Joseph the Dreamer

37 Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived. ² This is the family history of Jacob.

Joseph was a young man, 17 years old. He and his brothers cared for the flocks. His brothers were the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. Joseph gave his father bad reports about his brothers. ³ Joseph was born when his father Israel, also called Jacob, was old. So Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons. He made Joseph a special robe with long sleeves. ⁴ Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than he loved them. So they hated their brother and could not speak to him politely.

⁵ One time Joseph had a dream. When he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more. ⁶ Joseph said, “Listen to the dream I had. ⁷ We were in the field tying bundles of wheat together. My bundle stood up, and your bundles of wheat gathered around mine. Your bundles bowed down to mine.”

⁸ His brothers said, “Do you really think you will be king over us? Do you truly think you will rule over us?” His brothers hated him even more now. They hated him because of his dreams and what he had said.

⁹ Then Joseph had another dream. He told his brothers about it also. He said, “Listen, I had another dream. I saw the sun, moon and 11 stars bowing down to me.”

¹⁰ Joseph also told his father about this dream. But his father scolded him, saying, “What kind of dream is this? Do you really believe that your mother, your brothers and I will bow down to you?” ¹¹ Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him. But his father thought about what all these things could mean.

¹² One day Joseph’s brothers went to Shechem to herd their father’s sheep. ¹³ Jacob said to Joseph, “Go to Shechem. Your brothers are there herding the sheep.”

Joseph answered, “I will go.”

¹⁴ His father said, “Go and see if your brothers and the sheep are all right. Then come back and tell me.” So Joseph’s father sent him from the Valley of Hebron.

When Joseph came to Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering in the field. He asked Joseph, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ Joseph answered, “I am looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are herding the sheep?”

¹⁷ The man said, “They have already gone. I heard them say they were going to Dothan.” So Joseph went to look for his brothers and found them in Dothan.

Joseph Sold into Slavery

¹⁸ Joseph’s brothers saw him coming from far away. Before he reached them, they made a plan to kill him. ¹⁹ They said to each other, “Here comes that dreamer. ²⁰ Let’s kill him and throw his body into one of the wells. We can tell our father that a wild animal killed him. Then we will see what will become of his dreams.”

²¹ But Reuben heard their plan and saved Joseph. He said, “Let’s not kill him. ²² Don’t spill any blood. Throw him into this well here in the desert. But don’t hurt him!” Reuben planned to save Joseph later and send him back to his father. ²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they pulled off his robe with long sleeves. ²⁴ Then they threw him into the well. It was empty. There was no water in it.

²⁵ While Joseph was in the well, the brothers sat down to eat. When they looked up, they saw a group of Ishmaelites. They were traveling from Gilead to Egypt. Their camels were carrying spices, balm and myrrh.

²⁶ Then Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and hide his death? ²⁷ Let’s sell him to these Ishmaelites. Then we will not be guilty of killing our own brother. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” And the other brothers agreed. ²⁸ So when the Midianite traders came by, the brothers took Joseph out of the well. They sold him to the Ishmaelites for eight ounces of silver. And the Ishmaelites took him to Egypt.

²⁹ Reuben was not with his brothers when they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites. When Reuben came back to the well, Joseph was not there. Reuben tore his clothes to show he was sad. ³⁰ Then he went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there! What will I do?” ³¹ The brothers killed a goat and dipped Joseph’s long-sleeved robe in its blood. ³² Then they brought the robe to their father. They said, “We found this robe. Look it over carefully. See if it is your son’s robe.”

³³ Jacob looked it over and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some savage animal has eaten him. My son Joseph has been torn to pieces!” ³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes and put on rough cloth to show that he was sad. He continued to be sad about his son for a long time. ³⁵ All of Jacob’s sons and daughters tried to comfort him. But he could not be comforted. Jacob said, “I will be sad about my son until the day I die.” So Jacob cried for his son Joseph.

³⁶ Meanwhile the Midianites who had bought Joseph had taken him to Egypt. There they sold him to Potiphar. Potiphar was an officer to the king of Egypt and captain of the palace guard.

Joseph Is Sold to Potiphar

39 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar was an officer to the king of Egypt. He was the captain of the palace guard. He bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. ² The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man. He lived in the house of his master, Potiphar the Egyptian.

³ Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph. He saw that the Lord made Joseph successful in everything he did. ⁴ So Potiphar was very happy with Joseph. He allowed Joseph to be his personal servant. He put Joseph in charge of the house. Joseph was trusted with everything Potiphar owned. ⁵ So Joseph was put in charge of the house. He was put in charge of everything Potiphar owned. Then the Lord blessed the people in Potiphar’s house because of Joseph. And the Lord blessed everything that belonged to Potiphar, both in the house and in the field. ⁶ So Potiphar put Joseph in charge of everything he owned. Potiphar was not concerned about anything, except the food he ate.

Joseph Is Put into Prison

Now Joseph was well built and handsome. ⁷ After some time the wife of Joseph’s master began to desire Joseph. One day she said to him, “Have physical relations with me.”

⁸ But Joseph refused. He said to her, “My master trusts me with everything in his house. He has put me in charge of everything he owns. ⁹ There is no one in his house greater than I. He has not kept anything from me, except you. And that is because you are his wife. How can I do such an evil thing? It is a sin against God.”

¹⁰ The woman talked to Joseph every day, but he refused to have physical relations with her or even spend time with her.

¹¹ One day Joseph went into the house to do his work as usual. He was the only man in the house at that time. ¹² His master’s wife grabbed his coat. She said to him, “Come and have physical relations with me.” But Joseph left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house.

¹³ She saw what Joseph had done. He had left his coat in her hands and had run outside. ¹⁴ So she called to the servants in her house. She said, “Look! This Hebrew slave was brought here to shame us. He came in and tried to have physical relations with me. But I screamed. ¹⁵ My scream scared him, and he ran away. But he left his coat with me.” ¹⁶ She kept his coat until her husband came home. ¹⁷ And she told her husband the same story. She said, “This Hebrew slave you brought here came in to shame me! ¹⁸ When he came near me, I screamed. He ran away, but he left his coat.”

¹⁹ When Joseph’s master heard what his wife said Joseph had done, he became very angry. ²⁰ So Potiphar arrested Joseph and put him into prison. This prison was where the king’s prisoners were put. And Joseph stayed there in the prison.

²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. The Lord caused the prison warden to like Joseph. ²² The prison warden chose Joseph to take care of all the prisoners. He was responsible for whatever was done in the prison. ²³ The warden paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s care. This was because the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord made Joseph successful in everything he did.

Joseph Interprets Two Dreams

40 After these things happened, two of the king’s officers displeased the king. These officers were the man who served wine to the king and the king’s baker. ² The king became angry with his officer who served him wine and his baker. ³ So he put them in the prison of the captain of the guard. This was the same prison where Joseph was kept. ⁴ The captain of the guard put the two prisoners in Joseph’s care. They stayed in prison for some time.

⁵ One night both the king’s officer who served him wine and the baker had a dream. Each had his own dream with its own meaning. ⁶ When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw they were worried. ⁷ Joseph asked the king’s officers who were with him, “Why do you look so unhappy today?”

⁸ The two men answered, “We both had dreams last night. But no one can explain the meaning of them to us.”

Joseph said to them, “God is the only One who can explain the meaning of dreams. So tell me your dreams.”

⁹ So the man who served wine to the king told Joseph his dream. He said, “I dreamed I saw a vine. ¹⁰ On the vine there were three branches. I watched the branches bud and blossom, and then the grapes ripened. ¹¹ I was holding the king’s cup. So I took the grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I gave it to the king.”

¹² Then Joseph said, “I will explain the dream to you. The three branches stand for three days. ¹³ Before the end of three days the king will free you. He will allow you to return to your work. You will serve the king his wine just as you did before. ¹⁴ But when you are free, remember me. Be kind to me. Tell the king about me so that I can get out of this prison. ¹⁵ I was taken by force from the land of the Hebrews. And I have done nothing here to deserve being put in prison.”

¹⁶ The baker saw that Joseph’s explanation of the dream was good. So he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream. I dreamed there were three bread baskets on my head. ¹⁷ In the top basket there were all kinds of baked food for the king. But the birds were eating this food out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸ Joseph answered, “I will tell you what the dream means. The three baskets stand for three days. ¹⁹ Before the end of three days, the king will cut off your head! He will hang your body on a pole. And the birds will eat your flesh.”

