About Joseph telling his brothers about himself

1Joseph could not hold back his tears in front of his servants any longer. So he told them all to go outside. No one else was there when he told his brothers about himself and said to them, “I am your brother Joseph.”

2He couldn't hold back his tears and he cried so loudly that his servants heard him crying from outside, and they took the news to the king of Egypt.

3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am your brother Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But when they heard that he was their brother they were so afraid they couldn't answer.

4Joseph said to them, “Come closer.” They came closer and he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold to some people and they brought me here to Egypt.

5Now do not be upset or blame yourselves because you gave me to them. It was God who sent me here. He brought me ahead of you to save many people's lives.

6There have only been two years with a little bit of food and there will be five more years with very little food. No food will grow in all that time.

7“God sent me ahead to help you so that you and your children would not starve and so that your descendants will keep on living after you die.

8It was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me the governor and I am in charge of all the officers here. I also rule the whole country of Egypt, just as the king does.

9“Now go straight away to my father with a message from me. Say to him, ‘God has made your son Joseph the ruler of all Egypt. So don't wait, but go to him quickly,

10you and your children and grandchildren. Take your sheep, your goats and your cattle and everything else that you have and go to him in Egypt. You can live there in the part of Egypt called Goshen.

11You can live near him so that he can take care of you. There will be very little food for five more years, and he doesn't want you and your family and your animals to starve.’”

12Then Joseph said to them, “All of you, and you too, Benjamin, can see that I really am your brother Joseph.

13Tell my father that I am the ruler here in Egypt and tell him about everything you can see today, and bring him here quickly.”

14Joseph hugged Benjamin and began to cry, and Benjamin cried too.

15Then Joseph hugged all his brothers, and still crying he kissed them. After that, his brothers began to talk with him.

16When the king heard that Joseph's brothers had arrived in Egypt, he was pleased, and so were his officers.

17The king said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to put their things on their donkeys and go back to Canaan.

18Tell them to bring your father and their wives and children back here. I will give them the best land in Egypt, and they will have so much food that they won't be able to eat it all.”

19The king also told Joseph to let his brothers take some big wagons. He said, “The horses can take the wagons empty to Canaan so that your brothers' wives and little children can ride in them when they come to Egypt. And tell them to bring your father with them.

20“Say to your brothers, ‘Don't worry about leaving all your things behind when you come, because you will have plenty of good things here.’”

21Then Jacob's sons put their things on their donkeys. Joseph did as the king said and gave his brothers the wagons and also some food to eat on the way.

22He also gave each of them new clothes to wear, but he gave Benjamin five lots of clothing and 300 silver coins.

23He sent many good things from Egypt to his father and they put them on to ten donkeys. They loaded ten more donkeys with all kinds of food for all the people to eat when the brothers brought their wives and children and their father from Canaan back to Egypt with them.

24Before his brothers left, Joseph said to them, “Don't argue on the way.” Then he sent them off,

25and they left Egypt and went to Canaan. They arrived in Canaan and went home to their father Jacob.

26They told him, “Joseph is still alive! He is the ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But Jacob got such a shock that he couldn't believe them.

27They told their father everything Joseph had said. They showed him the wagons that Joseph had given them so that he and the rest of his family could go to Egypt too. Their father felt better when he heard their story and saw everything.

28Then Jacob said to his sons, “My son Joseph is still alive. That really is good news. Now I want to go and see him before I die.”