⁷ When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them.

“Where do you come from?” he asked.

“From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied.

⁸ Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. ⁹ Joseph remembered his dreams about them^(A) and said to them, “You are spies. You have come to see the weakness^[a] of the land.”

¹⁰ “No, my lord. Your servants have come to buy food,” they said. ¹¹ “We are all sons of one man. We are honest; your servants are not spies.”

¹² “No,” he said to them. “You have come to see the weakness of the land.”

¹³ But they replied, “We, your servants, were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now^[b] with our father, and one is no longer living.”

¹⁴ Then Joseph said to them, “I have spoken:^[c] ‘You are spies!’ ¹⁵ This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” ¹⁷ So Joseph imprisoned them together for three days.

¹⁸ On the third day Joseph said to them, “I fear God^(B)—do this and you will live. ¹⁹ If you are honest, let one of you^[d] be confined to the guardhouse, while the rest of you go and take grain to relieve the hunger of your households. ²⁰ Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won’t die.” And they consented to this.

⁴¹ “Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!^{(A) 42} For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger and you didn’t take me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of me.’

⁴⁴ “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help you?’

⁴⁵ “Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’^(B)

⁴⁶ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”^(C)

²¹ Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.”^(A)

²² But Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to harm the boy?^(B) But you wouldn’t listen. Now we must account for his blood!” ^[a]

²³ They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them. ²⁴ He turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.

Joseph Reveals His Identity

45 Joseph could no longer keep his composure in front of all his attendants,^[a] so he called out, “Send everyone away from me!” No one was with him when he revealed his identity to his brothers.^{(A) 2} But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and also Pharaoh’s household heard it. ³ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But they could not answer him because they were terrified in his presence.

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please, come near me,” and they came near. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt.^{(B) 5} And now don’t be grieved or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life.^{(C) 6} For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. ⁷ God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.^{[b] 8} Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

⁹ “Return quickly 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 without delay. ¹⁰ You can settle in the land of Goshen^(D) and be near me—you, your children, and your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and all you have. ¹¹ There I will sustain you, for there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you, your household, and everything you have will become destitute.”’^{(E) 12} Look! Your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin can see that I’m^[c] the one speaking to you. ¹³ Tell my father about all my glory in Egypt and about all you have seen. And bring my father here quickly.”^(F)

¹⁴ Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder. ¹⁵ Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept,^[d] and afterward his brothers talked with him.

³⁴ Then Jesus said, “Father,^(A) forgive^(B) them, because they do not know what they are doing.”^[a](C) And they divided his clothes and cast lots.^(D)

Joseph’s Kindness

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said to one another, “If Joseph is holding a grudge against us, he will certainly repay us for all the suffering we caused him.”^(A)

¹⁶ So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before he died your father gave a command: ¹⁷ ‘Say this to Joseph: Please forgive your brothers’ transgression and their sin—the suffering they caused you.’ Therefore, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept^(B) when their message came to him. ¹⁸ His brothers also came to him, bowed down before him, and said, “We are your slaves!”

¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?^{(C) 20} You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.^{(D) 21} Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.”^(E) And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.^[a]