²⁰ Three days later it was the king’s birthday. So he gave a feast for all his officers. In front of his officers, he let the chief officer who served his wine and the chief baker out of prison. ²¹ The king gave his chief officer who served wine his old position. Once again he put the king’s cup of wine into the king’s hand. ²² But the king hanged the baker on a pole. Everything happened just as Joseph had said it would. ²³ But the officer who served wine did not remember Joseph. He forgot all about him.

The King’s Dreams

41 Two years later the king had a dream. He dreamed he was standing on the bank of the Nile River. ² He saw seven fat and beautiful cows come up out of the river. They stood there, eating the grass. ³ Then seven more cows came up out of the river. But they were thin and ugly. They stood beside the seven beautiful cows on the bank of the Nile. ⁴ The seven thin and ugly cows ate the seven beautiful fat cows. Then the king woke up. ⁵ The king slept again and dreamed a second time. In his dream he saw seven full and good heads of grain growing on one stalk. ⁶ After that, seven more heads of grain sprang up. But they were thin and burned by the hot east wind. ⁷ The thin heads of grain ate the seven full and good heads. Then the king woke up again. And he realized it was only a dream. ⁸ The next morning the king was troubled about these dreams. So he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. The king told them his dreams. But no one could explain their meaning to him.

⁹ Then the chief officer who served wine to the king said to him, “I remember something I promised to do. But I had forgotten about it. ¹⁰ There was a time when you were angry with me and the baker. You put us in prison in the house of the captain of the guard. ¹¹ In prison we each had a dream on the same night. Each dream had a different meaning. ¹² A young Hebrew man was in the prison with us. He was a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he explained their meanings to us. He told each man the meaning of his dream. ¹³ Things happened exactly as he said they would: I was given back my old position, and the baker was hanged.”

¹⁴ So the king called for Joseph. The guards quickly brought him out of the prison. He shaved, put on clean clothes and went before the king.

¹⁵ The king said to Joseph, “I have had a dream. But no one can explain its meaning to me. I have heard that you can explain a dream when someone tells it to you.”

¹⁶ Joseph answered the king, “I am not able to explain the meaning of dreams. God will do this for the king.”

¹⁷ Then the king said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile River. ¹⁸ I saw seven fat and beautiful cows. They came up out of the river and ate the grass. ¹⁹ Then I saw seven more cows come out of the river. They were thin and lean and ugly. They were the worst looking cows I have seen in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰ And these thin and ugly cows ate the first seven fat cows. ²¹ But after they had eaten the seven cows, no one could tell they had eaten them. They just looked as thin and ugly as they did in the beginning. Then I woke up.

²² “I had another dream. I saw seven full and good heads of grain growing on one stalk. ²³ Then seven more heads of grain sprang up after them. But these heads were thin and ugly. They were burned by the hot east wind. ²⁴ Then the thin heads ate the seven good heads. I told this dream to the magicians. But no one could explain its meaning to me.”

Joseph Tells the Dreams’ Meaning

²⁵ Then Joseph said to the king, “Both of these dreams mean the same thing. God is telling you what he is about to do. ²⁶ The seven good cows stand for seven years. And the seven good heads of grain stand for seven years. Both dreams mean the same thing. ²⁷ The seven thin and ugly cows stand for seven years. And the seven thin heads of grain burned by the hot east wind stand for seven years of hunger. ²⁸ This will happen as I told you. God is showing the king what he is about to do. ²⁹ You will have seven years of good crops and plenty to eat in all the land of Egypt. ³⁰ But after those seven years, there will come seven years of hunger. All the food that grew in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The time of hunger will eat up the land. ³¹ People will forget what it was like to have plenty of food. This is because the hunger that follows will be so great. ³² You had two dreams which mean the same thing. This shows that God has firmly decided that this will happen. And he will make it happen soon.

³³ “So let the king choose a man who is very wise and understanding. Let the king set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴ And let the king also appoint officers over the land. They should take one-fifth of all the food that is grown during the seven good years. ³⁵ They should gather all the food that is produced during the good years that are coming. Under the king’s authority they should store the grain in the cities and guard it. ³⁶ That food should be saved for later. It will be used during the seven years of hunger that will come on the land of Egypt. Then the people in Egypt will not die during the seven years of hunger.”

Joseph Is Made Ruler over Egypt

³⁷ This seemed like a very good idea to the king. All his officers agreed. ³⁸ And the king asked them, “Can we find a better man than Joseph to take this job? God’s spirit is truly in him!”

