really am Joseph. My brother Benjamin also knows that. 13Tell my father about the authority that I have here in Egypt. Tell him about everything that you have seen here. Then bring my father here quickly.’
14Then Joseph hugged his brother Benjamin and he wept. Benjamin hugged Joseph and he also wept. 15Joseph continued to weep as he kissed each of his other brothers too. After this, his brothers began to talk to Joseph.
16Pharaoh then heard that Joseph's brothers had arrived in Egypt. Pharaoh and his officers were happy to know that. 17Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Tell your brothers to do this. Say to them, “Put food on your donkeys and return home to Canaan. 18Then bring your father and your families to come here to me. I will give you the best land in Egypt to live on. You will have all the best things that the land gives to you.” 19You must also tell your brothers, “Take some carts from here in Egypt. Your wives and children can ride in them to come back here. Bring your father and come quickly. 20Do not worry. You do not have to bring all your things from your own country. The best things of Egypt will belong to you.” ’
21So Jacob's sons did what Pharaoh said. Joseph gave them carts as Pharaoh had told him to do. He also gave them food for their journey. 22Joseph gave new clothes to each of his brothers. But he gave 300 silver coins and five sets of clothes to Benjamin. 23Joseph also sent these things to his father:
10 donkeys that carried the best things from Egypt,
10 female donkeys that carried food and grain,
and other food for his father's journey.
24Then Joseph sent his brothers to start their journey. As they left, he said to them, ‘Do not argue with each other on your way home!’
25The brothers left Egypt and they returned home to their father Jacob in Canaan. 26They told him, ‘Joseph is still alive! He rules over all of Egypt!’ Jacob was so surprised that he did not believe what they said. 27So Jacob's sons told him everything that Joseph had said to them. Jacob saw the carts that Joseph had sent to carry him back to Egypt. Then Jacob felt stronger again. 28Jacob said, ‘Now I believe you! My son Joseph is still alive! I will go and see him before I die.’
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