Joseph in Potiphar’s House

39 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, a court official of Pharaoh, commander of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. ² And Yahweh was with Joseph, and he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. ³ And his master observed that Yahweh was with him, and everything that was in his hand to do Yahweh made successful. ⁴ And Joseph found favor in his eyes and he served him. Then he appointed him^[a] over his house and all that he owned he put into his hand. ⁵ And it happened that from the time he appointed him over his house and over all that he had, Yahweh blessed the house of the Egyptian on account of Joseph. And the blessing of Yahweh was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. ⁶ And he left all that he had in the hand of Joseph, and he did not worry about anything^[b] except the food that he ate. Now Joseph was well built and handsome.^{[c] 7} And it happened that after these things his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” ⁸ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not worry about^[d] what is in the house, and everything he owns he has put in my hand. ⁹ He has no greater authority in this house than me, and he has not withheld anything from me except you, since you are his wife. Now how could I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” ¹⁰ And it happened that as she spoke to Joseph day after day,^[e] he did not heed her to lie beside her or to be with her. ¹¹ But one particular day^[f] he came into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house were there in the house, ¹² she seized him by his garment and said, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and he went outside. ¹³ And it happened that when she saw that he left his garment in her hand and fled outside, ¹⁴ she called to the men of her house and said to them, “Look! He^[g] brought a Hebrew man to us to mock us! He came to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. ¹⁵ And when he heard me, that I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled, and he went outside.” ¹⁶ Then she put his garment beside her until his master came to his house. ¹⁷ Then she spoke to him according to these words, saying, “The Hebrew slave that you brought to us came to me to make fun of me. ¹⁸ And it happened that as I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” ¹⁹ And when his master heard the words of his wife that she spoke to him, “This is what your servant did to me,”^[h] he became very angry.^{[i] 20} And Joseph’s master took him and put him into prison, the place that the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in prison. ²¹ And Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed loyal love to him, and gave him favor in the eyes of the chief of the prison. ²² And the chief of the prison put all the prisoners that were in the prison into the hand of Joseph. And everything that was done there, he was the one who did it. ²³ The chief of the prison did not worry about^[j] anything in his^[k] hand, since Yahweh was with him. And whatever he did Yahweh made it successful.

Joseph Interprets Dreams in Prison

40 And it happened that after these things the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker did wrong against their lord, against the king of Egypt. ² And Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, with the chief cupbearer and chief baker. ³ And he put them in custody in the house of the chief of the guard, into the prison where Joseph was confined. ⁴ And the chief of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. And they were in custody many days.^{[l] 5} And the two of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, dreamed a dream, each his own dream, with its own interpretation. ⁶ When Joseph came to them in the morning he looked at them, and behold, they were troubled. ⁷ And he asked the court officials of Pharaoh that were with him in the custody of his master’s house, “Why are your faces sad today?” ⁸ And they said to him, “We each dreamed a dream, but there is no one to interpret it.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.” ⁹ Then the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and he said to him, “In my dream, now behold, there was a vine before me, ¹⁰ and on the vine were three branches. And as it budded, its blossoms came up, and its clusters of grapes grew ripe. ¹¹ And the cup of Pharaoh was in my hand, and I took the grapes and squeezed them into the cup of Pharaoh. Then I placed the cup into the hand of Pharaoh.” ¹² Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: The three branches, they are three days. ¹³ In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and will restore you to your office. And you shall put the cup of Pharaoh into his hand as was formerly the custom, when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ But remember me when it goes well with you, and please may you show kindness with respect to me, and mention me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. ¹⁵ For I was surely kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me in this pit.” ¹⁶ And when the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good he said to Joseph, “I also dreamed. In my dream, now behold, there were three baskets of bread upon my head. ¹⁷ And in the upper basket were all sorts of baked foods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket upon my head.” ¹⁸ Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: The three baskets, they are three days. ¹⁹ In three days Pharaoh will lift your head from you and hang you on a pole,^[m] and the birds will eat your flesh from you.” ²⁰ And it happened that on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants. And he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants. ²¹ And he restored the chief cupbearer to his cupbearing position. And he placed the cup in the hand of Pharaoh. ²² But the chief baker he hanged as Joseph had interpreted to them. ²³ But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams

41 And it happened that after two full years^[n] Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he was standing by the Nile. ² And behold, seven cows, well built and fat,^[o] were coming up from the Nile, and they grazed among the reeds. ³ And behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and gaunt,^[p] and they stood beside those^[q] cows on the bank of the Nile. ⁴ And the ugly and gaunt^[r] cows ate the seven well built and fat^[s] cows. Then Pharaoh awoke. ⁵ And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time, and behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were coming out of one stalk. ⁶ And behold, seven thin ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. ⁷ And the thin ears of grain swallowed up the seven plump and full ears of grain. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. ⁸ And it happened that in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called all of the magicians^[t] of Egypt, and all its wise men, and Pharaoh told his dream to them. But they had no interpretation^[u] for Pharaoh. ⁹ Then the chief of the cupbearers spoke with Pharaoh, saying, “I remember my sins today. ¹⁰ Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the house of the chief of the guard. ¹¹ And we dreamed a dream one night, I and he, each with a dream that had a meaning.^{[v] 12} And there with us was a young man, a Hebrew servant of the chief of the guard, and we told him the dream, and he interpreted our dreams for us, each according to his dream he interpreted. ¹³ And it happened just as he interpreted to us, so it was. He^[w] restored me to my office, and him^[x] he^[y] hanged.” ¹⁴ Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they brought him quickly from the prison. And he shaved and changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. ¹⁵ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I dreamed a dream, but there is none to interpret it. Now, I have heard concerning you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” ¹⁶ Then Joseph answered Pharaoh saying, “It is not in my power;^[z] God will answer concerning the well-being of Pharaoh.” ¹⁷ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now in my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile, ¹⁸ and behold, seven cows, well built and fat,^[aa] were coming up from the Nile, and they grazed among the reeds. ¹⁹ And behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, very ugly and gaunt^[ab]—never have I seen any as them in all the land of Egypt for ugliness. ²⁰ And the thin and ugly cows ate the former seven healthy cows. ²¹ But when they went into their bellies^[ac] it could not be known that they went into their bellies,^[ad] for their appearance was as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. ²² Then I saw in my dream and behold, seven ears of grain were coming out of one stalk, full and good. ²³ And behold, seven withered ears of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. ²⁴ And the thin ears of grain swallowed up the seven good ears of grain. And I told the magicians,^[ae] but there was none to explain it to me.” ²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶ The seven good cows, they are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain, they are seven years. The dreams are one. ²⁷ And the seven thin and ugly cows coming up after them, they are seven years, and the seven empty ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, they are also seven years of famine. ²⁸ This is the word that I have spoken to Pharaoh; God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁹ Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. ³⁰ Then seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will consume the land. ³¹ Abundance in the land will not be known because of the famine that follows,^[af] for it will be very heavy. ³² Now concerning the repetition of the dream twice to Pharaoh, it is because the matter is established by God, and God will do it quickly. ³³ Now then, let Pharaoh select a man who is discerning and wise, and let him set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint supervisors over the land, and let him take one-fifth from the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. ³⁵ Then let them gather all the food of these coming good years and let them pile up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. ³⁶ Then the food shall be as a deposit for the land for the seven years of the famine that will be in the land of Egypt, that the land will not perish on account of the famine.”

Joseph Rises to Power

³⁷ And the plan^[ag] was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. ³⁸ Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this in whom is the spirit of God?” ³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all of this known to you there is no one as discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be over my house, and to your word^[ah] all my people shall submit. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his finger and put it on the finger of Joseph. And he clothed him with garments of fine linen, and he put a chain of gold around his neck. ⁴³ And he had him ride in his second chariot. And they cried out before him, “Kneel!” And Pharaoh set him over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your consent no one will lift his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ And Pharaoh called the name of Joseph Zaphenath-paneah and gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as a wife. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. ⁴⁶ Now Joseph was thirty years old^[ai] when he stood before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and traveled through the whole land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ And the land produced a plenty in the seven years of abundance. ⁴⁸ And he gathered all the food of the seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt. And he stored the food in the cities. The food of the field that surrounded each city he stored in its midst. ⁴⁹ And Joseph piled up grain like the sand of the sea in great abundance until he stopped counting it, for it could not be counted.^{[aj] 50} Before the years of famine came, Asenath, daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore two sons to him. ⁵¹ And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, for he said, “God has caused me to forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” ⁵² And the name of the second he called Ephraim, for he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortune.” ⁵³ And the seven years of abundance which were in the land of Egypt came to an end. ⁵⁴ And the seven years of famine began to come as Joseph had said. And there was famine in all of the countries, but in the land of Egypt there was food. ⁵⁵ And when all the land of Egypt was hungry the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. And Pharaoh said to all the land of Egypt, “Go to Joseph; what he says to you, you must do.” ⁵⁶ And the famine was over the whole land, and Joseph opened all the storehouses^[ak] and sold food to the Egyptians. And the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ And every land came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, for the famine was severe in every land.

Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt for Food

42 When Jacob realized that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” ² Then he said, “Look, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us there that we may live and not die.” ³ And the ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, for he feared harm would come to him.^{[al] 5} Then the sons of Israel went to buy grain amid those other people who went as well, for there was famine in the land of Canaan. ⁶ Now Joseph was the governor over the land. He was the one who sold food to all the people of the land. And the brothers of Joseph came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. ⁷ And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger to them. And he spoke with them harshly and said to them, “From where have you come?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” ⁸ And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. ⁹ And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed concerning them, and he said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!” ¹⁰ And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. ¹¹ We all are sons of one man. We are honest men. We, your servants, are not spies.” ¹² Then he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” ¹³ Then they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, but behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.” ¹⁴ But Joseph said to them, “It is what I said to you—you are spies. ¹⁵ By this you shall be tested. By the life of Pharaoh you will not go out from here unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, but you will be kept in prison so that your words might be tested to see if there is truth with you. And if not, by the life of Pharaoh surely you are spies.” ¹⁷ Then he gathered them into the prison for three days. ¹⁸ On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live; I fear God. ¹⁹ If you are honest, let one of your brothers be kept in prison where you are now being kept,^[am] but the rest of you go, carry grain for the famine for your households. ²⁰ You must bring your youngest brother to me, and then your words will be confirmed and you will not die.” And they did so. ²¹ Then each said to his brother, “Surely we are guilty on account of our brother when we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded for mercy to us and we would not listen. Therefore this trouble has come to us.” ²² Then Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not say to you, do not sin against the boy? But you did not listen, and now, behold, his blood has been sought.” ²³ Now they did not know that Joseph understood, for the interpreter was between them. ²⁴ And he turned away from them and wept. Then he returned to them and spoke to them, and took Simeon from them and tied him up in front of them. ²⁵ Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to return their money to each sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them. ²⁶ Then they loaded their grain upon their donkeys and went away from there. ²⁷ And one of them later opened his sack to give fodder to his donkey at the lodging place and saw his money—behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. ²⁸ And he said to his brothers, “My money was returned and moreover, behold, it is in my sack!” Then their hearts failed them^[an] and each of them trembled and said, “What is this God has done to us?”

²⁹ And when they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan they told him everything that had happened to them, saying, ³⁰ “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us as if we were spying out the land. ³¹ But we said to him, ‘We are honest; we are not spies. ³² We are twelve brothers, the sons of our father. One is no more and the youngest is with our father now in the land of Canaan.’ ³³ Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest. Leave one brother with me, and take food for the famine in your households and go. ³⁴ And bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies but you are honest. And I will give your brother back to you, and you will trade in the land.’” ³⁵ And it happened that when they emptied their sacks, behold, each one’s pouch of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw the pouches of their money, they were greatly distressed. ³⁶ And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me—Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and Benjamin you would take! All of this is against me! ³⁷ Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hand and I myself will return him to you.” ³⁸ But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone remains. If harm meets him on the journey that you would take, you would bring down my gray head in sorrow to Sheol.”