³⁹ So the king said to Joseph, “God has shown you all this. There is no one as wise and understanding as you are. ⁴⁰ I will put you in charge of my palace. All the people will obey your orders. Only I will be greater than you.”

⁴¹ Then the king said to Joseph, “Look! I have put you in charge of all the land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then the king took off from his own finger his ring with the royal seal on it. And he put it on Joseph’s finger. He gave Joseph fine linen clothes to wear. And he put a gold chain around Joseph’s neck. ⁴³ The king had Joseph ride in the second royal chariot. Men walked ahead of his chariot calling, “Bow down!” By doing these things, the king put Joseph in charge of all of Egypt.

⁴⁴ The king said to him, “I am the king. And I say that no one in all the land of Egypt may lift a hand or a foot unless you say he may.” ⁴⁵ The king gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. He also gave Joseph a wife named Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. So Joseph traveled through all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving the king of Egypt. And he left the king’s court and traveled through all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ During the seven good years, the crops in the land grew well. ⁴⁸ And Joseph gathered all the food produced in Egypt during those seven years of good crops. He stored the food in the cities. In every city he stored grain that had been grown in the fields around that city. ⁴⁹ Joseph stored much grain, as much as the sand of the seashore. He stored so much grain that he could not measure it.

⁵⁰ Joseph’s wife was Asenath daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. Before the years of hunger came, Joseph and Asenath had two sons. ⁵¹ Joseph named the first son Manasseh.^[a] Joseph said, “God has made me forget all the troubles I have had and all my father’s family.” ⁵² Joseph named the second son Ephraim.^[b] Joseph said, “God has given me children in the land of my troubles.”

⁵³ The seven years of good crops came to an end in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁴ Then the seven years of hunger began, just as Joseph had said. In all the lands people had nothing to eat. But in Egypt there was food. ⁵⁵ The time of hunger became terrible in all of Egypt. The people cried to the king for food. He said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. Do whatever he tells you to do.”

⁵⁶ The hunger was everywhere in that part of the world. And Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the people of Egypt. This was because the time of hunger became terrible in Egypt. ⁵⁷ And all the people in that part of the world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain. This was because the hunger was terrible everywhere in that part of the world.

The Dreams Come True

42 Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt. So he said to his sons, “Why are you just sitting here looking at one another? ² I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us to eat. Then we will live and not die.”

³ So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with them. Jacob was afraid that something terrible might happen to Benjamin. ⁵ Along with many other people, the sons of Jacob, also called Israel, went to Egypt to buy grain. This was because the people in the land of Canaan were hungry also.

⁶ Now Joseph was governor over Egypt. He was the one who sold the grain to people who came to buy it. So Joseph’s brothers came to him. They bowed facedown on the ground before him. ⁷ When Joseph saw his brothers, he knew who they were. But he acted as if he didn’t know them. He asked unkindly, “Where do you come from?”

They answered, “We have come from the land of Canaan to buy food.”

⁸ Joseph knew they were his brothers. But they did not know who he was. ⁹ And Joseph remembered his dreams about his brothers bowing to him. He said to them, “You are spies! You came to learn where the nation is weak!”

¹⁰ But his brothers said to him, “No, my master. We come as your servants just to buy food. ¹¹ We are all sons of the same father. We are honest men, not spies.”

¹² Then Joseph said to them, “No! You have come to learn where this nation is weak!”

¹³ And they said, “We are 10 of 12 brothers. We are sons of the same father. We live in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is there with our father right now. And our other brother is gone.”

¹⁴ But Joseph said to them, “I can see I was right! You are spies! ¹⁵ But I will give you a way to prove you are telling the truth. As surely as the king lives, you will not leave this place until your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ One of you must go and get your brother. The rest of you will stay here in prison. We will see if you are telling the truth. If not, as surely as the king lives, you are spies.” ¹⁷ Then Joseph put them all in prison for three days.

¹⁸ On the third day Joseph said to them, “I am a God-fearing man. Do this thing, and I will let you live: ¹⁹ If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison. The rest of you go and carry grain back to feed your hungry families. ²⁰ Then bring your youngest brother back here to me. If you do this, I will know you are telling the truth. Then you will not die.”

The brothers agreed to this. ²¹ They said to each other, “We are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his trouble. He begged us to save him, but we refused to listen. That is why we are in this trouble now.”

