¹⁶ So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What words can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s ^(A)slaves, both we and the one in whose ^[a]possession the cup has been found.” ¹⁷ But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose ^[b]possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

¹⁸ Then Judah approached him and said, “Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and ^[c](B)do not be angry with your servant; for ^(C)you are equal to Pharaoh. ^19 (D)My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ And we said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and ^(E)a little boy born in our father’s old age. Now ^(F)his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’ ²¹ Then you said to your servants, ‘^(G)Bring him down to me so that I may set my eyes on him.’ ²² But we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, ^[d]his father would die.’ ²³ You said to your servants, however, ‘^(H)Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ ²⁴ So it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. ²⁵ And ^(I)our father said, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’ ²⁶ But we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ ²⁷ Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that ^(J)my wife bore me two sons; ²⁸ and the one left me, and ^(K)I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since. ²⁹ If you also take this one from ^[e]me, and harm happens to him, you will ^(L)bring my gray hair down to Sheol in ^[f]sorrow.’ ³⁰ So now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us—since ^[g](M)our father’s life is so attached to the boy’s life— ³¹ when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die. So your servants will ^(N)bring the gray hair of your servant, our father, down to Sheol in sorrow. ³² For your servant ^(O)accepted responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then ^[h]my father can let me take the blame forever.’ ³³ So now, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers. ³⁴ For how shall I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear that I may see the evil that would ^[i]overtake my father.”

Joseph Deals Kindly with His Brothers

45 Then Joseph could not control himself in front of everyone standing before him, and he shouted, “Have everyone leave me!” So there ^[j]was no one with him ^(P)when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. ² Then ^(Q)he ^[k]wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard about it. ³ And Joseph said to his brothers, “^(R)I am Joseph! ^(S)Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for ^(T)they were terrified in his presence.

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come ^[l]closer to me.” And they came ^[m]closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you ^(U)sold to Egypt. ⁵ Now do not be grieved or angry ^[n]with yourselves because ^(V)you sold me here, for ^(W)God sent me ahead of you ^[o]to save lives.

¹⁴ And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers had seen that their father was dead, they said, “^(A)What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!” ¹⁶ So they sent instructions to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded us before he died, saying, ¹⁷ ‘This is what you shall say to Joseph: “Please forgive, I beg you, the offense of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”’ And now, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ Then his brothers also came and ^(B)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? ²⁰ As for you, ^(C)you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about ^[a]this present result, to keep many people alive.