Joseph Revealed to His Brothers

45 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him ^(A)while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. ² And he ^(B)wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it.

³ Then Joseph said to his brothers, ^(C)“I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. ⁴ And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, ^(D)whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; ^(E)for God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For these two years the ^(F)famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. ⁷ And God ^(G)sent me before you to preserve a ^[a]posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸ So now it was not you who sent me here, but ^(H)God; and He has made me ^(I)a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ^(J)ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

⁹ “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not ^[b]tarry. ^10 (K)You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. ¹¹ There I will ^(L)provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.” ’

¹² “And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is ^(M)my mouth that speaks to you. ¹³ So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and ^(N)bring my father down here.”

¹⁴ Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. ¹⁵ Moreover he ^(O)kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, ^(A)they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may ^[a]actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” ¹⁶ So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, ¹⁷ ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; ^(B)for they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of ^(C)the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

¹⁸ Then his brothers also went and ^(D)fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

¹⁹ Joseph said to them, ^(E)“Do not be afraid, ^(F)for am I in the place of God? ^20 (G)But as for you, you meant evil against me; but ^(H)God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. ²¹ Now therefore, do not be afraid; ^(I)I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke ^[b]kindly to them.