²² Then Reuben said to them, “I told you not to harm the boy. But you refused to listen to me. So now we are being punished for what we did to him.”

²³ When Joseph talked to his brothers, he used an interpreter. So they did not know that Joseph understood what they were saying. ²⁴ Then Joseph left them and cried. After a short time he went back and spoke to them. He took Simeon and tied him up while the other brothers watched. ²⁵ Joseph told his servants to fill his brothers’ bags with grain. They were to put the money the brothers had paid for the grain back in their bags. They were to give them things they would need for their trip back home. And the servants did this.

²⁶ So the brothers put the grain on their donkeys and left. ²⁷ When they stopped for the night, one of the brothers opened his sack. He was going to get food for his donkey. Then he saw his money in the top of the sack. ²⁸ He said to the other brothers, “The money I paid for the grain has been put back. Here it is in my sack!”

The brothers were very frightened. They said to each other, “What has God done to us?”

The Brothers Return to Jacob

²⁹ The brothers went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. They told him everything that had happened. ³⁰ They said, “The master of that land spoke unkindly to us. He accused us of spying on his country. ³¹ But we told him that we were honest men, not spies. ³² We told him that we were 10 of 12 brothers—sons of one father. We said that 1 of our brothers was gone. And we said that our youngest brother was with our father in Canaan.

³³ “Then the master of the land said to us, ‘Here is a way I can know you are honest men: Leave 1 of your brothers with me. Take back grain to feed your hungry families, and go. ³⁴ And bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies but honest men. And I will give you back your brother whom you leave with me. And you can move about freely in our land.’”

³⁵ Then the brothers emptied their sacks. And each of them found his money in his sack. When they and their father saw it, they were afraid.

³⁶ Their father Jacob said to them, “You are robbing me of all my children. Joseph is gone. Simeon is gone. And now you want to take Benjamin away, too. Everything is against me.”

³⁷ Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put my 2 sons to death if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. Trust him to my care. I will bring him back to you.”

³⁸ But Jacob said, “I will not allow Benjamin to go with you. His brother is dead. He is the only son left from my wife Rachel. I am afraid something terrible might happen to him during the trip to Egypt. Then I would be sad until the day I die.”

The Brothers Go Back to Egypt

43 Still no food grew in the land of Canaan. ² Jacob’s family had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt. So Jacob said to them, “Go to Egypt again. Buy a little more grain for us to eat.”

³ But Judah said to Jacob, “The governor of that country strongly warned us. He said, ‘Bring your brother back with you. If you don’t, you will not be allowed to see me.’ ⁴ If you will send Benjamin with us, we will go down and buy food for you. ⁵ But if you refuse to send Benjamin, we will not go. The governor of that country warned us. He said we would not see him if we didn’t bring Benjamin with us.”

⁶ Jacob, also called Israel, said, “Why did you tell the man you had another brother? You have caused me a lot of trouble.”

⁷ The brothers answered, “He questioned us carefully about ourselves and our family. He asked us, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ We just answered his questions. How could we know he would ask us to bring our other brother to him?”

⁸ Then Judah said to his father Jacob, “Send Benjamin with me. Then we will go at once. Do this so that we, you and our children may live and not die. ⁹ I will guarantee you that he will be safe. I will be personally responsible for him. If I don’t bring him back to you, you can blame me all my life. ¹⁰ If we had not wasted all this time, we could have already made two trips.”

¹¹ Then their father Jacob said to them, “If it has to be that way, then do this: Take some of the best foods in our land in your packs. Give them to the man as a gift: some balm, some honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. ¹² Take twice as much money with you this time. Take back the money that was returned to you in your sacks last time. Maybe it was a mistake. ¹³ And take Benjamin with you. Now leave and go to the man. ¹⁴ I pray that God All-Powerful will cause the governor to be merciful to you. I pray that he will allow Simeon and Benjamin to come back with you. If I am robbed of my children, then I am robbed of them!”

¹⁵ So the brothers took the gifts. They also took twice as much money as they had taken the first time. And they took Benjamin. They hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

¹⁶ In Egypt Joseph saw Benjamin with them. Joseph said to the servant in charge of his house, “Bring those men into my house. Kill an animal and prepare a meal. Those men will eat with me today at noon.” ¹⁷ The servant did as Joseph told him. He brought the men to Joseph’s house.