Joseph’s Brothers Return to Egypt

43 Now the famine in the land was severe. ² And it happened that as they finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt their father said to them, “Return and buy a little food for us.” ³ Then Judah said to him, “The man solemnly admonished us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ⁴ If you will send^[ao] our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you, ⁵ but if you will not send^[ap] him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” ⁶ Then Israel said, “Why did you bring trouble to me by telling the man you still had a brother?” ⁷ And they said, “The man asked explicitly about us and about our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have a brother?’ And we answered him according to these words. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring down your brother’?” ⁸ Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and let us arise and go, so that we will live and not die—you, we, and our children. ⁹ I myself will be surety for him. You may seek him from my hand. If I do not bring him back to you and present him before you, then I will stand guilty before you forever. ¹⁰ Surely if we had not hesitated by this time we would have returned twice.” ¹¹ Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so then do this. Take some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, and pistachios and almonds. ¹² And take double the money in your hands. Take back the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. ¹³ And take your brother. Now arise and return to the man. ¹⁴ And may El-Shaddai^[aq] grant you compassion before the man that he may release your other brother to you and Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

¹⁵ So the men took this gift, and they took double money in their hands, and Benjamin, and they rose up and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. ¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them he said to the one who was over his household, “Bring the men into the house and slaughter and prepare an animal, for the men shall eat with me at noon.” ¹⁷ And the man did as Joseph had said, and the man brought the men into the house of Joseph. ¹⁸ And the men were afraid when they were brought into the house of Joseph. And they said “We were brought here on account of the money that was returned to our sacks the first time, that he might attack us and fall upon us to take us as slaves with our donkeys.” ¹⁹ So they approached the man who was over Joseph’s house and spoke to him at the doorway of the house. ²⁰ And they said, “Please, my lord, we surely came down once before to buy food, ²¹ but when we came to the place of lodging and we opened our sacks, then behold, each one’s money was in the mouth of his sack—our money in its full weight—so we have returned with it in our hands. ²² Now, other money we have brought down in our hand to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.” ²³ And he said, “Peace to you; do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father must have given you a treasure in your sacks; your money came to me.” And he brought Simeon out to them. ²⁴ Then the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and he gave them water and washed their feet, and gave fodder to their donkeys. ²⁵ Then they laid out^[ar] the gift until Joseph came at noon, for they had heard that they were to eat food there. ²⁶ And when Joseph came into the house they brought the gift that was in their hand into the house to him, and they bowed down before him to the ground. ²⁷ And he greeted them^[as] and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” ²⁸ And they said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they knelt and bowed down. ²⁹ Then he lifted up his eyes and saw Benjamin his brother, the son of his mother, and said, “Is this your youngest brother of whom you told me?” And he continued,^[at] “God be gracious to you, my son.” ³⁰ Then Joseph hurried away,^[au] being overcome with emotion^[av] toward his brother, and sought for a place to cry. Then he went into a room and wept there. ³¹ Then he washed his face and went out, now controlling himself, and said, “Serve the food.” ³² And they served him^[aw] by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who were eating with him by themselves, for Egyptians could not dine^[ax] with Hebrews, because that was a detestable thing to Egyptians. ³³ And they were seated before him from the firstborn according to his birthright to the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another^[ay] amazed. ³⁴ And portions were served to them from his table,^[az] and the portion of Benjamin was five times greater than the portion of any of them. And they drank and became drunk with him.

Joseph Tests His Brothers

44 Then he commanded the one who was over his household, saying, “Fill the sacks of the men with food as much as they are able to carry, and put each one’s money in the mouth of his sack. ² And my cup—the cup of silver—you shall put into the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and the money for his grain. And he did according to the word of Joseph that he had commanded. ³ When the morning light came the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. ⁴ They went out of the city, and had not gone far when Joseph said to the one who was over his house, “Arise! Pursue after the men and overtake them. Then you shall say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? ⁵ Is this not that from which my master drinks? Now he himself certainly practices divination with it. You have done evil in what you have done.’” ⁶ When he overtook them he spoke these words to them. ⁷ And they said to him, “Why has my lord spoken according to these words? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! ⁸ Behold, the money that we found in the mouth of our sacks we returned to you from the land of Canaan. Now why would we steal silver or gold from the house of my lord? ⁹ Whoever is found with it from among your servants shall die. And moreover, we will become slaves to my lord.” ¹⁰ Then he said, “Now also according to your words, thus will it be. He who is found with it shall be my slave, but you shall be innocent.” ¹¹ Then each man quickly brought down his sack to the ground, and each one opened his sack. ¹² And he searched, beginning with the oldest and finishing with the youngest. And the cup was found in the sack of Benjamin. ¹³ Then they tore their clothes, and each one loaded his donkey and they returned to the city.

