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.

The Brothers Fear Joseph

¹⁵ After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph is still angry with us? We did many wrong things to him. What if he plans to pay us back?” ¹⁶ So they sent a message to Joseph. It said, “Your father gave this command before he died. ¹⁷ He said to us, ‘You have done wrong. You have sinned and done evil to Joseph. Tell Joseph to forgive you, his brothers.’ So now, Joseph, we beg you to forgive our wrong. We are the servants of the God of your father.” When Joseph received the message, he cried.

¹⁸ And his brothers went to him and bowed low before him. They said, “We are your slaves.”

¹⁹ Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Can I do what only God can do? ²⁰ You meant to hurt me. But God turned your evil into good. It was to save the lives of many people. And it is being done. ²¹ So don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” So Joseph comforted his brothers and spoke kind words to them.