¹⁸ The brothers were afraid when they were brought to Joseph’s house. They thought, “We were brought here because of the money that was put in our sacks on the first trip. He wants to attack us, make us slaves and take our donkeys.” ¹⁹ So the brothers went to the servant in charge of Joseph’s house. They spoke to him at the door of the house. ²⁰ They said, “Sir, we came here once before to buy food. ²¹ While we were going home, we stopped for the night and opened our sacks. Each of us found all his money in his sack. We brought that money with us to give it back to you. ²² And we have brought more money. It is to pay for the food we want to buy this time. We don’t know who put that money in our sacks.”

²³ But the servant answered, “It’s all right. Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, must have put the money in your sacks. I got the money you paid me for the grain last time.” Then the servant brought Simeon out to them.

²⁴ The servant led the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave their donkeys food to eat. ²⁵ The men prepared their gift to give to Joseph when he arrived at noon. They had heard they were going to eat with him there.

²⁶ When Joseph came home, the brothers gave him the gift they had brought into the house. Then they bowed down to the ground to him. ²⁷ Joseph asked them how they were doing. He said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still alive?”

²⁸ The brothers answered, “Your servant, our father, is well. He is still alive.” And they bowed low before Joseph to show him respect.

²⁹ Then Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, who had the same mother as he. Joseph asked, “Is this your youngest brother you told me about?” Then Joseph said to Benjamin, “God be good to you, my son!” ³⁰ Then Joseph hurried off. He had to hold back the tears when he saw his brother Benjamin. So Joseph went into his room and cried there. ³¹ Then he washed his face and came out. He controlled himself and said, “Serve the meal.”

³² So they served Joseph at one table. They served his brothers at another table. And they served the Egyptians who ate with him at another table. This was because Egyptians did not like Hebrews and never ate with them. ³³ Joseph’s brothers were seated in front of him. They were in order of their ages, from oldest to youngest. And they looked at each other because they were so amazed. ³⁴ Food from Joseph’s table was taken to them. But Benjamin was given five times more food than the others. Joseph’s brothers drank with him until they were very drunk.

Joseph Sets a Trap

44 Then Joseph gave a command to the servant in charge of his house. Joseph said, “Fill the men’s sacks with as much grain as they can carry. And put each man’s money into his sack with the grain. ² Put my silver cup in the sack of the youngest brother. Also put his money for the grain in that sack.” The servant did what Joseph told him.

³ At dawn the brothers were sent away with their donkeys. ⁴ They were not far from the city when Joseph said to the servant in charge of his house, “Go after the men. When you catch up with them, say, ‘Why have you paid back evil for good? ⁵ The cup you have stolen is the one my master uses for drinking. And he uses it for explaining dreams. You have done a very wicked thing!’”

⁶ So the servant caught up with the brothers. He said to them what Joseph had told him to say.

⁷ But the brothers said to the servant, “Why do you say these things? We would not do anything like that! ⁸ We brought back to you the money we found in our sacks. We brought it back from the land of Canaan. So surely we would not steal silver or gold from your master’s house. ⁹ If you find that silver cup in the sack of one of us, then let him die. And we will be your slaves.”

¹⁰ The servant said, “We will do as you say. But only the man who has taken the cup will become my slave. The rest of you may go free.”

¹¹ Then every brother quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. ¹² The servant searched the sacks, going from the oldest brother to the youngest. He found the cup in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³ The brothers tore their clothes to show they were sad. Then they put their sacks back on the donkeys. And they returned to the city.

¹⁴ When Judah and his brothers went back to Joseph’s house, Joseph was still there. The brothers bowed facedown on the ground before him. ¹⁵ Joseph said to them, “What have you done? Didn’t you know that a man like me can learn things by signs and dreams?”

¹⁶ Judah said, “Sir, what can we say? And how can we show we are not guilty? God has uncovered our guilt. So all of us will be your slaves, not just Benjamin.”

¹⁷ But Joseph said, “I will not make you all slaves! Only the man who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go back safely to your father.”

¹⁸ Then Judah went to Joseph and said, “Sir, please let me speak plainly to you. Please don’t be angry with me. I know that you are as powerful as the king of Egypt himself. ¹⁹ When we were here before, you asked us, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ And we answered you, ‘We have an old father. And we have a younger brother. He was born when our father was old. This youngest son’s brother is dead. So he is the only one of his mother’s children left alive. And our father loves him very much.’ ²¹ Then you said to us, ‘Bring that brother to me. I want to see him.’ ²² And we said to you, ‘That young boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves him, his father would die.’ ²³ But you said to us, ‘You must bring your youngest brother. If you don’t, you will not be allowed to see me again.’ ²⁴ So we went back to our father and told him what you had said.