¹⁴ And Judah and his brothers came to the house of Joseph—now he was still there—they fell before him to the ground. ¹⁵ Then Joseph said to them, “What is this deed that you have done? Did you not know that a man who is like me surely practices divination?” ¹⁶ And Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? Now how can we show ourselves innocent? God has found the guilt of your servants! Behold, we are slaves to my lord, both we and also he in whose hand the cup was found.” ¹⁷ But he said, “Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found, he will become my slave. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.” ¹⁸ But Judah drew near to him and said, “Please my lord, let your servant speak a word in the ears of my lord, and let not your anger burn^[ba] against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself.^{[bb] 19} My lord had asked his servants, saying, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ And we said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and a younger brother, the child of his old age, and his brother died, and he alone remains from his mother, and his father loves him.’ ²¹ Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me that I may set my eyes upon him.’ ²² Then we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he should leave his father, then he^[bc] would die.’ ²³ Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not again see my face.’ ²⁴ And it happened that we went up to your servant, my father, and told him the words of my lord. ²⁵ And when our father said, ‘Buy a little food for us,’ ²⁶ then we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we shall go down. For we will not be able to see the face of the man unless our youngest brother is with us.’ ²⁷ Then your servant, my father, said to us, ‘You yourselves know that my wife bore two sons to me. ²⁸ One went out from me, and I said, “Surely he must have been torn to pieces,” and I have never seen him since. ²⁹ And if you take this one also from me, and he encounters harm, you will bring down my gray head in sorrow to Sheol.’ ³⁰ So now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us—now his life is bound up with his life— ³¹ it shall happen that when he sees that the boy is gone, he will die. And your servants will bring down the gray head of your servant, our father, to Sheol with sorrow. ³² For your servant is pledged as surety for the boy by my father, saying, If I do not bring him to you, then I shall be culpable to my father forever. ³³ So then, please let your servant remain in place of the boy as a slave to my lord, and let the boy go up with his brothers. ³⁴ For how can I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? I do not want to see^[bd] the misery which will find my father.”

Joseph Reveals His Identity

45 Then Joseph was not able to control himself before all who were standing by him. And he cried out, “Make every man go out from me!” So no one stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept loudly,^[be] so that the Egyptians heard it and the household of Pharaoh heard it. ³ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” And his brothers were unable to answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. ⁴ So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they drew near. And he said, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ So now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves^[bf] that you sold me here, for God sent me as deliverance before you. ⁶ For these two years the famine has been in the midst of the land, but there will be five more years where there is no plowing or harvest. ⁷ And God sent me before you all to preserve for you a remnant in the land and to keep alive among you many survivors. ⁸ So now, you yourselves did not send me here, but God put me here as father to Pharaoh and as master of all his household, and a ruler over 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 and do not delay. ¹⁰ You shall settle in the land of Goshen so that you will be near me, you and your children and your grandchildren, and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. ¹¹ And I will provide for you there, because there are still five years of famine—lest you and your household and all that you have become destitute.’ ¹² Now behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is I^[bg] who am speaking to you. ¹³ And you must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt and all that you have seen. Now hurry and bring my father here.” ¹⁴ Then he fell upon the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. ¹⁵ And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. And afterward his brothers spoke with him. ¹⁶ Then the report was heard in the house of Pharaoh, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” And it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. ¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers: ‘Do this—load your donkeys and go back to the land of Canaan, ¹⁸ and take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ ¹⁹ And you Joseph, are commanded to say this: ‘Do this! Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives, and bring your father and come! ²⁰ Do not worry^[bh] about your possessions, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

²¹ And the sons of Israel did so. And Joseph gave them wagons at the word of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. ²² To each and to all of them he gave sets of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of clothing. ²³ And to his father he sent as follows:^[bi] ten donkeys carrying the best of Egypt, and ten donkeys carrying grain and food and provisions for his father for the journey. ²⁴ Then he sent his brothers away, and when they departed he said to them, “Do not be agitated on the journey.” ²⁵ So they went up from Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. ²⁶ And they spoke to him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart went numb,^[bj] because he did not believe him. ²⁷ Then they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them. And when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, then the spirit of Jacob their father revived. ²⁸ And Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”