²⁵ “Later, our father said, ‘Go again. Buy us a little more food.’ ²⁶ We said to our father, ‘We cannot go without our youngest brother. Without our youngest brother, we will not be allowed to see the governor.’ ²⁷ Then my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife Rachel gave me two sons. ²⁸ One son left me. I thought, “Surely he has been torn apart by a wild animal.” And I haven’t seen him since. ²⁹ Now you want to take this son away from me also. But something terrible might happen to him. Then I would be sad until the day I die.’ ³⁰ Now what will happen if we go home to our father without our youngest brother? He is the most important thing in our father’s life. ³¹ When our father sees that the young boy is not with us, he will die. And it will be our fault. We will cause the great sorrow that kills our father.

³² “I gave my father a guarantee that the young boy would be safe. I said to my father, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, you can blame me all my life.’ ³³ So now, please allow me to stay here and be your slave. And let the young boy go back home with his brothers. ³⁴ I cannot go back to my father if the boy is not with me. I couldn’t stand to see my father that sad.”

Joseph Reveals Who He Is

45 Joseph could not control himself in front of his servants any longer. He cried out, “Have everyone leave me.” When only the brothers were left with Joseph, he told them who he was. ² Joseph cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him. And the people in the king’s palace heard about it. ³ He said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But the brothers could not answer him, because they were very afraid of him.

⁴ So Joseph said to them, “Come close to me.” So the brothers came close to him. And he said to them, “I am your brother Joseph. You sold me as a slave to go to Egypt. ⁵ Now don’t be worried. Don’t be angry with yourselves because you sold me here. God sent me here ahead of you to save people’s lives. ⁶ No food has grown on the land for two years now. And there will be five more years without planting or harvest. ⁷ So God sent me here ahead of you. This was to make sure you have some descendants left on earth. And it was to keep you alive in an amazing way. ⁸ So it was not you who sent me here, but God. God has made me the highest officer of the king of Egypt. I am in charge of his palace. I am the master of all the land of Egypt.

⁹ “So leave quickly and go to my father. Tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all Egypt. Come down to me quickly. ¹⁰ Live in the land of Goshen. You will be near me. Also your children, your grandchildren, your flocks and herds and all that you have will be near me. ¹¹ I will care for you during the next five years of hunger. In this way, you and your family and all that you have will not starve.’

¹² “Now you can see for yourselves. The one speaking to you is really Joseph. And my brother Benjamin can see this. ¹³ So tell my father about how powerful I have become in Egypt. Tell him about everything you have seen. Now hurry and bring him back to me.” ¹⁴ Then Joseph hugged his brother Benjamin and cried. And Benjamin cried also. ¹⁵ Then Joseph kissed all his brothers. He cried as he hugged them. After this, his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶ The king of Egypt and his officers learned that Joseph’s brothers had come. And they were very happy about this. ¹⁷ So the king said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to load their animals and go back to the land of Canaan. ¹⁸ Tell them to bring their father and their families back here to me. I will give them the best land in Egypt. And they will eat the best food we have here. ¹⁹ Tell them to take some wagons from Egypt for their children and their wives. And tell them to bring their father back also. ²⁰ Tell them not to worry about bringing any of their things with them. We will give them the best of what we have in Egypt.”

²¹ So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as the king had ordered. And he gave them food for their trip. ²² He gave each brother a change of clothes. But he gave Benjamin five changes of clothes. And Joseph gave him about seven and one-half pounds of silver. ²³ Joseph also sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the best things from Egypt. And he sent ten female donkeys. They were loaded with grain, bread and other food for his father on his trip back. ²⁴ Then Joseph told his brothers to go. As they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way home.”

²⁵ So the brothers left Egypt and went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. ²⁶ They told him, “Joseph is still alive. He is the ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Their father was shocked and did not believe them. ²⁷ But the brothers told him everything Joseph had said. Then Jacob saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back to Egypt. Now Jacob felt better. ²⁸ Jacob, also called Israel, said, “Now I believe you. My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”